Derrick Parks IS THE HEAD PASTOR FOR Epiphany Church of Wilmington in Delaware. WE ARE HONORED TO PARTNER WITH HIM AND THE CHURCH COMMUNITY BEGINNING IN 2018.
How have you seen God working in your life?
I have seen God change me through the gospel by affirming character as I reflect on the scriptures. I get to see the continuous narrative of God's faithfulness in the scriptures as I read them. God has been calling me to trust the narrative of the scriptures in my life.
God is working on my patience in seeing the narrative unfold. I can want the things that I want, when I want them. I forget, too frequently, that Christ is for his church prospering are than I am. I need to rest more in the reality of God's incredible faithfulness.
How have you seen God working in your family?
My initial thoughts about cultivating a healthy relationship with my wife and kids were too anemic. I believe that if I just prioritized my family then we would have a healthy relationship. I believed if I set up date nights for my wife and attended all of my children's activities that we would have a healthy relationship.
Planting this church has taught me that those things just aren't enough in order for us to cultivate a healthy relationship. Spiritual warfare is a real occurrence that I was not prepared for as it pertained to the health of my family relationships.
God began to challenge me to cover my family in prayer more that I have done before. Our prayer life, not strategies, has been the new key to our relational health.
How have you seen God working in your church?
God has been working in the life of our church in powerful ways. We have a diverse and vibrant community that has not stopped seeking to serve Christ, the community and the church. God is preparing us to be his church.
The most impactful thing that I have learning during the process of planting this church is that Christ is the one who builds his church. He is the one who draws people to himself. He is the one who gives people the passion to serve his bride. By the power of the spirit he is the one who causes people to grow in maturity.
Therefore, I have learned to stop trying to kill myself trying to accomplish the work that only Christ in his resurrected power could accomplish. I am now able to rest in the work that I am able to do and to request the power of his spirit in all of the work that I cannot accomplish.
Church Mission & Vision
Our mission is to join Jesus in seeking the glory of God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit by being On the Block, in the Middle of it, showing off the glory of Christ. We desire to see “Murdertown USA” become “Mercytown USA.”
Wilmington is in desperate need of more gospel communities to be planted there in order to transform the city. The inner city structure of Wilmington has been declining for several decades. Although Wilmington has a great church history, with one of the oldest churches in America being there, Wilmington is in great need of the gospel of Jesus Christ to transform its deteriorating conditions.
We envision People Restored to Grace, Communities Renewed with Love and a City Revived with Hope.
We want to reach individuals living in poverty that are influenced by hip hop culture between the ages of 14-45. We have identified the West Center City section of Wilmington as our target area. We believe that the West Center City section is prime for the gospel of Jesus Christ to infiltrate hearts.
Success looks like having individuals from our community walking to church and being involved in discipleship groups. Success looks like five new families a year partaking in the sacrament of baptism.
In the next five years we hope to see the violence in West Center City reduced by 50% through the partnership and collaboration of our church with the city. We hope to see a thriving church flourishing in the city of Wilmington.
If you would like to reach out to Derrick, you can visit the church's website at www.epiphanywilmington.org.