Dear Friends,
Pastor Rod Parsley's beloved father, James G. (Clyde) Parsley, age 80, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, June 27, 2013. He was surrounded by his family at his homegoing, and is now beholding the face of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Mr. Parsley was a founding member of World Harvest Church. He and his wife Ellen, known as Mother Parsley, have been the most loyal and fervent advocates of the ministry.
While Mr. Parsley did not seek acclaim or recognition, his support was essential to the birth, growth and continuing success of World Harvest Church, Breakthrough and the many other ministry entities. As a husband, father, grandfather, advisor, confidant and friend, his contributions have been inestimable and will be irreplaceable.
If you would like to send a message of condolence to the family, please respond to the following email address: condolences@rodparsley.com.
Quotes:
APRIL 20, 1993
“My memories of my father are not that he took me to Quarter Horse Congress shows, although he did that every year. My memories are not that my dad took me to ball games, although he did that constantly. He took me fishing almost every night of my life as a young boy. But the greatest memories I have of my dad are when he was getting ready for foot washing service at the Freewill Baptist Church and tears dripping off his face.” - Pastor Parsley
“My memories of my father are not that he took me to Quarter Horse Congress shows, although he did that every year. My memories are not that my dad took me to ball games, although he did that constantly. He took me fishing almost every night of my life as a young boy. But the greatest memories I have of my dad are when he was getting ready for foot washing service at the Freewill Baptist Church and tears dripping off his face.” - Pastor Parsley
FATHER’S DAY 1997
“We might have been too poor to pay attention, but my daddy was saved, and because of that, I had security. And because of that I had hope. And because of that, I didn’t have an inferiority complex. My dad was connected to God. And brother, that’s something. That’s something. That’s the kind of daddy I want to be.” - Pastor Parsley
“We might have been too poor to pay attention, but my daddy was saved, and because of that, I had security. And because of that I had hope. And because of that, I didn’t have an inferiority complex. My dad was connected to God. And brother, that’s something. That’s something. That’s the kind of daddy I want to be.” - Pastor Parsley
FATHER’S DAY 2002
“We were out doing a photo shoot for the ministry the other day out in the Breakthrough garden. One of the photographers was out there and dad was coming out of that new parking lot. I said, just jump in here with me and take some pictures. And they shot some pictures. They’re beautiful. They’ve got the Breakthrough Ministry Center all behind us in that garden, and so I had one of those made. And it’ being framed, and on the bottom of it says, ‘to my dad – a man that no matter how tall I grow, I’ll always look up to you.'” - Pastor Parsley
“We were out doing a photo shoot for the ministry the other day out in the Breakthrough garden. One of the photographers was out there and dad was coming out of that new parking lot. I said, just jump in here with me and take some pictures. And they shot some pictures. They’re beautiful. They’ve got the Breakthrough Ministry Center all behind us in that garden, and so I had one of those made. And it’ being framed, and on the bottom of it says, ‘to my dad – a man that no matter how tall I grow, I’ll always look up to you.'” - Pastor Parsley
NOV. 10, 2002
“It’s a wonderful thing to have the guidance of parents, and not only the guidance, but I promise you, nobody has worked harder in this church than the parent of this young man. My dad’s always the one, down in the sewer digging the thing out. When we had buildings like this, he was the one building the walls, and fixing the plumbing and wiring the electricity. He can do all that you know. Pouring the concrete and all the carpentry, and the electric and the plumbing, he can do all that. He says of me, it’s a good thing you can preach. You sure can’t do anything else!” - Pastor Parsley
“It’s a wonderful thing to have the guidance of parents, and not only the guidance, but I promise you, nobody has worked harder in this church than the parent of this young man. My dad’s always the one, down in the sewer digging the thing out. When we had buildings like this, he was the one building the walls, and fixing the plumbing and wiring the electricity. He can do all that you know. Pouring the concrete and all the carpentry, and the electric and the plumbing, he can do all that. He says of me, it’s a good thing you can preach. You sure can’t do anything else!” - Pastor Parsley
MAR. 27 2012 AT PASTOR LAWRENCE AND DARLENE BISHOP’S CHURCH
“In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky, my dad taught me to work. He taught me that nobody owed me anything. He taught me if I can work hard, and if I’d live right, and I’d believe God, nothing was impossible.” - Pastor Parsley
“In the deep, dark hills of eastern Kentucky, my dad taught me to work. He taught me that nobody owed me anything. He taught me if I can work hard, and if I’d live right, and I’d believe God, nothing was impossible.” - Pastor Parsley
JULY 1, 2012 – DAD’S 80TH BIRTHDAY
“Somebody asked me some of the things dad taught me. He taught me to love God and your family, and in that order. He taught me to work hard and take pride in what you do, ‘cause nobody owes you anything. He taught me that. And I want to thank him. I want to thank him for loving this vision, for building this house…for standing by a son when the world turned their back on him—and most of the church. I want to thank him for teaching me this too shall pass. I want to thank him for teaching me to hunt, and fish, and love the outdoors, and not to play with Barbie dolls, and that real men do cry—just about the right things. I want to thank him for taking me to the Ohio State Fair when I was so little, I had to hold on to his hip pocket like this, and he took me through the horse barns, and the cattle barns, and the sheep barns. And I want to thank him that when I harvested the biggest old black bear you’ve ever seen, he told me, he said, “Now look. I’ve harvested bears before, and you never have, so the first one that comes tonight, he’s yours.” Here came the biggest black bear we’d ever seen. Up out of the river he came waddling. Boy, I slid down and took my mark. Just when I was ready to pull the trigger, I heard, “Boom!” And he said, “Did I get him?” The bear just kept walking. And so I said boom, and he just pan-caked down. So dad didn’t say, “Good shot.” He said, “I’ll bet you he’s got two holes in him.” And he made us skin the bear out and check it for the number of holes it had in it. I want to thank him for my ’66 Mustang, for my ’54 Ford, for my ’74 Monte Carlo, for my ’77 Trans Am, and for my 1980 L82 midnight blue Corvette Stingray. I want to thank him in the hard times for gathering my family around and making us join hands together. And he always begins those prayers with these words: 'God, this is our family, and we’re ready for you.'” - Pastor Parsley
“Somebody asked me some of the things dad taught me. He taught me to love God and your family, and in that order. He taught me to work hard and take pride in what you do, ‘cause nobody owes you anything. He taught me that. And I want to thank him. I want to thank him for loving this vision, for building this house…for standing by a son when the world turned their back on him—and most of the church. I want to thank him for teaching me this too shall pass. I want to thank him for teaching me to hunt, and fish, and love the outdoors, and not to play with Barbie dolls, and that real men do cry—just about the right things. I want to thank him for taking me to the Ohio State Fair when I was so little, I had to hold on to his hip pocket like this, and he took me through the horse barns, and the cattle barns, and the sheep barns. And I want to thank him that when I harvested the biggest old black bear you’ve ever seen, he told me, he said, “Now look. I’ve harvested bears before, and you never have, so the first one that comes tonight, he’s yours.” Here came the biggest black bear we’d ever seen. Up out of the river he came waddling. Boy, I slid down and took my mark. Just when I was ready to pull the trigger, I heard, “Boom!” And he said, “Did I get him?” The bear just kept walking. And so I said boom, and he just pan-caked down. So dad didn’t say, “Good shot.” He said, “I’ll bet you he’s got two holes in him.” And he made us skin the bear out and check it for the number of holes it had in it. I want to thank him for my ’66 Mustang, for my ’54 Ford, for my ’74 Monte Carlo, for my ’77 Trans Am, and for my 1980 L82 midnight blue Corvette Stingray. I want to thank him in the hard times for gathering my family around and making us join hands together. And he always begins those prayers with these words: 'God, this is our family, and we’re ready for you.'” - Pastor Parsley