Alva G. Parks of Montgomery was recently awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Baptist Association of Christian Educators. The award is a result of the many years Parks worked with religious education in Baptist churches and universities.
Parks and his wife, Doris, are members of First Baptist Church, Montgomery, where he served as minister of education from 1958 to 1971. Parks remembers his years at First, Montgomery, fondly. “In Montgomery, we saw how the quality of leadership improved because people were willing to be trained,” he said. “We sort of pioneered in leader training which became a conventionwide program known as Baptist Association of Christian Educators.”
Later, he became president of the group, and he now serves on the board of directors.
The couple has served in several vicinities during their 49 years of marriage. Feeling called into the ministry at a young age, Parks thought he would eventually become a pastor.
After earning his B.A. from Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky., he attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky., where he earned a master’s degree in divinity. “It was not until I got to seminary that I realized I was being called into religious education,” Parks said.
He later returned to school to earn his doctorate from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas.
Along with serving as a minister of education, Parks also taught at Southwestern Seminary for 11 years. He also served as executive vice president of Dallas Baptist University, where he currently is the senior advisor to the president. Additionally, Parks has served as a trustee of LifeWay Christian Resources, and both parks and his wife have served as education consultants to the European Baptist Convention.
Upon retirement, the couple moved back to Montgomery, where the two are active in their Sunday School class, sing in the senior adult choir and are members of several church committees. Parks volunteers as a chaplain at Baptist Medical Center and serves on two committees for Baptist World Alliance.
Parks believes that the education programs in churches are vital. “As the training goes in the church, so the church goes,” he said. “I think education is absolutely essential for the growth and development of the church.”
His advice to young people who are considering a career in religious education is to follow God’s leadership and harbor a willing spirit. “First of all, you should have a calling,” he said. “You need a love for people- not just the nice people, but the cantankerous people, too. And you need a good work ethic because this is not an 8-to-5 job.”
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