Planted in the church

The Rev. Mike Parry has been the pastor of Fruitland Community Church since its creation in September 1999. The position has allowed him to share his passion of teaching God's word and seeing it in people's lives. Parry said he loves working with people and has a strong desire to invest in the spiritual lives of others. He added his church's passionate worship, small Bible groups and the congregation's desire to reach the world are what makes his job and church so special.

How long have you been a member of your faith? I made a personal commitment to Christ when I was a young boy.

What education/background/studies did you go through to become a pastor? Attended college and seminary, but have continued a life of learning by spending time in God's word and reading books that challenge me to grow in my faith.

How many years have you served as a pastor? A little over 10 years, but before that I served as campus minister at the Baptist Student Union at Southeast Missouri State University for 15 years.

Where are you from and when/why did you move to Jackson? I'm originally from Rolla, Mo., and came to the Cape Girardeau/Jackson area 25 years ago to work on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

What's your favorite verse and why? Psalm 37: 23-24. "If the Lord delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand." This verse gives me so much encouragement knowing the Lord delights in my way, guiding me and holding me with his hand.

What program have you done with Fruitland Community Church that you are proud of and why? That's a hard one, but I guess church planting gives me the greatest satisfaction. We were a small part of starting Cape County Cowboy Church, have started two churches in El Salvador and just recently commissioned a church planting couple to Vancouver, British Columbia.

What events or occasions does your church have coming up? Our El Salvador pastor and his wife will be in worship at our church on March 7. We have a spring blitz coming up in April where we will blitz our community with servanthood evangelism projects. That is fun! Of course Easter weekend, with our annual Easter egg hunt and resurrection celebration.

What's your favorite day of the week and why? I love Sunday, but I love Monday, Saturday and the other days in between, too. Every day is the Lord's day.

What hobbies do you have? Racquetball, the Cardinals and whatever my children are doing.

What else do you do besides serve as pastor? I'm fortunate that I'm a full-time pastor so my days are filled with that and family. I'm blessed with a wife, Grace, of 22 years, a daughter, Bethany, at Missouri State and a daughter, Tori, at Jackson High School. They are what I do outside of pastoring.

Do you have a prayer, psalm or verse you would like to give our readers for the day? "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)