My Story
I grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, reared under a pew by a family who spanned four generations of pastoral ministry— I babbled my first sermon before I spoke my first word (and collected my first offering too!). I am thankful for my heritage. They introduced me to sincere faith and an obsessive love for studying scripture. But my road to ministry was filed with detours that wrapped around the globe.
After completing high school, I shipped off for Ghana, Africa to work with the American Field Service in an orphanage. This is where the missions bug first bit. So, I spent the next five years oscillating between finishing a BA in political science at Indiana University and a BA in Biblical Studies from Indiana Bible College all the while traveling from South America to south India. Somewhere along this journey, I preached my first sermon and now seventeen years later I haven’t stopped.
In the fall of 2006, I started a campus ministry at Purdue University. It was there that I met my wife, Dacia. Even though it took some convincing, I got her to marry me and we eventually became lead pastors at a wonderful church in Lafayette, Indiana.
But as our family grew, so did the feeling that God was inviting us to follow Him into the abyss. And so we jumped— not knowing where we would land or even how to survive the impact. But Jesus was faithful, bringing life-changing relationships during our three year stopover in Columbus, Ohio.
And just as we had settled into our new rhythm of life outside vocational ministry, I answered an unknown call from Oklahoma City. Pastor Josh and Tiffany Cossey reached out through a friend of a friend of a friend of a person I didn’t even know that well. And what started as an invitation to friendship ended with an invitation to serve as local church pastor at Faith Church in Hinton, Oklahoma.
So that’s how a Toyota Prius driving preacher who didn’t own a pair of boots found himself serving deep in the heart of cowboy country! And over our time here, our family has fallen in love with this community and we feel called to reach people and build lives right here in Western Oklahoma.
I want to personally invite you to join us this weekend for one of our worship services. Faith Church is a great place for your family to grow and we always have room for you.
Jordan Parnell
Hinton Campus Pastor
Meet Dacia
