About the Founder

A former missionary to Zimbabwe, Africa and Cornwall, England, as well as chaplain in the US Army, Dr. Jeff Parker has been given the unique opportunity to see the Church in a myriad of settings, from the emerging Church in Africa to the remnants of Western Europe to military bases both here and abroad. Dr. Parker has addressed Christians in a variety of venues. His experience comes not from merely visiting these places but rather having lived there. Today, his journey continues in the inner city of Jackson, Mississippi to both a church and a city in transition. For the last 28 years he has led out in a pilgrimage to come alongside the broken. From homeless to elderly, single parent to the impoverished, needs are being met but the passage has been painful. Why? The modern day church is often crippled by capital expenditures with little left to invest in the hurting across our cities and around the world. While men and women in low-income areas wrestle to survive (inner city churches included), the larger body of believers in more affluent areas grapples with comfort and convenience. Large percentages of their budgets are spent not on the hurting of society but rather on the congregant-consumer.

Now with over forty years in ministry, Dr. Jeff Parker has developed a strategy to create and channel the revenue and personnel needed to address poverty stricken areas across the country and around the world. This movement is simply called “Bypass Ministries”. A non-profit established for those who wish to turn back the Church to a model more conducive with the New Testament and channel their giving from exorbitant buildings and salaries to the broken and hurting of our society. However, this is not to discard existing churches but in time through Bypass Ministries to shift their future from a materialistic mindset to a true mission outlook.