Richard Parker III was born and raised in a small town near Charlotte. He was reared in a religious home, but did not hear the Gospel message until entering the sixth grade at a local Christian school. After hearing a series of chapel messages about the reality of Hell and the Good News of salvation through belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ, Richard trusted the Lord Jesus as his Savior in his bedroom on Thursday, September 8, 2011.
A few years later, God led Richard and his parents to become members of the Harbor Baptist Church in Charlotte. Through the influence of Pastor Simmons’ discipleship classes and consistent preaching on missions and church planting from the pulpit, God fostered a burden and eventual call on Richard’s life to serve Him in full-time Christian ministry. Richard surrendered to this call at the age of fifteen. Soon after, Richard began preparing his life for the ministry. Through prayer and a series of events, God led him to attend Ambassador Baptist College in the fall of 2018 to further his ministry preparation.
Shortly before graduating from Ambassador in the spring of 2022 with a degree in Pastoral Studies, God led Richard to accept the opportunity to serve at Harbor as the assistant pastor. Richard shares the same burden as his pastor to see Charlotte and the world reached with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is looking forward to what the Lord will do in the years to come.