Meet the people behind the mission
Shepherding Team
Lead Pastor and Founder
Pastor R. Derrick Parks is the Lead Pastor and Founding Church Planter of Epiphany Church of Wilmington, where he serves as the primary preaching pastor. Pastor Derrick is focused on shepherding his flock’s spiritual growth, leadership development and casting vision for all facets of the ministry of Epiphany. He and his wife, Atyia, founded Epiphany Church in 2016.
Inside and outside of Epiphany, Pastor Derrick seeks to help people make peace with God through receiving salvation and make peace with man by way of reconciliation. Pastor Derrick is a catalyst for change and the advancement of the gospel through his numerous roles on multiple leadership teams, boards and associations. He is a tireless leader in advocating and coaching church planters and leaders in the urban context and beyond.
Pastor Derrick has served in ministry for over two decades. Prior to full time ministry he worked in the human services and education fields leading and coordinating with multidisciplinary teams to treat and care for vulnerable populations. He is a graduate of Cairn University (formerly Philadelphia Biblical University) with two degrees. Pastor Derrick and Lady Atyia have three wonderful children, Nasir, Tamya and Raele.
Pastor Derrick’s favorite thing about Epiphany is the greater works that God will do through us. God is on the move!
Pastor of Formation, Teaching Elder
Pastor Timothy Welbeck is the Pastor of Formation and a Teaching Elder at Epiphany Church of Wilmington, bringing over 20 years of ministry experience. He fosters spiritual growth through expositional and topical preaching, community engagement, trainings, workshops and spiritual counseling. In his role, he equips Epiphany members to live out their faith practically in their communities and prepare others to do the same.
Pastor Tim’s personal and professional experience are an extension of his heart for people. In teaching and law practice, he shepherds students and communities nationwide. He is the founding Director of the Center for Anti-Racism at Temple University and also was an assistant professor in Africology and African American Studies. A Civil Rights Attorney, Pastor Tim uses his knowledge of law, race, and cultural studies to defend the rights of the most vulnerable individuals as well as provide crisis management, legal counsel, and representation for churches and international Christian nonprofits.
Pastor Tim’s loves Epiphany for its culturally relevant, Bible-based preaching and teaching. He lives in Delaware with his wife Rashida, and their three children.
Pastor of Care, Teaching Elder
Pastor Bobby is the Pastor of Care and a Teaching Elder at Epiphany. In his role, he anchors on preaching, teaching, discipleship and spiritual growth, with a focus on marriage, family life, and ministry to men. He’s been an ordained elder for the past 8 years and previously worked with the Salvation Army ministering to the physical needs and spiritual needs of people in the church and the community.
2 Tim. 2:2 says, “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” This is his calling—to help people through teaching, care and shepherding focused on spiritual growth.
Outside of Epiphany, Pastor Bobby is a School Bus Safety Manager and Human Resources Coordinator, emphasizing safety as well as physical and emotional well-being of the employees. He’s the proud husband of his wife of 40 years, Charlene (aka Mama Bell), the father of 11 children, and a grandfather of 28…and counting!
His favorite thing about Epiphany is the energy and passion in serving, the emphasis on the Word of God and the growth of the saints, and the commitment to learning to live out faith in every aspect of life.
Leadership Team
Operations Director
Atyia Parks, more affectionately known as Lady T, is the Operations Director for Epiphany Church. Lady T wears many hats in her role providing overall organizational clarity and aesthetic coordination of the church to achieve, consistency, cohesion, and efficiency. Lady T’s operations and admin teams cover everything from behind the scenes coordination to the Epiphany’s tech stack to facilities management. Her aim is to help everyone to have an Epiphany that opens the door to eternity and remove barriers to becoming known, growing, and being used by God that we may have abundant life now and in the time to come. Lady T brings close to two decades of corporate and administrative experience with multiple Fortune 500 companies, non-profit and government agencies. She has also served in leadership roles with a global church planting organization and a faith based startup seeking to serve and care for women in ministerial leadership. Lady T leads from her strong belief in the pursuit of excellence and giving God your first and best; coupled with her expertise and passionate conviction to serve God and see his kingdom advance. Her favorite thing about Epiphany is that we are a people submitted to God, growing and thriving in our faith no matter the past or current circumstance, because God is our confidence and future hope.
EpiphKids Director
Rashida Welbeck is the EpiphKids Director. She casts the vision for Epiphany’s children’s ministry and focuses on developing the leaders within EpiphKids. EpiphKids has a dual goal of creating a distraction-free environment for parents and guardians, while giving children a fun and engaging experience that helps them come to know Jesus as their personal savior. Rashida believes kids ministry to be a training ground for developing young leaders and helping children have an epiphany of Jesus as their savior. She brings her professional experience in program development, research, and evaluation to her role as Director of EpiphKids, in addition to over 15 years in church-based children’s ministry. Rashida’s favorite thing about Epiphany Church is its authenticity and desire to create a family of believers all working together for God’s glory.
Worship Director
Michael A. Purnell, II serves as the Worship Director at Epiphany Church, leading the team to create an atmosphere for encountering the true heart and presence of God and experiencing the transformative power of worship. His role includes planning and selecting songs for Sunday worship, organizing rehearsals, scheduling the worship team, and recruiting and training current and future members. Michael also prioritizes fostering spiritual growth, spurring the team to create a lifestyle of worship, while finding innovative ways to enhance the worship experience. Mike brings over 31 years of experience in music ministry, Mike has collaborated with renowned artists such as Yolanda Adams, Maranda Curtis, and Maurette Clark Brown. He has also spent the last 15 years in leadership roles, working with various churches, groups, and artists throughout Delaware and the Tri-State area. Michael’s favorite thing about Epiphany is its people and their heart for God.
Creative Arts Director
JaQuanne LeRoy Daniels is the Creative Arts Director. In his role, he sets the direction of how Epiphany Wilmington expresses itself creatively through visual arts and audio/visual production. He and his team cover various creative elements including the visual brand, digital and graphics, video for in-church and online outputs, sound and light production for Sunday gatherings, YouTube and more. As an artist himself, JaQuanne works with many organizations throughout Delaware to foster creativity through teaching and curation. He leads at Epiphany with the belief that God-given gifts and creativity are tools to use in order to bring glory to God, who is the original creator. JaQuanne’s loves that the culture of Epiphany is centered around reflecting God's light to those who are in darkness.
Communications Director
Olivia Daniels is Epiphany’s Communications Director. She sets the strategy for how Epiphany communicates with the world and the Wilmington, DE community, as well as the internal church family. Olivia and the communications team manage a variety of channels for the church, including website, the Church center app, email, social media, public relations and more. In her day-to-day work, Olivia is a product marketing manager and strategist in cybersecurity technology for one of the world’s most valuable companies. She leads at Epiphany with the firm belief that marketing for a church is evangelism, because bringing people to Epiphany is bringing people to Jesus. Olivia’s loves Epiphany for it being a small but mighty church where Jesus is the center of it all.
Connections Director
Jacqué is the Connections Director of Epiphany Wilmington. In her role, she leads and oversees a team of servant leaders who are called to connect non-believers and believers to Epiphany Wilmington, a ministry where the lost become found through the Gospel, servants are equipped for the works of ministry, and salvation is worked out with community. The Connections team is the hands and feet behind Set up and Tear down, Hospitality, and Next Steps which include Green Light, Discover Epiphany, and Baptisms. Jacqué loves to create a welcoming and spiritually enriching environment for every guest and member who enters our church. She and her team ensure that all feel seen, valued, and connected. Outside of this role, Jacqué is a Social Worker, specifically working as a Foster Care Program Coordinator in Training for a private agency in the State of Delaware. Her favorite thing about Epiphany is the community of people who have a desire to live lifestyles that reflect our love for Christ and shining His light for others to have an encounter with Him!