Meet Our Staff

Marcus Arrington, Pastor

I’m excited and honored to serve God’s people and serve the Sherman Park and Greater Milwaukee community as Lead Pastor of Parklawn Assembly of God. I’ve been richly blessed by the ministry, mentorship, and modeling provided by Bishop Walter F. Harvey. It’s my honor to succeed him in the senior pastor role and continue to collaborate with him as he serves the body of Christ and community locally and nationally in an apostolic role.

My first ministry is in my home. God has blessed me with a beautiful, loving, godly wife (Crystal) and two outstanding, godly children (Jacen and Makaila). They are journeying with me. Together, we are the ATEAM!

Along with our compassionate and anointed pastoral team, I get to guide and prepare God’s people to share the “light, life, and love” of Jesus Christ in our city and world. One of my favorite verses is John 17:4, “I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” Like Jesus, I too want to bring God glory by operating in my design and finishing His assignments for my life. I do this through prophetic worship, prayer, teaching, preaching, writing, and giving. This blend of gifts, enables me to equip others to engage their destinies so that they too will bring God glory through completion of His mandate for their lives. God has a dream for all of us individually and collectively.

As we follow His leading, we will fulfill His dream and bring godly transformation to our families, communities, and world!

"A dream is the foundation of hope. Faith keeps dreams alive. Never stop dreaming. And, never lose faith." -Dr. Marcus L. Arrington

Jay English, Pastor

I have been working with various forms of music, youth, & community outreach for well over 20 years. So, being blessed to serve here at Parklawn as the pastor overseeing each of these areas has been a dream come true for me. In my role, I enjoy teaching the Word of God, building cohesive teams, developing leaders, & having as much fun as possible along the way. Most people probably hear me laughing before they see me coming, but behind that laugh is a heart that loves Jesus and has a passion for seeing people of all ages experience the unconditional love of Christ.

Sonia English, Pastor

Worship: I serve alongside my husband as the co-pastor of the worship arts ministry. I have always had a heart for worship. I have faced many challenges in life, but always found comfort in my worship time with the Lord. As a teen, I prayed that God believed that God would use me to be an encouragement to others through music. And now, I am so honored to now be able to serve God and his people through worship here at Parklawn!

SUM-MKE: Becoming an advisor of Milwaukee’s cohort of SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary has been a new and exciting role for me. Being able to combine my experience in teaching and ministry, along with my passion to help others find and pursue their calling is a such a blessing. I love watching student’s spiritual growth and how God prepares them for their purpose.

Jason Mims, Family Life Pastor

God has given me a passion for family and relationship building. Being a part of my men’s life group helped me to discover that it is through my authentic relationships and loving others that people are drawn to Christ.

As the Family Life Pastor, my goal is to encourage and equip every man, woman and child to fulfill their role within the body of Christ because each member is critical to the health and function of the body. The equipping is acquired through the building of authentic relationships.

God has not designed us to be on an island but to do life together as we are stronger together than we are apart, and it is through loving others and the health of our relationships that determines how effectively we reach our God given destiny and fulfill God’s purpose on the Earth.

Bishop Walter & First Lady Judy Harvey

My personal mission is to live full and die empty.

Born in Milwaukee in the zip code with the highest rate of incarceration, poverty, unemployment, and other racial disparities in the entire country, I could have been just another statistic: another prisoner, another drug addict, another lost cause.

The prayers of my mother and the power of God transformed my life. I attended Marquette University to study psychology and counseling and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in liberal arts. I served as a youth pastor for seven years and served as senior pastor at Parklawn Assembly of God in Milwaukee from 1992 until 2020. An ordained minister in the Assemblies of God, I was consecrated as a Bishop in 2014 by the Outpouring Ministry Network in Milwaukee. My calling as a minister has taken me to numerous countries to plant churches, inspire and develop Christian leaders, and do humanitarian work to transform people’s lives.

I continue to serve in an advisory role at Parklawn while also serving as CEO of Prism Economic Development Corporation and board president for the National Black Fellowship of the Assemblies of God.