John S. Park
Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Des Peres Chair of Congregational Health, Associate Professor of Leadership and Congregational Health
BA (English Literature), MDiv (Divinity), ThM (Theology), PhD (Leadership Studies)
Dr. John S. Park serves as Associate Professor of Leadership and Congregational Health and Director of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Program at Central Baptist Theological Seminary, where he has been a faculty member since 2017. He also holds the Des Peres Chair of Congregational Health. Dr. Park teaches a range of DMin courses, including Leading People and Organizations, Engaging the Power of Change, Embracing Design Thinking, Capstone Design, Development, and Execution for English-speaking students, Leadership: Theory and Practice and Research Method and Project Design for Korean students, and How to Lead and Teach: Leadership & Administration and Creating Mission-Minded Congregations for Myanmar churches.
A first-generation Korean and naturalized U.S. citizen, Dr. Park brings a wealth of pastoral and academic experience. He has served in various church roles—youth pastor, college/young adults pastor, English Ministry pastor, and assistant pastor—and taught as an adjunct instructor at Dallas Baptist University and Central Baptist Theological Seminary before joining the faculty full-time. His teaching and speaking engagements span the U.S., South Korea, Guatemala, Myanmar, and Cuba, covering topics such as leadership, followership, missional churches, Asian values, cross-cultural ministry, evangelism, design thinking, and organizational leadership. He has also translated nearly 20 books between English and Korean.
Dr. Park earned his Master of Divinity from the Asian Center for Theological Studies and Mission, a Master of Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Leadership Studies from Dallas Baptist University. His doctoral dissertation explored the leadership experiences of 1.5- and second-generation Korean American pastors through a qualitative lens. He has authored book reviews and articles and is currently writing his second book, Followership: The Other Side of Leadership.
Dr. Park lives in Overland Park, Kansas, with his wife, Su Mi Park, whom he met during his MDiv studies, and their son, Moses. They attend Central Korean GMC (CKGGMC), where he preaches to English-speaking members on Sundays when not traveling. In his free time, he enjoys learning languages, biking, fishing, reading, writing, traveling, and meeting new people. He also runs a YouTube channel, 영설지공.
