Alumni Feature: Cesar Parra

by Tony van der Hiele

Many of our students find their way to CBT through personal referrals. Whether this is by way of current students, alumni, pastors or other CNBC connections, we are grateful that God is using these promoters to fill our classrooms. One of our school’s valued advocates is Cesar Parra. He is an alumnus of our school and currently serves as the Team Leader for Missions and Evangelism at the Canadian National Baptist Convention. We had some time to visit with Cesar, and today we want to take the opportunity to highlight some God-moments in his life, his heart for people, and his personal experience at our school.

Anyone who has heard Cesar speak or preach will have no doubt that he is passionate – passionate for God and eager to reach those who don’t know Jesus. Originally from Chile, Cesar grew up in Toronto where he met his wife, Mary. From his early years, he has been a natural leader and influencer. After graduating from the Master of Divinity program in 2011, he and his wife Mary and their three children immediately left for Spain to work as missionaries with the International Mission Board. It is inspiring to hear him talk about his journey and God’s guidance in his life. Take God’s calling to his current role for example: When God called him as the CNBC Team Leader – Missions, he shared that at first, he did not want to leave Spain. Cesar had planted several churches, and he and his family loved their life there. But while they were on leave back in Canada and the previous CNBC missions team leader announced his retirement, Gerry Taillon, National Ministry Leader, asked him to consider praying whether God was calling him to stay in Canada for that role. Cesar shares about a God moment: “I spoke to Mary, and we didn’t want to leave Spain. So, we prayed. We would go to this park in Toronto every day, and we would pray separately. Mary would go to the right and I would go to the left. And I said, “Okay, at the end of the month, let’s make a decision.” When that month was over, both Cesar and Mary landed on the exact same passage. Cesar says, “I opened my Bible – I don’t usually do this, but I just opened it anywhere and I remember reading in Acts where Paul was going to Athens, I think, and they tell him, ‘Can you stay here for a year? It is necessary that you stay here.’”

So Cesar and his family stayed in Canada. When asked how he sees God move through him in his current role, he thinks, “God is using me in sending more missionaries, developing more leaders, and starting an evangelistic movement across Canada.” His passion for God, outgoing personality, and heart for missions and youth, align perfectly with his role as the Team Leader for Missions and Evangelism. In that role, he gets to meet many young people and Cesar has a talent for recognizing young leaders. Cesar boldly encourages them to go to CBT, even though some might be hesitant. He tells them, “Yes, it is going to be hard. But the education you are going to get is the best. Because it is one-on-one, it is relational, … and almost everyone [at CBT] is church-planting in one way or another. So, if this is what you want to do with your life, there is no better place.” His love for our family of churches and his first-hand experience with education at our seminary make him the ideal CBT advocate. He says: “God gave me this gift of just convincing people and of being bold and not being afraid…I love our seminary, and I will continue to promote it this way.” 

Despite his love for our school, Cesar shares that studying at CBT was not without challenges. In his previous Fine Arts and Photography education, he never had to write papers and read so many books. “It was very difficult for me to study at that level at 44 years old… But our seminary did a really good job to help me make it through.” What stood out to him was the one-on-one time the professors carved out for him. “You can get your master’s [degree] anywhere in the world, but who is going to give you that [experience]? They prepared me for tough places and are always ready to help.” Cesar says that even now, if he needs some assurance or feedback on a sermon he is preparing, the professors are available to answer his questions.

At CBT we are grateful for people like Cesar, who have the gift of recognizing young leaders and directing them to our school, but also for the role model he is to many young people. Just as God is using Cesar, we pray for students eager to start a movement for God, to train and equip them to be the leaders as God has called them to be.