Keith Garner

Keith Vincent Garner (born 4 January 1955) is a Uniting Church minister and current CEO and Superintendent of Wesley Mission, Sydney, Australia.
Early life and training
Keith is a native of Bolton, UK and was introduced to the Christian faith through Methodist youth work when he was 16 years old. As a young person he served on the National Members Council of the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs.
He graduated in evangelism and mission at Cliff College, England, in 1976 and did his formal training as a Methodist minister at Wesley College, Bristol from 1977 to 1980. During his ministry he obtained a Post-graduate Diploma in Theology through Westminster College, Oxford in 1998 and was awarded an MTh in Applied Theology through the University of Oxford in 1995.
He was awarded a DD Honoris Causa (Honorary Degree) by the Evangelical Bible Seminary, Yangon, Union of Myanmar (Burma) in 2008 in recognition of 25 years of ministry, particularly his preaching and teaching in support of Christians in poorer countries.
Ministry/career history
Prior to entering ministerial formation he was an evangelist at the Bolton Methodist Mission. He began his ministry career at Plymouth Central Hall in 1980, where he was also a higher education chaplain, before becoming the minister of Elm Ridge Methodist Church, Darlington in 1983.
Keith served as a hospital chaplain from 1986 to 1990 and in 1992 he became Superintendent of while also serving as minister of St John’s Llandudno. He was appointed Chair of the Bolton and Rochdale Methodist District in 2001 where he had responsibility for 100 churches, 11 schools and several homes for the aged.
He served as sports chaplain to Bolton Wanderers football team from 2003 to 2004 and was a chaplain with the British Prison Service from 2003 to 2005. While in the UK, Keith was an occasional writer for periodicals, especially the Methodist Recorder newspaper.
Keith’s preaching ministry has taken him to Africa, the USA, Bahamas, Iceland, Myanmar/Burma, Philippines, India, Korea, Ireland, South Africa and throughout Europe. Based in the evangelical tradition, his preaching has a clear message of compassion and social justice.
He has been involved in and committed to the Lausanne Movement and was a participant in Lausanne II (Manila 1989), in the World Congress on Evangelisation in Amsterdam in 2003 and will participate in Lausanne III in Cape Town, South Africa in October, 2010.
In 2005, Keith left the UK to take up the position of CEO of Wesley Mission, Sydney, in February 2006 and participate in the life of the Uniting Church in Australia. He is Chair of the Wesley Mission Board, a member of the Cottee Orchard Board and a member of the national committee of UnitingCare Australia.
As CEO, he leads over 3000 staff and a similar number of volunteers, preaches at the Wesley Theatre each Sunday night, broadcast as Praise, Prayer and Preaching, and hosts Wesley Mission’s weekly television program, Rise and Shine.
He has spoken out on social issues such as gambling, financial stress and homelessness and was part of the Strengthening Communities, Supporting Families and Social Inclusion working group at the 2020 Summit in Canberra in 2008 . He serves on the NSW Premier’s Council on Homelessness and was appointed by the Premier to the Deputy Co Chair from 2010.
Books
Growing with Christ (1986, Elm Ridge Books)
A Real Jesus for a Real World (1989, Team Print, Loughborough)
Cross Talk: Words for the Crossroads of Life (2008, Kentigern Publishers)
TV documentaries, presented
Flying Through the Gospels (2006)
The Three Fathers of Christmas (2006, Award of Excellence at the 2008 Accolade Awards, USA)
Flying Through the Seven Churches of Revelation (2007)
Santa’s Forgotten People (2007, Award of Merit at the 2008 Accolade Awards, USA)
Flying Through Philemon (2009)
DVD releases
The Dynamics of a Living Church (2006)
Wesley Research Reports: including forewords by Dr Keith Garner
Keeping minds well: Mental health is everybody's business (May 2010)
http://www.wesleymission.org.au/News/Research/Mental_Health/default.asp
Give kids a chance: No-one deserves to be left out (November 2009)
http://www.wesleymission.org.au/news/finstress/
Financial stress: The hidden human cost (May 2009)
http://www.wesleymission.org.au/news/finstress/
Homelessness (6 July 2008)
http://www.wesleymission.org.au/News/research/Homeless/default.asp
Childhood Adversity
(18 November 2007)
http://www.wesleymission.org.au/News/research/Beyond_Adversity/default.asp
Mental Illness (Winter 2007)
http://www.wesleymission.org.au/News/research/Mental_Health/default.asp
Financial Stress (Spring 2006)
http://www.wesleymission.org.au/images/Attachments/financial_stress_report.pdf

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