Keith Vincent Garner

Keith Vincent Garner AM
Rev Dr Keith Garner
Born	1955 (1955) (age 62) Stockport, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
Occupation	Australian minister

Keith Vincent Garner AM, born in 1955 in Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK, is an ordained Uniting Church Minister who has been Superintendent/Chief Executive Officer of Wesley Mission in Sydney, Australia since his induction in 2006. In this role, he leads more than 2200 staff and 4000 volunteers in 180 different projects engaged in social and community work with a wide range of community groups throughout NSW. Keith Garner was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday honours for "significant service to the community and for being an advocate for people who are homeless and socially disadvantaged, and to pastoral care". “It is pleasing but humbling to be recognised in your adopted country,” Garner said, emphasising that the award bore testimony to the strong team that he worked with at Wesley Mission. In 2013 he received an award for Outstanding Community Service from the NSW Government. Keith Garner has preached and missioned internationally and is a contributor to the UK evangelical website, The Sermon. Garner is an active supporter of the Evangelical Bible Seminary of Yangon [1], in the Union of Myanmar, which bestowed upon him the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Divinity on 8 March 2008.

Garner is married to Carol and they live on the Lower North Shore in Sydney in the suburb of Roseville. He was ordained as a Methodist minister in 1982 and was a minister at Plymouth, Darlington, Llandudno and Bolton. Garner completed his Master of Theology at Oxford University in 1995, and has preached in Africa, Iceland, Europe, North America and Asia. Garner has been a frequent speaker, whilst in the UK, at festivals and conventions including Cliff College. Garner has been a Rotarian since 1995 and is a member of Sydney Rotary Club and the Australian Club.

In August 2015, as Garner's appointment as Superintendent/CEO of Wesley Mission was extended by the Wesley Mission Council until at least 2020, he said he saw this as the "third phase" of his tenure. The first five years marked his arrival and accumulative understanding of Wesley Mission's rich heritage, present complexity and potential for future development. The following five years he interpreted as building bridges: strengthening relationships and earning the trust of service partners; the third and current phase he wants defined by growth. "Our Word and deed integration is critical in moving forward," he said in a message to congregations.