Biography of Indiana Pastor Kent Keener

Born in 1936 in Fort Wayne, Indiana to the proud parents of five children Mr. Kent Keener accepted Jesus Christ into his heart at the tender age of five. He credits his mother for giving him his deep Biblical education. Together, they would study for hours the teachings of all things Biblical. Kent was so scholarly in the Word that his family church, Brookside, asked him to teach a class to 12 year olds when he himself was just barely in his teens.

In 1997, Kent and his family moved back to Fort Wayne from Virginia where he left his role as Deacon as well as an Elder with the local congregation. There, he had the responsibilities of visiting hospitals as well as nursing homes to comfort the sick.

When he and his family settled back in to their new home in Fort Wayne, Kent started his renewed relationship with Brookside Church as a regular parishioner. During this transition, he worked a couple of part-time jobs at local factories, but felt he again needed to help others grow in their relationship with Christ. As he began building a rapport with the Brookside staff he soon became a voluntary Deacon and Elder. On March 11, 2002 he was offered a full-time position with Brookside. Although he's not a preacher, his title is that of Pastor of Care Ministries. He has no congregation, nor pulpit, but his role at Brookside is nonetheless just as important. Kent's responsibilities include helping the Senior Pastor with funerals, leading Bible study groups, and giving solace to the needy. He's been teaching the Gospel to seniors every Wednesday evening for the past six years, and has no plans of stopping.

As the Pastor of Care, Kent spends a lot of time visiting with the sick at nursing homes and hospitals during his week. He enjoys helping those with a variety of sicknesses and other needs, and says he receives as much encouragement from them as he gives. Hymnals kick off Kent's Wednesday even Bible study class, followed by an 18 to 20 minute devotional. The class concludes with prayer time which often includes special prayers for family members and friends of the congregation.

Sunday mornings are also filled with Kent's teachings. He meets with groups for prayer time before the main services, and then he spends time as a counselor talking holds one-on-one with members of the church to discuss matters of a more private, but spiritual, nature.

Even though he works and prays at a non-denominational church, that matters little to Kent. He says, "The most important thing is teaching the message of the Cross." It definitely shows that this has been, and will continue to be, Mr. Kent Keener's life's work.