Garland Owensby, D.Ed.Min, is Assistant Professor of Youth Ministries at Southwestern Assemblies of God University (Waxahachie, TX).

Garland Owensby was born and raised in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. He attended Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God in Lakeland, Florida, earning a B.A. in Pastoral Ministries. For one year following graduation, Garland ministered as a children's/teen evangelist with Don Triplett and the Castillo del Rey team in El Salvador, Central America. A highlight of the year was leading over 400 students in spreading the Gospel to in excess of 150,000 people in just 3 days!

Following the mission experience, Garland married Tiffani Hester of Bartow, Florida and the two began a life of ministry together. They were first youth pastors at Northside Assembly of God, Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The group saw tremendous growth as well as discipleship and evangelistic involvement. In 1993, Garland and Tiffani accepted the youth pastorate of First Assembly of God, Ocala, Florida. This group also saw great growth both in spiritual and numerical matters. Speed the Light giving quadrupled during his 4 1/2 years of ministry there. His family also experienced growth as his son Austin was born in April of 1997. Garland is pleased the most with the number of students that were called into full-time ministry while he was youth pastor in Ocala. Many are in full-time ministry or training for it at this time.

The family welcomed identical twin boys Bryson and Logan in 2000. In 1998, Garland completed his Master of Science in Practical Theology from Southwestern Assemblies of God University. The Fall of 1998 was his first semester as Youth Ministries Coordinator for SAGU. He is dedicated to equipping young men and women for a lifetime of ministry to youth. During his time at Southwestern he has developed the SAGU Youth Ministries web site resource for youth workers which contains hundreds of web links and downloadable resources. He also created a comprehensive 2-year follow-up program to assist young youth ministers in successfully navigating their first two years of ministry.

He is also an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God and a member of the Association of Youth Ministry Educators a professional organization of professors teaching youth ministry in a college, university or seminary setting. He is currently working toward a Doctor of Educational Ministries from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX. This degree is preparing him to not only teach in the classroom but also to effectively work in the areas of pastoral ministry and Christian education. The degree has taken him to Phoenix, AZ, Boston, MA, Nashville, TN, and St. Louis, MO for field study. He has excelled in courses covering Postmodern Youth Ministry, Creative Leadership, Youth Culture and Curriculum for Church Growth. Owensby has contributed to YouthWorker Journal, Group Magazine, Youth Leader Magazine, The Ocala Star Banner, the book "Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks 3" edited by Wayne Rice and most recently an article on Uncommon Communion Ideas for Group Magazine.

He is also a frequent speaker at District Youth Conferences and regional youth ministries. Garland is available to speak for your youth services, volunteer leader training, seminars, retreats, sectional rallys, camps and consultation. If he can be of service, do not hesitate to contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .