Tony Gryskiewicz, M.A.
Assembly of God World Missionary, Associate Pastor of Vienna Christian Center, Vienna, Austria
Tony Gryskiewicz, M.A.
Assembly of God World Missionary, Associate Pastor of Vienna Christian Center, Vienna, Austria
[email protected] , or [email protected]
Education:
- B.A., Biblical Studies – Southeastern University
- M.A., Intercultural Studies – Southwestern University
- Ph.D. Student in Intercultural Studies – Biola University (in progress)
Expertise:
Tony has been involved in ministry for over thirty years serving as a pastor, missionary, and leader in multicultural youth ministry. His research interests include youth ministry in an intercultural context, the role of faith in teen ethnic-racial identity (ERI), and developing healthy multicultural youth ministries.
Background:
After serving in youth ministry for nearly 20 years in the United States, Tony was appointed an Assembly of God World Missionary to the youth of Europe in 2006. Serving first in Spain, Tony now serves as the associate pastor of youth ministry development at Vienna Christian Center in Vienna, Austria.
Garland Owensby, D. Ed. Min.
About:
The late Garland Owensby taught at Southwestern from the Fall of 1998 to the Spring of 2023. As the Youth and Student Ministries Professor and Coordinator for the school, he was dedicated to equipping young men and women for a lifetime of ministry to youth.
Owensby was raised in the Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and was father to three sons, Austin (1997), Bryson and Logan (2000) with his wife, Tiffani.
Prior to serving at Southwestern, Garland ministered as a children’s/teen evangelist with Don Triplett and the Castillo del Rey team in El Salvador, Central America. Then he served in local church ministry, first as youth and children’s pastor at Northside Assembly of God, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and then as youth pastor of First Assembly of God, Ocala, Florida.
Garland earned a B.A. in Pastoral Ministries from Southeastern College of the Assemblies of God in Lakeland, Florida. He held a Master of Science in Practical Theology and a Master of Arts in Bible & Theology from Southwestern Assemblies of God University. He also completed a Doctor of Educational Ministries degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX. The doctoral project assisted students to incorporate classic spiritual disciplines into their lives.
Owensby was active in evangelistic ministry speaking in churches, youth groups, public school assemblies, training, youth camps and conventions across the nation. His engaging, humorous, and biblical preaching style made him a favorite of churches. These qualities made him a natural for performing stand-up comedy, which allowed him to broaden his reach and touch more people’s lives, especially after being introduced to a national audience on XM/Sirius satellite radio’s clean comedy station, Laugh USA.
Garland also contributed to YouthWorker Journal, Youth Leader Magazine, The Ocala Star Banner, the Pentecostal Evangel, TheRomantic.com, The52.com, Momentum Leadership Training, The Evangel, and the book “Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks 3” edited by Wayne Rice and to Group Magazine writing the feature article “Uncommon Communion”.
