Garrison to Retire from Global Gates at End of Year

Dr. David Garrison will retire from his post as Global Gates Executive Director effective Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. Garrison and his wife Sonia joined Global Gates in 2014 when he began serving as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors. He was named Global Gates Executive Director the following year.

“When we joined Global Gates, we saw it as one of the most important breakthroughs God had created to advance the fulfillment of the Great Commission,” Garrison said. “With each passing year, we become more and more convinced of the strategic value of what God is doing in and through Global Gates. Global Gates has an enormous horizon before it, which has only begun to be filled.” 

“Sonia and I are so encouraged by the caliber of missionaries and Kingdom servants that God is drawing into this Global Gates vision, and it is with considerable sadness that we move toward retirement. At the same time, we see a strong present and bright future for this ministry. Please join us as we pray for the new servant leaders that God will raise up.”

Global Gates Board of Directors Chairman Cindy Wiles said Garrison’s leadership propelled a young organization with a noble and ambitious vision to a place of public prominence in the Christian community.

“With a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of Christian Missions, David has been a Kingdom leader whose influence has impacted gospel work and the Church worldwide through his research, writing, speaking, and prognostics,” Wiles said on behalf of Global Gates Board of Directors. “During his term of leadership at Global Gates he has capably expanded the Global Gates’ vision, strengthened systems of administration and governance, and expanded the base of support and public awareness of Global Gates for more effective engagement with unreached peoples in global gateway cities.”

“In all things, Sonia has served in tandem as a generous partner and spouse to David, offering her presence, spiritual maturity, skills and leadership to the Global Gates family and those they serve. The Garrisons will be missed in the Executive leadership role.”

David and Sonia will remain friends of Global Gates, and will serve as consultants and partners with the organization.

“Though we will be retiring from Global Gates, we will not be retiring from the Great Commission,” Garrison said. “In our next chapter, we will be Global Gates’ biggest fans and cheerleaders.”

Garrison, who turned 65 years old in May, will pursue research and writing projects dedicated to the enrichment of Christian missions for effective engagement, while always asking, “What’s it going to take to see the world come to saving faith in Jesus Christ?”

David and Sonia, who have four adult children and one grandchild, enter their next stage of life with nearly four decades of missionary service. David, a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University, Golden Gate Seminary, and the University of Chicago, from which he earned a PhD in Historical Theology in 1988, and Sonia served with the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention for 31 years.

Their time with the IMB included stops in North Africa, India, Europe, and Asia. Garrison, a veteran pioneer in the understanding of church-planting movements among unreached peoples, is the author and editor of several books, including “The Nonresidential Missionary,” “Church

Planting Movements,” and “A Wind in the House of Islam.” His books have been translated into more than 20 languages.