Pastor of The Week

Rev. Dr. Juenarrl Keith, Mount Pleasant District AME Church

Juenarrl Keith is the son of the late Nathaniel Keith, Jr. and Cathlean Odeila McCants Keith. Juenarrl Keith attended public schools in Georgetown, South Carolina graduating from high school at the age of seventeen; he completed the requirements for the B. A. degree in 1988 from Morris College, a distinguished historical Black Higher Education Institution of Sumter, South Carolina from which his wife is also a graduate. He earned the Master of Arts degree from Webster University (Charleston Graduate Center) Saint Louis, MO. in 1989.

Dr. Keith completed a Post-Master Certificate in Child Mental Health, sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Mental Health and the University of South Carolina, Columbia SC. After three years of theological study at Erskine Theological Seminary in Due West, South Carolina, he was awarded the Master of Divinity Degree in 1997. He enrolled in graduate studies at Drew University, Madison, New Jersey completing his residence for the doctorate in 2000 and receiving the Doctor of Ministry degree in 2002. In 2001, he completed his clinical pastoral education training at Bon Secour Saint Francis Hospital, Charleston, South Carolina. Dr. Keith completed additional studies at the Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, GA and Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey. Dr. Keith is a graduate of the 2005 Class of the South Carolina Executive Institute sponsored by the South Carolina Budget and Control Board, Columbia, SC. Both the University of Southern California and Harvard Universities provided the academic trainings

Dr. Keith accepted Christ at the age of 15 years-old at Revival under the Reverend J.J. Grant. He accepted the call to ministry at the age of 17. He was ordained and Itinerant Deacon in 1989, Itinerant Elder in 1990 by the Right Reverend Frederick Calhoun James.

In Andrews he met and married Anna Marie Snipes, a young woman of uncommon intellectual and creative arts. Two sons, Juenarrl Nathaniel, Jonathan William and one daughter Ashley Marie, were born into the family. They are the proud grandparents of five grandchildren: Jarell, Jrue, Juenarrl III, Jay, and Jackson.

Simultaneously, as a father & husband, Ordained Clergy and a Mental Health Professional, Dr. Keith became keenly aware that mental health deals with that which is of central importance to churches and the faith community, the wholeness and fulfillment of people. Thus, his career in community mental health began as a volunteer/intern at the Santee-Wateree Mental Health Center, Sumter, SC. In 1989, he became employed at Waccamaw Center for Mental Health. Since then, Dr. Keith has worked in outpatient services as a Child, Adolescent, and Family Therapist, Director of Minority Outreach Services, Director of a free-standing Outpatient Specialty Office, Assistant Executive Director, and Interim Executive Director. Dr. Keith has served on Executive and Management Level Teams for the past sixteen years. Dr. Keith has received training and certification to include but not necessarily limited to: Play Therapy, Procurement, Timekeeper, HIPPA, Employment Evaluation for Supervisors, Disaster Planning and Preparation, Administering and Scoring the CAFAS. His training record extends from Leadership Development to Executive Management is exceptional. Dr. Juenarrl Keith served as the Assistant Director/Chief of Clinical services for The Pee Dee Mental Health Center serving Darlington, Florence, and Marion Counties of South Carolina.

As preacher, teacher and supervisor, he is known for his wealth and diverse experience as a post-modern practitioner.