Meet Pastor Tony Keeling

Tony Keeling is an entrepreneur, mentor, and Superintendent of COGIC Israel Detroit. He is also the Senior Pastor of Ambassadors for Christ COGIC in Detroit, MI. He was born in Paducah, KY., and grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. Keeling is a retired schoolteacher and administrator who taught for 29 years earning Distinguished Teaching Awards, Teacher of the Year, and Excellence in Education.

He spent his working life in academia helping his students achieve city, state, and national recognition academically. Tony educationally assessed student performance in various subjects, evaluated students' knowledge and skills, and measured college readiness for high school students. Tony’s students and/or the subject content taught to students scored in the top 10% continuously throughout his tenure of teaching in Michigan. 

Tony also hosted two radio programs in the Detroit Wayne County metropolitan area for several years. (Talk Time with TK 1440 AM WDRJ & Real Talk 1340 AM WEXL). He served on the Parks and Recreation Commission for Westland, MI for a number of years and received The United States Congress awards for Community Service. Tony is a regular Television Minister, On TCT Ministries, “Ask The Pastor,” and is currently on the board of COGIC Israel Jurisdiction, an international ministry to Israel. In Detroit he has collaborated with the NAACP, The Detroit Parent Network, The African American Museum, Professional mentoring programs with lawyers, judges, bankers, doctors, business, and religious leaders. 

Tony is founder of Times to Seed Christian Center, TTS Youth Development Program, TTS Business Conferences, and TTS Spiritual Empowerment Conferences. Tony has collaborated with FIEBA (Fellowship of Israelis, Ethiopians, & Black Americans) and AIPAC a bipartisan, pro-Israel political action committee. Tony has spent numerous years lobbying in Washington DC on behalf of various religious and social causes.

His educational background includes a number of certificates from Hawkeye-Tech and Hawkeye Community College. He has a BA in education from the University of Northern Iowa and an MA in Education from Almeda University. He has continued to take college courses in education and religion to increase his knowledge and understanding and stay abreast of the current issues today. 

In 2003, he was licensed in ministry by Dr. Matthew Rutland, New Missionary Baptist Church Detroit, MI. He was ordained by Pastor Glenn R. Plummer, Ambassadors for Christ Church (2008) Redford, MI. He became a Faith Partner of Bill Winston Ministries, Forest Park, IL., 2017. Pastor Keeling was later ordained by the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) under the leadership of Bishop J. Jew Sheard Michigan-North Central (2020) Detroit, MI. In 2021, he was appointed Superintendent of COGIC Israel Detroit, by Bishop Glenn R. Plummer.

He is happily married to business owner Minister, Evangelist & First Lady Esther D. Keeling. They currently reside in Livonia, Michigan and serve together as a marvelous couple in ministry plus business. They are parents to a wonderful, blended family, which includes eight adult children and seventeen beautiful grandchildren.