The story could have gone vastly different for a young man who was raised in the concrete jungle of metro New York City. Hearing Ed Keyes tell personal stories of gang life, stolen cars, the drug scene, police chases, and fights—where he acquired the nickname "Fast Eddy"—it seems clear that God placed His protective hand upon the young man from Jersey City, N.J.

Today, Arizona Conference welcomes Keyes as its new ministerial director and assistant to the president for evangelism.

Keyes comes from the New Jersey Conference with a rich background of leadership responsibilities where he served as ministerial secretary, evangelism coordinator, personal ministries director, family life director, church planting director and multi-lingual ministries coordinator. He also worked with women’s, men’s, single’s and couple’s ministries.

Such a résumé may sound amazing—and perhaps impossible—but Keyes is a sanguine, multi-talented person who loves people and the gospel ministry. Soul-winning is his passion. He learned to deal with people in all walks of life as he grew up on the streets of the inner city.

Keyes was raised in a Baptist-Methodist home where he learned to believe in God, but in his teen years, he left the church to join the trouble-makers of his neighborhood. At 20 years of age, he came back to the Lord, and later joined the Adventist Church, where he met his wife, Lillian. They have been married for 19 years and have a son, Andrew, who is a freshman at Thunderbird Adventist Academy, and a daughter, Rebekah, who is in the seventh grade at Thunderbird Christian Elementary.

Before his ministry in New Jersey, Keyes pastored the Medford, Ore., church for four years. He moved from there to Lincoln City, Ore., where he also pastored four years. His churches baptized more than 200 people in those eight years.

One of his greatest ministry joys has been working with youth. Keyes has held "weeks of prayer" at nine senior academies and many other schools. He has seen many youth fall in love with Christ, which has kept him focused on what he believes is really important—people.

Keyes loves basketball, baseball and hiking, but his favorite hobby is hang-gliding. Above all this, he says, the greatest thrill he has ever had is bringing someone to Jesus.