Dr. Kendrix J. Gardner 

The ministry of Kendrix J. Gardner is a real manifestation of Kingdom work. Since the age of seventeen, Pastor Gardner has been teaching and preaching the Gospel message. Since the age of twenty, he has been operating as a gift to the body of Christ in the pastoral office. Pastor Gardner also worked as a public educator in Georgia and Florida. He received his B.A. Degree in Theology from Christian Bible College, Rocky Mount, North Carolina; a Bachelor of Science Degree in Special Education from Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia in 1998. In 2007, Pastor Gardner earned a M.S. Degree in Management of Educational Programs at Nova Southeastern, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. and has attended Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA. He is currently working on his doctoral studies in Leadership Ministry. 

Pastor Gardner received an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 2006 from St. Thomas Christian College- Jacksonville, FL.  In 2006 Pastor Gardner was selected as WHO’s WHO by the Heritage Registry. This organization is the original Heritage group for Clergy covering Canada and the United States. Further, Pastor Gardner was nominated and selected as a member of the 2006 Lowndes Leadership Class. He has held teacher certifications in Georgia to teach Special Education and regular education K-12. 

In 1998, after pastoring established churches in both Georgia and Florida, Pastor Kendrix Gardner planted the Christian Love Bible Baptist Church (CLBBC) in Valdosta, Georgia where he served as senior pastor from 1998 to 2010. The church is still a vibrant, growing church. In 2010 Pastor Gardner was called to the renowned New Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church (NMZ) in Lakeland, FL. Dr. Gardner fruitfully and faithfully served NMZ for approximately 10 years. As of March 2020, Dr. Gardner serves as co-senior pastor of the New Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Tampa, FL., alongside Rev., Dr. H. L. Daniels. In 2022, Dr. Gardner became the sole senior pastor of New Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. 

By the appoint of President Bartholomew Banks Pastor Gardner served as the Late-night Chairman and Director of Evangelism for the Progressive M and E Baptist State Convention of Florida, Inc. Pastor Gardner was appointed to serve on as a member of the Lakeland Gang Task Force Committee 2013-2016. He served two one-year terms as President of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Lakeland (IMA) 2016-2017. He is a lifetime member of the NAACP. 

He is the founder and CEO of Straightway Solutions Inc. a non-profit entity that collaborates community and faith-based consulting for empowerment. He is the author of 21 Days of Hope, Keepers of the Vision, God’s Treasure of Salvation, Growing in Stewardship and other published works. 

He and his lovely wife, the former Tasnee Daniels, reside together in Tampa Florida and strive to fulfill God’s work.