Daniel Willis - Ministry Years

Ministry Years

Willis was ordained a Deacon in Sydney's St Andrew's Cathedral by Archbishop Donald Robinson in 1988 and in December of the same year ordained a Priest in Wollongong's St Michael's Cathedral Church by Bishop Harry Goodhew, who later became Archbishop of Sydney. He served in parish churches of St Phillip's Caringbah, St Albans Frenchs Forest and the Cathedral Church of St Andrew . In 2001, Willis moved from pastoral ministry to become the Chief Executive Officer of Bible Society NSW. Under his leadership the Society saw significant change including moving from its city building to its present location at Macquarie Park and converting from a statutory body under a 1927 Act of the New South Wales Parliament to a company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act (2001) in October 2008. The Board of Bible Society Western Australia enlisted his help from February 2005 to 2007 to assist them with the management and reshaping of their organisation. In 2009, the Jesus. All About Life Project, developed in 2004 and run in Adelaide 2005, Canberra 2006, and in Tasmania 2007, ran across NSW and Western Australia. The project brought together 15 denominations and some 1700 churches to work together in utilizing various forms of media to engage people in a discussion about the relevance of Jesus Christ to everyday life. Willis was a significant driving force in leading the seven independent Bible Societies across Australia to form a single, national company. Members of each Society voted unanimously for the formation of a single corporation in September 2009. In 2010 Willis led the South Pacific delegation to Lausanne’s Third Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa . His involvement with the Lausanne Movement continues to keep his passion for world evangelization at the forefront of his thinking. He has travelled and taught in over 36 countries to mentor and develop emerging leaders.