Willingness Outshines Qualification for Open Doors Australia Founder Dean Keaney

Open Doors Australia founder Dean Keaney shares how his willingness, despite lack of experience, led him to a life of faith-filled courage supporting persecuted Christians.

Key points:

Doubt can get in the way of us doing the things we dream of: are we qualified enough, smart enough, brave enough?

Dean Keaney, founder of Open Doors Australia, felt hugely ill-equipped to create a local branch of the international aid organisation supporting persecuted Christians, but he did it anyway.

Dean writes in Who Me Lord? that he was inspired by Open Doors Dutch founder Brother Andrew, who was known for secretly transporting Bibles into communist countries and sharing the Gospel despite pushback.

“[In the late 50s] Brother Andrew was going into Eastern Europe, communist countries, to take the Word of God to the church there who weren’t allowed to have it,” Dean told Hope 103.2’s UNDISTRACTED podcast.

Hoping to not get caught, Brother Andrew was known to pray, “Lord, when You were here on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now make seeing eyes blind”.

Reading Brother Andrew’s book God Smuggler stirred something deep within Dean.

“That book really challenged my life,” Dean said.

“I thought, if this man is willing to go into those countries, then I can sure help him by putting Bibles into his hands.”

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“I thought, if this man is willing to go into those countries, then I can sure help him by putting Bibles into his hands.

At the time, Dean was working in the credit department of a power company in the United States and quietly struggling.

“I was going through a hard time in my life,” Dean said.

“I was just looking for some comfort and it really spoke to me that other people were going through a lot harder things than what I was facing.”

That growing awareness bridged the gap between comfortable Western faith and the lived reality of believers elsewhere.

“We were living in freedom. We had everything available to us,” Dean said.

“And they couldn’t even own a Bible. I thought, it’s not really fair.”

Eventually, that conviction led Dean, his wife Becky, and their young children to Australia.

“We were willing to sell up, quit the job, leave everything, come to Australia and start this base,” Dean said.

“I didn’t think I was qualified. I just didn’t want to say no to God.”

“I didn’t think I was qualified. I just didn’t want to say no to God.”

Dean also shared what it was like smuggling Bibles into countries such as China and Vietnam.

“When you got to the border, your heart could be beating a little bit,” Dean said.

He recalled being stopped by officials in Vietnam and opening bags full of Bibles… and waiting.

“I felt this presence next to me,” Dean said.

Moments later, the guard’s attitude changed and they were waved through.

“We were able to take every Bible in.”

Now 83, Dean’s retired from Open Doors but retains the same passion to actively share the gospel, whether through prayer groups, mentoring, and everyday conversations at the gym.

“Anything God calls you to do has value,” Dean said.

“You don’t have to be super qualified. Just be faithful.”

“Anything God calls you to do has value,” Dean Keaney, founder of Open Doors Australia

Reflecting on his book, Dean hopes others will feel encouraged.

“God can use anybody who’s willing to put their hand up,” Dean said.

“God is a God of grace, mercy and love.”

Listen to the full episode of UNDISTRACTED with Dean Keaney in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.

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