I am a native of Walker, LA. I was born as one of twin boys to Edward and Annie Carpenter. I was raised going to church, but it was at the age of 10 that I understood the Gospel and repented of my sins and accepted Christ as my Savior. 

At 15, while at a summer youth camp, I felt God calling me to preach. I received a B.A. in Bible with a minor in Greek from Southern Methodist College. I also married Linda Yoder. 

I pastored a church in Summerton, South Carolina for three years, where my daughter Jessica was born. Afterwards I and my family went to study Spanish at Rio Grande Bible Institute and Language School. My son Stephen was born there. After finishing language studies, we went to Oaxaca, Mexico, where I mainly served in leadership training for a year and a half. 

We returned to the US, and  I earned my Masters in Old Testament from Columbia International University. In 1991 we went to Maturín, Venezuela, serving with the Dios Es Amor Evangelical Church. While there, I worked in Bible Institute, was part of the leadership of the church, helped begin a training institute in the local church, lead a team to plant their first daughter church, and traveled extensively throughout Venezuela to several other countries to do leadership training. After the death of my first wife, I later married Yulmari Sequea, a Venezuelan, with two children, Sarai and Rommel.