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Pastor Kenny Carr's Testimony

Pastor Kenny Carr was born on March 28th, 1963 at Henry County Medical Center in Paris , TN. As a child, Kenny joined the church that his family attended, but recalls that he had no idea what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. After graduating from Henry County High School in 1981, lost and empty, Kenny found out quickly that the party scene offered nothing to fill the emptiness of his heart. After working several jobs, he decided to attend RETS Electronic Institute in Louisville, Ky., where he earned an Associates Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. He recalls this era of his life as a very dangerous time of parties and one bad decision after another. Returning to Paris in 1984, he decided to try Memphis because life was going nowhere in Paris. The first day on the job he was introduced to Ron Lipe, whose nickname was "Preach". Kenny thought Preach was his biker name because of the way he looked and was dressed; but soon found out it was an accurate description of Ron because he shared Christ with anyone who could or would listen. Not coincidentally Kenny was assigned to work with Ron. After a few weeks he decided to get a Bible since Ron was talking about it all the time. Each night Kenny retired to his room early to read and study the scripture.

One of those nights in March of '86, Kenny read Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us". Kenny recalls, "That night, unlike any other, I became acutely aware of my sin, realized that Jesus loved me so much while I cared absolutely nothing about Him. He loved me enough to be punished for me. Through many tears, I gave my life to Him that night, and accepted His great gift of Salvation !" God then began to reveal His plan in Kenny's life.

During recovery from a back injury and subsequent surgery, God led Kenny to his precious wife, Jackie. They met in October, Kenny proposed in November, and they married on February 21st,1987. Jackie had a solid foundation in scripture and God used her and her family to bring Kenny to where he is today. Kenny and Jackie surrendered to the ministry in 1988 and Kenny pastored New Hope Baptist Church that same year.

Pastor Kenny graduated from Union University in 1997 with a BA in Religion, and from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2002 with a Masters of Divinity. After serving three churches in 12 years, God led Pastor Kenny to Long Heights in 2000. Kenny states, "We have seen vision become reality in these past seven years, growing from a sanctuary that holds 132 to one that seats 750. We are currently averaging around 550 in worship attendance. God is just getting started! I feel privileged to be pastoring the greatest church filled with the most wonderful people in the world -- people with a passion to Reach the World for Jesus." Pastor Kenny and Mrs. Jackie have two children, their greatest blessings in life, Derek 17 and Kelsey 13.

Reaching Up, Reaching Out, Reaching In ! God Bless !

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