Meet Kent Carter | Church Young Adult and Online Coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kent Carter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kent, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
During the summer before my last semester of college, my father was diagnosed with aggressive Stage IV Esophageal Cancer. As my father sought treatment, we learned that it was very possible my father could have less than a year left. When August came around, I was faced with the choice of either trying to finish my last semester of college several states away, hoping that my dad survived long enough for me to return, or to take some time off from school so that I could spend that time with my dad. With so many unknowns on both sides I ultimately, chose to return to school, but after one day I knew I had made the wrong choice. I flew back home three days later and my dad passed away less than five months after. Despite the difficulty making this decision, I am forever grateful for those final months that I got to spend with my dad.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I graduated from a Christian ministry university on fire to change the world and the church in December of 2019. Fast forward a few months and the whole world was sheltering at home, most churches ceased all hiring entirely, and I was working at Chick-fil-a. For the next year, I felt incredibly discouraged. Even as quarantines began to lift, I still could not find a job with a local church and I began to wonder if maybe I was the problem. Maybe I just simply wasn’t good enough or lacked some quality that was necessary to have a role in vocational Christian ministry. So I started to pursue a career in public education instead. But the further I progressed down this path the more unsettled I began to feel. Until I made a “deal” with God to spend one final summer applying for open ministry positions before abandoning this path entirely. Soon after a mentor of mine from my home church, asked me to intern with him for the summer. The internship was not in an area of ministry that I was interested in and there was no promise of any full time role to follow. But I had better options for the summer and so I accepted and resolved to learn and grow as much as possible from this opportunity. One week before the internship began, my mentor informed me that he was leaving his current church position and moving across the country to be a senior pastor. From there, I spent the summer learning to fill the big shoes left by my mentor and by the end I was offered a modified version of his old position. My current role has evolved some since then, but many things have remained the same. I do not believe that in my story there are any fantastic moments of overcoming obstacles, but rather I persisted and kept myself “in the game” long enough for the right opportunity to come my way.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would say the top three places I would need to make sure we visited would be Lake Lewisville, the Fort Worth Zoo, and the Goatman’s Bridge. Lake Lewisville is simply a great place to relax and have fun with friends during the summer! The Fort Worth Zoo has a great atmosphere with all their exhibits and is easy to spend almost a whole day there alone. And the Goatman’s Bridge is an fun urban legend in DFW with many cities even having their own “bridge”, but I would probably take my friend to the Old Alton Bridge. It’s a truly unique bit of DFW culture!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents deserve so much of the credit for the person that I have become, but I would like to specifically recognize my mom. In the Bible passage 2 Timothy 1:5, the Apostle Paul recognizes how the faith and life that his protégé Timothy lived was a reflection of the same faith that Timothy’s mother and grandmother demonstrated in their own lives. My own faith and character was passed to me from my amazing mom and I am so grateful for the gift she is to me.

Website: www.prestontrail.org/youngadults

Instagram: @prestontrail_ya