Pastor J. L. Carter was born in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. He is the eldest of seven children. Pastor Carter received his primary education from the Baltimore City public school system. He attended Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, where he majored in Biology and Chemistry. He received his Master’s of Divinity Degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Religion, Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia. He later received his Doctorate of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, as a Samuel DeWitt Proctor Fellow, 1992. In 2010 he asked to serve on the board of Trustees at Morris College, Sumpter, South Carolina. Also in 2010, he was inducted into the Morehouse College, Martin Luther King, Jr. International Board of Preachers. This prestigious honor is only held by a few.

Pastor Carter loves to travel. A few places he has traveled include: Johannesburg and Capetown, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa; Koumiss, Ghana; Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia; Seoul Korea; Edinburg, Scotland, Port-au-Prince and Cap- Haiten, Haiti, and Paris, France.

Pastor has been the chief servant of ARK Church since September 1987. He is dedicated to community development, home and foreign missions. He continues to travel extensively, spreading the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the US and abroad. Pastor Carter has helped many to understand that, “It’s not about us, but it’s all about HIM!”

Pastor Carter is married to First Lady Cora and they are the parents of four adult children, and the proud grandparents of three boys.