Kendall Knight was baptized 25 years ago in the Queens ministry of the NYC Church of Christ. Six months later he was asked to return to his hometown of Brooklyn, NY to begin training to serve along with the former Dian Dames. In August of 1995, he decided to leave his career in corporate textile sales to pursue the full-time ministry. Kendall was appointed an evangelist in 1996, and Dian was appointed women’s ministry leader.
Kendall was the lead evangelist in the Brooklyn region of the NYC Church for four years and served another two years in the Queens region. God used the Knights’ leadership in a powerful way as the Brooklyn region grew to over 600 members. God also used Kendall and Dian to raise up Ronnie and Sharmarra Rose (currently the leaders of the Greenville, SC church) as evangelist and women’s ministry leader and to forge relationships throughout the Caribbean and Africa.
Kendall has been a part of the North River Church for three years. Known as “Coach” in the fellowship, he is a full-time mortgage banker and football coach, as well as the father of two adopted twin boys, Joshua and Caleb. Currently he and Dian along with Bob Keen, are helping to lead a cutting edge diversity training initiative for the staff and leaders in the church. They also counsel teens and college students and perform pre-marital counseling for engaged couples. Kendall is part of the North Community Leadership Team and is active in building relationships with Southeast church leaders.
The elders and evangelists have asked Kendall to serve North River as a “tentmaker evangelist.” This is a biblical concept that is based on the apostle Paul (Acts 18:3) and other leaders in the early church. It refers to Christian leaders devoted to the ministry, but who receive little or no financial support from the church. They use “tentmaking” jobs to provide their support. In this role, Kendall will serve as a liaison for North River and the Southeast churches, periodically visiting to provide leadership support. He will continue to serve as he has in the past, as well as joining staff meetings and leadership group sessions. We believe this recognition of Kendall Knight as a tentmaker evangelist presents a very exciting time of growth and diversity for our North River family.
