Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) states: “6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV) declares: “17 ‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,’ says the Lord.”

If there are any scriptures that aptly reference Pastor Al’s outlook on both life and ministry, these are it.  They serve as the guideposts for how Pastor Al exercises faith.  Knowing that the Lord God Almighty will never leave him nor forsake him and that no weapon that’s formed against him shall prosper, there is absolutely nothing that will deter Pastor Al from walking in faith and serving His Heavenly Father with all of his heart, mind, body, and soul.

Pastor Al, whose real name is Tolly Albert Kennon, III, was born on December 19, 1973 in Manhattan, Kansas at the United States Army base, Ft. Rally.  From six months old until adulthood, Pastor Al—“Allye” as his parents affectionately called him—was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina.  As the eldest of two sons, Pastor Al was reared in a loving home that stressed education, discipline, and humility.  Firm but fair, his parents instilled within him the value of hard work, the necessity of dealing honestly with other persons and the deep-rooted respect and fear of the Lord God.

Pastor Al was educated in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg public school system.  Upon graduation, he attended Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia where he earned his Bachelor of Art degree in Political Science.  After attending Hampton University, Pastor Al next attended the University of Miami School of Law located in Coral Gables (Miami), Florida where he earned his Juris Doctor degree. Beginning in 2002 and ending in May 2006, he attended Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina earning his Master of Divinity degree with honors in May 2006. Because the calling to pastoral ministry is a call to excellence, Pastor Al returned to school in August 2014 to obtain his Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.  The project that Pastor Al submitted to satisfy the requirements of United’s doctoral program was entitled: Breaking Brokenness: A Mentorship Training Program Designed to Address the Brokenness That Results Directly from Parental Absence During Childhood.  In May 2017, United Theological Seminary conferred upon Pastor Al the Doctor of Ministry degree.

Pastor Al was admitted to practice law in Florida in November 1998, in the District of Columbia in March 2000 and in North Carolina in May 2000.  For nine years, Pastor Al owned and operated of Kennon & Associates, a full-service law firm designed to meet the needs of the downtrodden and legally neglected. 

In 2014, God enabled Pastor Al to plant Epiphany Christian Church.  On February 16, 2014, Epiphany held its very first Exultation Service and session of Disciples’ Academy. Upon the leading of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Al was led to apply for the senior pastorate at First Fellowship Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was overwhelmingly elected the senior pastor of this church on Sunday, November 12, 2017, and began serving this loving, church family on January 6, 2018. Currently, Pastor Al serves as the adjunct professor of Research Design and Methods, a faculty consultant, and a human subject analyst in the Doctor of Ministry Program at United Theological Seminary.  Often, Pastor Al is called upon as a guest preacher and/or lecturer at churches from a wide variety of different Christian denominations. 

Pastor Al is currently married to Elizabeth Nicole Bostic Kennon and is the proud father of two daughters and one son: Zoë Catherine Gale Key; Emma Ryane Kennon and Tolly Albert Kennon, IV.  If there is one quote that succinctly summarizes Pastor Al’s calling to and vision for ministry, it would be: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves…be not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts and therefore, will be blessed in his doing.”