Positive Confession

 Essek William Kenyon (E. W. Kenyon) (1867–1948) was a pastor of the New Covenant Baptist Church and founder and president of Bethel Bible Institute in Spencer, Massachusetts. At age 17, he was converted in a Methodist prayer meeting.

He became a church member in his early twenties and gave his first sermon at a Methodist Church in Amsterdam, New York.

Kenyon had a crisis of faith and left the faith for 2 1/2 years prior returning to the Lord in 1893. Although desiring to be an actor, Kenyon earned a living as a piano and organ salesperson. In an attempt to hone his acting skills, Kenyon attended the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston for one year in 1892 studying acting.

While at Emerson, Kenyon's religious beliefs were influenced by the New Thought Movement. He would influence and inspire later Christian leaders who taught "positive confession" or prosperity theology in the Word of Faith Movement.

Kenyons Gospel Publishing Society