Ron Carpenter is an Upstate native raised in southern Greenville County. The son of a preacher, Carpenter felt called to a life of ministry himself when he and his wife formed a small church with just a few people in the 1990s.
The congregation grew into one of South Carolina’s largest churches, Redemption Church, which touted 22,000 active members across multiple campuses.
Carpenter left in 2018 to continue his Redemption Church in California, and he turned over the congregation to Pastor John Gray, who renamed the church Relentless Church.
Since then, Carpenter and his wife, Hope, have sparked controversy and become embroiled in an eviction dispute in which Redemption Church claims Relentless Church has not upheld its end of a lease agreement for the Greenville property that Redemption still owns. Gray said Carpenter left Greenville while the local church campus had more than $13 million in debt.
Here’s a look at Carpenter’s life, his ministry and recent developments with Redemption Church:
► Carpenter is a native of Possum Kingdom, a rural community on the southern end of Greenville County. His father, Ronald Carpenter Sr., had served in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church in various leadership roles.
► Carpenter formed Redemption Outreach Center in 1991. He and his wife, Hope Carpenter, ran the church out of a local warehouse with three people.
► Carpenter opened a 300-seat sanctuary in 1994 near the Greenville Downtown Airport, and the church was renamed Redemption World Outreach Center.
► By 2008, Redemption touted its efforts to be a multicultural congregation, with 42 nationalities represented.
► Ron Carpenter revealed in 2013 that Hope Carpenter had carried out an adulterous affair over several years and was seeking therapy, according to an article in The Christian Post.
► The Carpenters made national news in 2017 when Hope Carpenter spoke out against NFL protests, speaking negatively about those who chose to kneel during the national anthem. Ron Carpenter later made a public apology for the comments.
► In 2018, Ron Carpenter announced to the Redemption Church congregation his plans to move to San Jose, California, to continue his ministry there. He took over the Jubilee Christian Center previously led by Pastor Dick Bernal.
► The Carpenters came to the Grays’ aid at Relentless Church in early 2019 to defend them amid recent controversies. Hope Carpenter criticized The Greenville News for coverage of the church and the Grays. During a Sunday service, she said, “I cut people… I got a knife right there in that pocketbook, so Greenville News, come on.”
From cordial handoff to division:Redemption Church’s Ron Carpenter and Relentless’ John Gray Church
► In December 2019, Ron Carpenter sent a letter to John Gray alleging he had failed to make lease payments and needed Relentless to vacate the property by Dec. 31 or an eviction notice would be filed. Relentless remained at the campus into the new year.
► In a response letter from Relentless, attorneys included screenshots of text messages allegedly from Hope Carpenter to church members, saying John Gray is “a shady man” and describing plans to return to Greenville. “We will be taking our church back,” she allegedly wrote.
► On Jan. 2, Ron Carpenter filed an eviction notice in Greenville County to begin the legal process based on claims of non-payments. John Gray has refuted those claims.
► On Feb. 2, Ron Carpenter released a statement acknowledging the current lease dispute and apologizing for “negative press” that Greenville had received as a result.
► In that statement, Carpenter said there were more than 100 pages of evidence to support his claim that Relentless had failed to uphold its financial obligations.
Daniel J. Gross is an investigative watchdog reporter focusing on public safety and law enforcement for The Greenville News. Reach him at [email protected] or on Twitter @danieljgross.