Renowned American singer, songwriter and worship leader born around 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri. Kent is considered a father of the contemporary praise and worship movement of the 1980s and 1990s, and is most well-known for his involvement with
Integrity's [l68644] series. Kent served as a youth pastor and worship leader at [l3249219] (later known as
Grace Church STL) in St. Louis, MO, under
Pastor Ron Tucker, where he and
Tom Brooks produced the church's earliest praise and worship albums with Ron Tucker leading. The album
Behold His Majesty which was released by [l1762485] and recorded at Grace World Outreach Center with Ron Tucker became the very first [l68644] release (HM-1). This association with both [l68275] and
Grace led Tom Brooks (who was Grace's music director and Integrity's new producer) to recommend Kent Henry as the front man for the third Hosanna! release All Hail King Jesus, which was originally recorded at Grace World Outreach Center with Ron Tucker and later overdubbed with Kent's lead vocal. This opportunity led to a consistent relationship with Integrity Music, resulting in Kent leading worship on six Hosanna! Music
Praise & Worship releases.
In addition to his work with Integrity, Kent launched [l3560257] in the 1980s, a magazine with articles related to worship ministry, and which included a song subscription program for teaching new music to churches. As Kent's notoriety grew, he launched an annual worship conference, most often hosted at
Life Christian Center in St. Louis, MO (which was under the leadership of
Pastor Rick Shelton). It was during the live worship sessions at these conferences that many of Kent's live albums were recorded.
Kent has extensive experience as a producer and recording engineer and had a career as a studio session vocalist before entering full-time ministry. He is known to play both piano and guitar and earned his Bachelor in Management in Music and Religion from
Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Kent and his wife Carla have three children: Jessica, Matt, and Ariel, all of whom are involved in worship leading. Kent's daughter Jessica is married to worship leader and Christian musician
Jim Stern, who along with Kent, was involved in the creation of [l1044674].