Meet Your Speaker

Michael Carder was raised in the mountains of West Virginia, Michael learned early the value of hard work, resilience, and responsibility. At just 18, he began working as a correctional officer, where exposure to the worst in people gradually left him bitter and disillusioned. After turning 21, he met Crystal, and within months they married, committing to build a life together. Over the next four years, they welcomed three children, yet Michael sensed something was missing and began to wonder if there was more to life than what he was living. In an attempt to fill that emptiness, he chased temporary satisfaction through worldly possessions and the latest “big kid” toys. But when he was injured on the job, everything changed. During a season of confusion and uncertainty, Michael and his wife were providentially offered Bible studies, where he fell in love with the words of Jesus and the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Since then, he and his family have shared a deep desire to point others to the same truth they discovered, carrying a burning passion to serve God for the rest of their lives and to share the gospel wherever they are called.