Steven Eugene Carter, Sr. serves as the Senior Pastor of the Mount Ararat Church of Brooklyn, New York, which is the church he was raised in since his early youth. He believes that Mount Ararat is a ministry called to “Empower People to Live Beyond Life Limitations”. God’s favor has been upon the Mount Ararat Church in such a way that it has grown significantly, established new ministries, started a 2nd service to accommodate the growth (prior to the pandemic), developed community outreach programs, and much more since his arrival in July 2004. Prior to being called as pastor, he served for three years faithfully as a staff pastor at Brentwood Baptist Church in Houston.
Pastor Carter is the only child of Mr. Eugene (Deceased) and Mrs. Mary Carter who resides Buford, Georgia. In Brooklyn he received his education at Public School 190, Thelma J. Hamilton Junior High School 275 and Thomas Jefferson High School. He further received the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia and the Master of Divinity Degree in Theology from Duke University School of Divinity in Durham, North Carolina.
Under the leadership of Reverend Dr. Elliott Cuff, was licensed to preach on July 9, 1995 and later ordained on April 8, 2001. While at Morehouse College, he was a leader in the nationally recognized Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel Assistants, under the leadership of Reverend Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr. While at Morehouse, he was selected as a recipient of the NAACP Scholarship and several awards that afforded him many great opportunities. While at Duke University School of Divinity, he had the opportunity to serve as Resident Assistant to the undergraduate students, which afforded him several opportunities to serve as a mentor to others. In addition, during his academic journey at Duke, he served as Chaplain at University of North Carolina Hospital of Chapel Hill. During his time at University of North Carolina, he was able to develop pastoral care skills that will continue to assist him in caring for people in unique Christ-like ways.
Among the gifts and talents that God has granted him, his undeniable passion has been seriously directed towards preaching. He has been blessed to share the gospel at several Churches around the nation and internationally in Uganda. In addition to preaching in Churches, he has lectured, participated in panel discussions and delivered commencement speeches nationally and internationally. He serves also serves as proud Board Member of Precious Dreams Foundation, a national organization geared towards comforting kids in foster care and homeless shelters. He also serves as a Clergy Liaison with the New York City Police Department.
As someone who is committed to learning, in addition to Dr. Elliott Cuff and Dr. Joe Samuel Ratliff, he is favored to have close mentors in the persons of Dr. Ralph Douglas West, Drs. Floyd & Elaine Flake, and Dr. A. R. Bernard. He is the proud and esteemed author of the books “Resurrection from Rejection: Healing in 7 Areas of Rejection in Your Life”. As a result of the powerful message of his initial book, in less than 90 days more than 3000 copies were purchased, he has been the guest on “The Keeping It Real” Rev Al Sharpton Radio Show, featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, and was selected as the Keynote Speaker at the invitation of the White House for the United States of America Annual Family & Services Department. He was selected to be featured in the January 2015 issues of Ebony Magazine which displayed an intimate interview about his life story. He is also the author of “7 Lessons from Failed Relationships”, which was published in 2021. He is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. Last, certainly not least, he is happily married to Mrs. Brenda Carter and they are proud parents to Mason and Steven Eugene Carter, Jr. also known as S.J.