Born in Saratoga County, New York, Kenyon's earliest desire was to become an actor, He attended the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston for one year in 1892. But in 1893, after a two-and-a-half-year crisis of faith, Kenyon attended the services of Clarendon Street Baptist Church, led by pastor A. J. Gordon. At this service, Kenyon and his wife, Evva, rededicated their lives to the Lord. Later that year, Kenyon joined the Free Will Baptists and became a pastor at a small church in Elmira, New York.

He pastored several churches in New England and founded the Bethel Bible Institute in Spencer, Massachusetts. Kenyon served as an evangelist for over twenty years. In 1931, he became a pioneer in Christian radio on the Pacific Coast with his show Kenyon's Church of the Air, where he earned the moniker "The Faith Builder." He also began the New Covenant Baptist Church in Seattle. In addition to his pastoral and radio ministries, Kenyon wrote extensively. Among his books are The Blood Covenant, In His Presence, Jesus the Healer, New Creation Realities, and Two Kinds of Righteousness.