Kenyon was born on April 24, 1867, in Hadley, New York. At age 17, he was converted in a Methodist prayer meeting. He became a church member in his early twenties and gave his first sermon at a Methodist Church in Amsterdam, New York,He had received the Holy Spirit. Although desiring to be an actor, Kenyon earned a living as a piano and organ salesperson. In an attempt to hone his acting skills, Kenyon attended the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston for one year in 1892.

Kenyon first married Evva Spurling. The two were married on May 8, 1893. Shortly afterward, Kenyon attended the services of Clarendon Street Church led by pastor Adoniram Judson Gordon. At this service, Kenyon and his wife became Christians.

Later that year, Kenyon joined the Free Will Baptists and became a pastor at a small church in Elmira, New York. In 1898, Kenyon opened Bethel Bible Institute in Spencer, Massachusetts, which remained in operation until 1923. He was its president for twenty-five years. The school later moved to Providence, Rhode Island and became Providence Bible Institute. It later became Barrington College and merged with Gordon College, which was named after one of Kenyon's many mentors, A.J. Gordon.

Evva Kenyon died in 1914. Subsequently, Kenyon married Alice M. Whitney and had a son and a daughter with her. In 1948, E. W. Kenyon died.

Below are many of E. W. Kenyon's published works:

• Advanced Bible Course: Studies in the Deeper Life
• Bible in the Light of our Redemption: A Basic Bible Course
• Blood Covenant
• Father and His Family: The Story of Man’s Redemption
• Hidden Man of the Heart
• Identification
• In His Presence: The Secret of Prayer
• Jesus the Healer: Has Brought Healing to Thousands
• Kenyon’s Living Poems
• New Creation Realities
• New Kind of Love
• Signposts on the Road to Success
• Two Kinds of Faith
• Two Kinds of Knowledge
• Two Kinds of Life
• Two Kinds of Righteousness
• What Happened: From the Cross to the Throne
• Wonderful Name of Jesus: Our Rights and Privileges in Prayer