John Piper was born in 1946 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, where his father was an itinerant evangelist. He studied literature at Wheaton College (1964-1968) where he met and married his wife Noël. After graduating, he completed a Bachelor of Divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary in California and it was there that he discovered the work of Jonathan Edwards.
Piper completed a doctorate in New Testament Studies at the University of Munich, West Germany in 1974. Upon completion, he taught biblical studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota between 1974-1980. In 1980, John Piper became the Senior Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis Minnesota, where he ministered for almost thirty-three years.
John Piper is the author of more than 50 books and now serves as lead teacher for Desiring God, where more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching material is available for free. He and his wife have been blessed with four sons, a daughter, and twelve grandchildren.