Kevin Thomas Bauder was born in Midland, Michigan. He received his primary education in Michigan public schools and his secondary education in central Iowa. He married Debra Wright, and presently has two children, Rachel and Joshua. His non-academic life includes interests in outdoorsmanship, gunsmithing, and the shooting sports, as well as a love for the fine arts. Areas of academic pursuit include ecclesiological issues, Baptist history and polity, and the study of American fundamentalism and evangelicalism.