 James Penny was born in 1875 and grew up on a small farm in Kentucky. But the family fell on hard times when his father lost his job, and as a teenage boy, James had to quit school and to work to help support his family. But James Penny had learned early on from his parents the great need to be self-reliant, self-dependent, and most of all, to trust in God. But his parents had taught him something else which would help to form the very foundation of his entire life.