Elder Carroll Bains was baptized and confirmed in 1953 at Beautiful Savior American Lutheran Church in Amarillo, Texas at the age of elevens, following early Southern Baptist church and Sunday School affiliations. Since leaving Amarillo for the Navy in 1958, he and his family have actively affiliated with several Lutheran congregations around the country and overseas during his 28-year career as a carrier-based US Naval Aviator. Late summer, 1976, brought the family to Virginia Beach from an overseas tour of duty in Greece, arriving here for duty aboard the new nuclear aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz CVN 68. A Nimitz colleague introduced Carroll and family to the new seed congregation of Hope Lutheran Church, at that time conducting services in the cafeteria of the Fairfield Elementary school. The family found a friendly, welcoming, young Christian family here, and Carroll, Charlotte and son, Christopher, became active near-charter members of the new Hope congregation. After 3 ½ years here, Carroll was ordered to Washington, DC, where the family was active with an LCMS church in Fairfax county. Orders back to the Norfolk area came in 1982 for his last four years of active duty, retiring from the Navy in 1986. Returning to membership in Hope was a welcome homecoming.

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After Navy retirement, Carroll worked in local real estate, managed two different Radio Shack stores and managed a cellular phone company Inventory Department until early retirement in 2001. Carroll has been active with Hope Church Council, as Trustee for property, Council Vice President, various Council Liaison positions and ministry leader. He has served as leader of the Leisure Lutherans’ senior ministry from 2005 to the present. Currently, Carroll also serves as the Treasurer for the Knights of Hope men’s ministry. Over the years, he has served as Lay Reader, Communion Assistant, Usher and Greeter and has participated in church worship presentations and on call committees.

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Carroll graduated from Amarillo Junior College with an associate’s degree, later graduating from the US Naval Postgraduate School with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Political Science and Area Studies. He is also a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed forces (ICAF), the US Naval War College, with Post Graduate work in International Economics with the George Washington University off-campus program while attending the Naval War College. Carroll Graduated With Honors from the Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA, completing the 47-week Greek language course.