Terry Swanson was born in Sioux City, Iowa and raised a few miles north of the city on a family beef farm. His family attended a fundamental, Bible preaching church which faithfully exposed him to the gospel. As a result, at the age of seven, he understood his need for a savior and asked Jesus to save him. He attended Bob Jones University where he met his wife Vicki, and God has blessed them with two boys and two girls. After college he spent four years teaching in a large Christian high school in Pennsylvania and then several more years as a business manager in Maine. During their eighteen years in Maine he also served as a deacon in their Baptist church, and it was that which God used, through his pastor, to call him into pastoral ministry.  In the ensuing ten years God blessed him to be a part of four different church ministries, two in Maine as both an assistant and senior pastor, and two in Iowa. In 2012, God directed for him to accept a staff position as the Dean of Men at Baptist College of Ministry where three of their children were already students.

He is still a farm boy at heart, so county fairs and tractor pulls are a favorite along with visiting museums and historical sites. His favorite place to take his wife is the Cheesecake Factory, but any kind of pizza is a close second.  He is devoted to seeing young men so captivated by the presence of God in their lives that they want nothing else.