Born in Bootle, which then was part of Lancashire, Porter's childhood years were in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula. One of four children, all three siblings were sisters. As a teenager, he made a Christian commitment, accompanying his father on preaching engagements, and participating in the Urban Saints. He attended Birkenhead School on a scholarship.
Porter worked in Birkenhead Central Library while qualifying as a Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. In 1969 he took a position with Widnes Public Library. While there, he lectured in music bibliography at Liverpool Polytechnic. He read English at the University of Liverpool, graduating with First Class Honours. While doing so, he developed relationships with people involved with Evangelical movements and organizations. These included the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, Arts Center Group (founded by Nigel Goodwin, Cliff Richard, David Winter, and others), The London Institute of Contemporary Christianity, and the Scripture Union. He then served as book editor for Scripture Union Publishing (later known as Ark Publishing). Leaving this position in 1980, he Freelancer as an author and editor for a wide range of Christian publishers in the United Kingdom, sometimes serving as ghostwriter for another author having a personal story to tell.
David met his wife Tricia, a professional photographer, in Liverpool. After their marriage, they moved to Greatham, Hampshire, buying a cottage next door to L'Abri Fellowship. They have two daughters, Ellie and Lauren. After recovering from a long illness, he then suffered a series of Stroke, and died two months before his sixtieth birthday.
Translation into Italian: Madre Teresa di Calcutta: gli anni giovanili. Roma: Città Nuova, 1990.[5]
Christian Peoples Alliance|Ram Gidoomal; David Porter. The UK maharajas. London: John Murray (publishing house)|Nicholas Brealey, 1997.[6]
(with Colin Duriez) The Inklings Handbook: a comprehensive guide to the lives, thought, and writings of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams (British writer)|Charles Williams, Owen Barfield and their friends. St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, 2001. ISBN 9780827216228 [7][8][9]
Parish of the Falkland Islands|Bagnall, Harry. Faith under fire. Basingstoke: Marshalls, 1983. ISBN 9780551010604 [15]
László Tőkés| Tőkés, László. The fall of tyrants: the incredible story of one pastor's witness, the people of Romania, and the overthrow of Ceausescu. Wheaton, Ill. : Good News Publishers|Crossway Books, 1991. ISBN 9780891076247 [16]
Translation into German: Im Sturm der rumänischen Revolution. ISBN 9783789334375[17][18].
Nightingale, Rita. Free!: true release in Christ in a Bangkok jail. London: Marshall Pickering, 2000. ISBN 9780551032644 [19]
translation into Danish: Fri. Kbh.: Royal, 1984 [20].
Charles Fraser-Smith|Fraser-Smith, Charles. Four thousand year war. Paternoster, 1988. ISBN 9780853644675 [21]