Loren Benson

Loren Benson holds a Juris Doctorate from the South Texas College of Law (Houston, TX) and BS in Criminal Justice and Political Science. He has served as an Elder, on Missions Teams, taught in Sunday school and Small Groups in various churches in Texas and Colorado. He and his wife also spent two years doing Kingdom work in China. He and his wife, Cindy, have three children and five grandchildren and reside in Temple, TX.

PERSONAL TESTIMONY

I was born into a home where my parents talked about God, read the Bible and devotionals to us around the dinner table and regularly took us to church. Although I heard about God and his love for me early on, I did not really understand what sin was, the consequences of sin and why I needed a relationship with God through Christ.
 
God brought me to faith through His Word, the Holy Spirit’s conviction, my 4th grade Sunday school teacher and my mother. After a lesson on what the Scriptures say about heaven and hell I was troubled over the next several days and wanted assurance that I would go to heaven when I died. After talking with my mother about my thoughts I prayed to God confessing that I was a sinner and that I believed Jesus had died for my sins. I believe that God, at that moment, caused me by faith to pass from spiritual death to eternal life – from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. I was subsequently baptized a few years later.
 
For quite some time after my conversion my spiritual growth was inconsistent and often my attitude toward spiritual things was sadly ambivalent. I was not discipled and really did not seek out discipleship; so, I remained spiritually immature in my faith for a long time mostly going to church to gain approval from my parents and to hang out with friends.
 
It was during my first year in law school when I was far from home, lonely and coping with the stress of law studies, that God stirred in me a desire to get serious about my faith. In addition, I met my wife Cindy during this timeframe and God used her as a significant spiritual encouragement. We were married in 1982 and have, for the bulk of 35 years of marriage, served God together in various roles (Children’s Sunday school, Young Marrieds class, pre-marriage counseling, missions trips, missions committees, etc.). I also served as an elder for 3 years at a church of about 250 families in Englewood, CO.
 
In May of 2013, I retired from the oil and gas industry after 32 years of working for Getty Oil, Texaco and Chevron. Shortly after retirement Cindy and I joined an international organization that provided training as to how to serve God’s kingdom in various parts of the world. By September 2013 we sold our house, stored our possessions and moved to China for 2 years. God taught us a considerable amount about trusting him while serving cross-culturally in an environment that was so different (language, food, living conditions, customs, etc.) than American culture.
 
Upon returning from China we purchased a house in Temple, TX in order to be close to family. Shortly after moving to Temple we visited Tapestry Community Church where we felt right at home from the start. I am eager to see what God has planned for Tapestry Church family in the years to come. Truly I pray that that the people of Tapestry will live for the glory of Christ that the world may see in us the hope for a satisfied life.