GET TO KNOW BEN

My name is Benjamin Ellis. I was born on June 28th 1983 in Palestine Texas. We moved to Baytown Texas

shortly after I was born and, lived there until I was 6 years old. In 1989 we moved to Crosby Texas,

where I spent the rest of my Childhood.

 

Christ saved me at 9 years old and, I was baptized at Community Baptist Church in Crosby Texas. To

be honest, at the time, all that I understood was that there is a hero named Jesus, and I wanted Him to

be “for me”, or “on my side”. As the years have gone by, I have grown closer and closer to my God

and Savior, understanding that He has saved me by grace, through faith and, has freed me to follow

him and obey his authority in my life. My Parents then began attending Vine Life Christian Fellowship

in Huffman Texas shortly after that. I was a faithful member there through the rest of my childhood,

my teens, and most of my young adult life.

 

By God’s grace I have never gone through a wayward season. The Lord has always been faithful to

sustain me, and is progressively sanctifying me and my family to this day. My family and I take God’s

command to walk with, serve, and steward the local church very seriously, and have been in church

faithfully for our entire marriage.

 

As we faithfully walked with our local church family, God called my family and I into vocational

ministry, and as it stands today, God is clearly continuing to build our testimony to His eternal Glory.

I have been married to my wife Katie for 18 years. We have two daughters, Charli Mae and Andi Lee.

 

What follows is the personal testimony of my call to the ministry.

 

I received salvation and walked the isle when I was 9 years old, at Community Baptist Church in

Crosby Texas. I was baptized there a week later. As previously stated in my testimony, I didn’t know

much of anything except that Christ was the “Good Guy” and I wanted him to be on my side. From my

earliest memories, I cannot recall a time when I did not have genuine love and affection for the Lord,

and by God’s grace, I never had a season in which I walked away from God.

 

In high school, I led parachurch bible studies once a week with my friends from school. I spent my

lunch time every day sharing the and defending my faith with my atheist friends. I earned my high

school nickname, “Bible Baby Ben”.

 

It was while I was in high school that I discovered and began playing music. Though many people that

surrounded me thought that I should pursue vocational ministry, I chose to spend my first ten years

following high school playing in a band, recording records, and touring the country.

 

I married Katie in 2004, and though she supported me in music, she also believed that I was called to

vocational ministry, particularly youth ministry. During this period of my life, I developed another

nickname among my musician peers, “Pastor Ben”. It seemed I could not escape the external call, and

honestly, I felt the internal call, but out of fear and reverence for the responsibility, I was hesitant of the

call.

 

Finally in 2012, I began serving as a lay leader in the student ministry of our local church, Northeast

Houston Baptist Church in Atascocita Texas. I immediately saw fruit among the youth who were in our

care. My experience of expressing and defending my faith throughout my life had equipped me to

handle teenager’s doubts and challenges in a compelling and loving way. The Pastors there began

mentoring me and, helping me grow into my calling in ministry.

 

In 2015, I chaperoned a youth international mission trip to the ex-Soviet Republic of Estonia. Through

a series of events, God called our family to the foreign mission field, in Estonia from 2019 to 2022.

Again, we saw an enormous amount of fruit. We saw many teenagers’ lives transformed, and an entire

church transformed through their youth ministry.

 

God has now called us to youth ministry in Livingston Texas. I have recognized, both the internal and

external call on my life to vocational ministry. I have surrendered to the call, and plan to spend the rest

of my life shepherding God’s people from the cradle to the grave, and giving myself fully to the

advancement of the Kingdom of God.

 

“…seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”,

Matthew 6:33