Pastor Dave Benefield
Joined Lighthouse Staff: July, 2004
Areas of Ministry: Connection, Pastoral Care, Prayer, Finance
Family: Roxie is my amazing wife (as someone has told me, “I married above myself…”) We were married in May of 1990. We have three wonderful children – Brooke-17, Cassie-14 and John-9 and have lived in Prosper since 1995.
Saved: I met Jesus in the summer of 1985 at a water skiing conference/campout at Inks Lake outside of Austin Texas. A church from College Station (go Aggies!) had put the conference on as outreach. Pastor Ron Tewson and Lee Jarrell preached on “God’s Will for Your Life” out of 2 Corinthians 5 – I went back to my tent and prayed “Jesus, if you are really here and You are the only way to Heaven, then save me – but let me know that You are really here!” My life changed immediately and dramatically – and ever since then, I’ve had an insatiable desire to know our Awesome God!
Education: BBA in Accounting from Texas A&M University
Previous Line of Work: Well, primarily a CPA... I started out in public accounting at Arthur Young & Co., worked for an amazing oil and gas company, had a private CPA practice, owned a recording studio, then ended up in international finance as the Director of International Accounting at Blockbuster and later as the International Controller for Kinkos, Inc.
One of the Things I Find Most Fascinating: Aviation and how God made air so that things could fly – but the thing I marvel at the most is the Gospel and how God loved me enough to allow Jesus to die for me… Wow!
{FAVORITE}
Book: The Bible (of course…); after that, probably my private pilot manual
Food: Lobster
Snack Food: Almost anything chocolate
Movie: The Jason Bourne series… or Top Gun (just the flying scenes)... or Cinderella Man... or Master & Commander
Musical Artist: Iona (Heaven’s Bright Sun – THE best album)
Actor/Actress: Matt Damon or Russell Crowe
Season: Every season has its perfect moments!
Place in the World: anywhere my family is… preferably in St. John or next to a trout in a mountain stream
Place to Pray: on a mountain or in a deer blind
Recreational Activity/Hobby: Aviation, remote control airplanes, every kind of hunting, golf, soccer, bass guitar, drums, keyboard, banjo…
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
Sport: Football
Sports Team: Dallas Cowboys or the Fightin’ Texas Aggies, Whoop!
{LEAST FAVORITE}
Food: pickles
Snack Food: pickles
Season: pickles… sorry, I like all the seasons but I hate pickles, pickle juice or even the smell of pickles…
Place in the World: humid places unless it’s by a beach
Sports Team: anyone who competes against the Cowboys or Aggies
{AND MORE}
Best Thing Someone Said to You: “Today I wrote you 3 letters, ‘Y-E-S’” (written in a card from my sweet wife when she told me she’d marry me!!!)
Life Motto: “He died for all that those who live would no longer live for themselves but for Him Who died and rose again on their behalf.” 2 Corinthians 5:15
Three People I’d Like to Meet: Yonggi Cho, Billy Graham, Cung Le
My Hero: My dad who was an awesome husband to my mom and an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed - or one of his brothers: My Uncle Doug – former Chief Test Pilot for Rockwell International, the B-1 bomber and the Concorde; or My Uncle Allen who defended our country in the government and made animals for me out of Bubble Yum the day my dad died when I was 12
One of My Greatest Experiences with God: How He delivered me from depression as I worshipped Him (Isaiah 61:1-3)
Most People Don’t Know This About Me: I am a private pilot and had the privilege of flying a little Cessna 150 from Sacramento CA all the way back to McKinney TX. Unforgettable.
