Mt. Pleasant church welcomes new face to pastoral staff

BY BRYCE KELLY

Mt. Pleasant News

There?s a new face at the Mt. Pleasant First United Methodist Church (FUMC), and she?s here to make a positive impact on the community.

Luann Benge, of Morning Sun and originally from Mississippi, officially began her new post at the FUMC in early July and is now digging into her role as the church?s associate pastor. For Benge, pastoring is not a new practice, as she has been a pastor for five years. And if her own experience isn?t enough, her husband, also a Methodist pastor, leads a church in the Oakville community.

?My decision to get involved in ministry was a calling from God that happened several years ago,? Benge said, who insisted she felt she was meant to do something bigger with her life. ?Eventually, through various connections through the United Methodist Church, I realized that God was calling me to full-time ministry.?

After finishing her licensing to become a FUMC pastor, Benge started at her first post at Bethel United Methodist Church, outside of Sigourney, while still working as a formulations specialist for an animal feed producer. In 2013, Benge quit her secular job and started working strictly as a pastor, while also pursuing her full degree. In the fall, she will be taking extended learning courses to complete her Masters of Divinity.

?A lot of people ask me if it was hard to leave my secular job for ministry, and I can say it really wasn?t. I knew my real calling was for the church, and I was nervous about it, but that?s where Scripture came in and gave me reassurance,? she said. ?And also, I had my husband?s support and the support of my family.?

Since beginning her post in Mt. Pleasant, Benge says she couldn?t be more excited about working within the Henry County community. And while she says she and her husband plan to remain residents in the Morning Sun community due to her husband?s pastoral position there, she insists the community will still get to know him and their two children as time goes on.

?Where I was before was a very rural area, but here we are very much surrounded by schools and lots of families, which is very exciting for me,? she says. ?Because of that, one of my main goals here is to really get our youth and children?s ministries up and going more. Building up the Sunday School, maybe getting some after school programs going, and really refocusing our Christian education programs is what I am going to be focusing a lot on.?

While Benge says she is excited about building up the church?s children and youth ministry programs and says she?s up for the challenges that will bring, she says she is also committed to never losing sight of why she loves pastoring.?The best part of being a pastor for me is being in ministry with people because I just love people,? she says. ?As a pastor, the people I work with become a part of my life and bless me, and in turn I get to serve and bless them. It?s just a really wonderful thing.?