Introducing Our Next Lead Pastor, Ben Markham
The church leadership team is thrilled to announce that the Real Life Church membership has voted to affirm Ben Markham as our next Lead Pastor! Ben was affirmed with a 96% approval rating.
We are so excited to officially welcome Ben, his wife April, and their sons, Malachi and Max, to our community. Please join us in showering them with prayers as they prepare to transition to a new church family and make this their home.
Mark your calendars! Ben's first Sunday at Real Life is tentatively scheduled for June 29, 2025. We can't wait to see what God will do as we step into this new chapter together!
About Ben
Ben is a seasoned and proven communicator and leader. Since 2010, he has served as teaching pastor and a high-level staff leader at Discovery Church, a 4,500-person multi-site church with three locations in Orlando, FL. Ben is passionate about teaching God’s Word in a manner that engages the heart and the mind and inspires a faith-filled response.
He considers himself a lifelong student of the Bible and ministry leadership and is excited to lead a church through compelling Biblical teaching, inspired vision casting, and purposeful, relational staff leadership.
Ben and his wife, April, feel deeply honored that the Real Life Church leadership team has invited Ben to be their next lead pastor.
FAQs About Ben Markham
Read more about Ben and the lead pastor search process.
What are your salvation and call to ministry stories?
I was raised in a Christian home. My father was a bi-vocational pastor for a season, then a full-time pastor. We moved a couple of times as he took on new opportunities. I remember distinct experiences in middle and high school where my heart was broken over the love of Jesus, and I surrendered myself to him. At the age of 16, I experienced the call of God on my life to vocational ministry. At age 18, I had few prospects for college because of financial obstacles, so I earned enough money to join a ministry internship at Center Point Church. After a year of serving, the church’s leadership saw potential in me and generously offered to start paying for my education. I've journeyed through a lot of highs and lows in the church. Those experiences taught me to rely on God, never assume I'm above failure, and that giftedness does not always equate to Godliness. I prioritize my spiritual, physical, and mental health and strive to be someone who fosters a healthy culture in my home and work environment.
What are your top spiritual gifts/strengths/skills that others recognize in you?
My top spiritual gifts are teaching, leadership, and encouragement. I am recognized by others most often as a gifted communicator, team builder, coach, and strategic thinker.
What do you love most about ministry in the local church?
I love seeing people experience transformation in their lives. I love seeing people discover their God-given spiritual gifts and put them to work for the Kingdom. I love seeing the lost come to faith in Jesus and be baptized.
What attracted you to the Lead Pastor position at Real Life Church?
RLC has a strong and solid foundation laid by former Pastor Mike Davis. Your location, community growth, and ministry philosophy all point to tremendous potential to reach your community for Christ and grow God’s kingdom.
What is your preaching style?
My preaching style is conversational. I connect with audiences by being relatable and vulnerable, and through sharing relevant illustrations to explain the timeless principles of the Bible.
I am an expositional preacher who enjoys teaching through books or passages of the Bible. When I give a topical message, I root that message in a central passage and stay in that passage to expound on it.
I believe effective, life-giving sermons have three characteristics, they inform the mind, they stir the heart, and they move a person’s will to action. This can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit, who empowers me in the preparation of my heart to preach, who informs my times of study, research and prayer, and who speaks to the hearts of those listening to the sermon.
What would your top priorities be in a Lead Pastor role for the first year?
- Build relationships and credibility with the staff.
- Build relationships and credibility with the church.
- Preach faithfully.
- Learn from the Leadership Team, staff and congregation about the area, the church's history, and its culture.
- Partner with the Leadership Team and staff to assess the churches strengths and areas for improvement.
- Through prayer and collaboration cultivate a vision for the future.
Who have been key influencers in your life and why?
- My father Will Markham | He is a man of great wisdom, integrity and faithfulness.
- Don Cousins | He's a world-class leader and developer of people.
- My Mentors: Scott Ridout, Dale Ward & Bruce Garner
- John Maxwell | His books taught me to think like a leader.
- John Ortberg, Dane Ortlund, Dallas Williard, Jan Johnson & Henri Nouwen | Their writings have taught me to prioritize my relationship with God through spiritual practices.
How would you describe your leadership style? (i.e. collaborative / delegator / relational / strategic / etc.)
I take a servant leadership approach. I view success as helping those who report to me and those to whom I report become successful. I love the situational leadership model of leadership. It gives tremendous clarity to those I lead as to how I am helping them to succeed. I believe in being a shepherd leader which I define in the three principles of provision, protection, and presence found in Psalms 23.
How would you describe your ideal work environment/culture?
Collaborative, humble, hard-working, and encouraging. I thrive in spaces where staff are invested in so they can achieve their potential. I thrive in spaces where the best idea wins and people check their egos at the door.
What kinds of churches do you feel most comfortable serving?
I want to serve in a church that elevates the Gospel, the centrality of Jesus, the reliability and truth of Scripture, being Spirit-led, and serving the community. While the two previous churches I served in were nondenominational, I am in full agreement and alignment with RLC’s statement of faith and ministry philosophy.
Lead Pastor Transition Process
Real Life Church is moving through a season of transition. Our goal is to keep our church family updated as we conduct a lead pastor search and move forward in faith.
FAQs About Our Lead Pastor Transition
What is the process for choosing a Lead Pastor? How is the decision made?
Per RLC’s constitution, “In the event of a vacancy, for any reason, in the office of Senior Pastor, the Church Leadership Team in consultation with the Executive Staff, shall act as the Senior Pastor Selection Team.” (p. 10 Section 2)
The primary role of the Church Leadership Team (CLT) is to lead the church in following Christ through example, direction, and oversight. In this case, it also serves as the Senior Pastor Selection Team. The Church Leadership Team is made up of the Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor, Personnel Chairperson, Financial Chairperson, and three at-large members.
Our process started with prayer, and prayer is a fundamental part of the entire process. We believe that God has already determined who should be the next Lead Pastor, and we’re going to prayerfully seek God’s guidance to lead us to that man.
With God’s help, the Church Leadership Team has prayerfully created a multi-step Lead Pastor Transition Plan that we are calling “Moving Forward in Faith”. That process is described on this page. We are updating it on a regular basis to keep the information and timeline as accurate as possible.
Based on the wisdom passed on to us from our conversations with other churches who have gone through a similar transition process, the CLT decided to partner with a Christian-based external recruiter to help ensure that our search process is healthy, and we cast a wide net for potential candidates. We interviewed three excellent consultants from nationally known external recruitment firms and then conducted reference interviews with church leaders who had recently partnered with these consultants. In December 2022, the CLT selected the Slingshot Group to partner with us on detailed succession planning and recruitment.
Will Real Life Church members get to vote on the next Lead Pastor?
Yes. The Church Leadership Team will interview and select a qualified candidate to present to the church congregation for approval. Per the RLC constitution (p. 12), the candidate “must be approved by 2/3 of votes received by active members’ present, eligible and casting votes”.
Who qualifies as an active member eligible to vote?
According to the RLC constitution (p. 15 under Article IV “Church Membership”) an active voting-eligible member has met the following requirements:
Section 1 - Church Membership Requirements:
Express a personal commitment of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Baptism by immersion.
Completion of the church membership class. (Starting Point or previous version)
Signed commitment to the Membership Covenant.
Section 2 – Voting Privileges of members: All active members who have attained the age of eighteen years shall have the right to vote as part of the congregation.
If you are uncertain if you are an active member or not you may contact the church office at 704-822-1933.