Mark Benson

 I was raised in a Christian home, which means that both my parents are saved. This also means that I grew up in the church. I learned the Bible at a young age and slowly became callous to it; however when I was 15 I went on a missions trip to Australia which totally changed the course of my life. Before that trip I had no desire to enter the ministry, but God totally changed my life through the impact of one of the trip leaders. When I came home I became heavily involved in my youth group and had a really big desire to become a youth pastor. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm from the trip faded away and I got into things I shouldn't have. Finally the bottom hit when I went to a Christian college. I got involved in a relationship that caused me to totally lose my focus on God. God finally grabbed me and I left the school and returned home. The way that God truly got a hold of me was through my sister, Amy Bare. She returned home from Word of Life Bible Institute for break and I saw a change in her that blew me away. God laid it on my heart to go to Word of Life that next fall. I have completed the first and second year program at the Bible Institute and am now embarking on a new adventure with the Impact Team.