ABOUT OUR PASTOR

Pastor D.N. Benford, Sr.

Pastor Doris Nathaniel Benford, Sr. was born on March 12, 1930 to a sharecropping family in Kemp, TX, and raised in Vernon, TX, Rev. Benford responded to the efficacious call of the Holy Spirit and accepted Christ at the age of six. He was called to preach at twelve, and preached his first sermon on December 25, 1944, at fourteen. He vowed to God to do his best and remain faithful unto death.

Pastor Benford was ordained in 1945 by the Trinity Valley Association.  He attended Conroe College and earned a Bachelor of Theology, a Bachelor of Divinity, and a Doctor of Divinity. He served as pastor at West Beulah Baptist Church in Beaumont, TX; Rising Star Baptist Church in Spanish Camp, TX; and First Baptist Church in Glen Flora, TX.

Pastor Benford arrived at Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church in 1950. Since then, he allowed God’s vision to flourish and manifest through him. He was the founder of the Galveston County Head Start Program, a Community Civil Rights Leader, the catalyst for years of a 2-week Vacation Bible School Program with enrollments of over 400 students, instrumental in redrawing the district lines allowing minorities to put candidates of color in office with, the father of outdoor Street Revivals,  and well-known for reaching thousands of people via radio Broadcast from the church during morning and night worship services for over 40 years.

On October 27, 2022, Pastor D.N. Benford, Sr., a Living Legend, was officially named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-tenured Pastor of the same church in the World for 72 years!

Pastor Benford touched the hearts of thousands through his unique method of preaching and teaching God’s word.   He was a man who served the city, county, state and national levels through his love and legacy.  His 73 years in Galveston County was not in vain.

God knew that on March 31, 2024, Easter Sunday morning, Pastor Benford preached his last two sermons at Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church, Sunrise Service @ 6am and Sunday Morning @ 11am. On April 15, 2024 he answered God’s call from labor to reward.  He came…He saw…and He served!