Ben & Cindi
Pastors Ben and Cindi began the journey of starting Lifeplace because they have a passion to see people discover God and grow in their faith. They have a love of people from all nationalities and ages. Both raised in Brisbane and coming from ministry families, they have been married since 2002. In 2008 they had the joy of welcoming their first child, Houston Gregory, into the world.
Ben: GradCertMgt [Qld.UT], GradCertBusAdmin [Deakin], MBA [Deakin]
Pastor:
A second generation pastor, Ben nervously preached his first sermon at just 16. Soon after graduating from high school, he embraced the call to pastoral ministry and went on to work for his Dad’s church in Brisbane.
Ben has worked full time in ministry since 2000. He spent 4 years in the USA where he travelled for a year as a preacher, and for 3 years had the great privilege of serving on staff as a Youth Pastor for Generation Unleashed at the renowned City Bible Church in Portland Oregon where Frank Damazio is the Senior Pastor. He was also part of the teaching faculty at Portland Bible College.
Ben’s teaching, coaching, and writing, is focused on using the Bible to empower a new generation to reach their God-given potential. He has a love for people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, and a passion for the local church.
Author:
By the age of 18 Ben had written his first book, though most of the copies remained collecting dust in boxes in his garage!
From this early passion of writing he has gone on to author numerous books and articles, as well as start a book publishing house whose books have appeared on the Today Show.
His books have been distributed internationally, and in 2004 he wrote the cover feature article for Group Magazine, the world’s most read youth ministry resource.
Education:
Ben has studied at eight different universities and colleges in both theology and management. Most recently he completed his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) through Deakin University in Melbourne.
His passions are reading, basketball, tennis, photography, and his greatest joys in life are his wife Cindi and son Houston.
Cindi: B.Ed [Qld.UT]
Being raised in the church and a daughter of prophetic ministers, Cindi grew up with a love for God, His house and His people. From a young age she felt the call to pastor and has a heart to see people living a successful life with Jesus. Cindi moves powerfully in the Prophetic and loves preaching and seeing God move mightily on people’s lives.
Cindi has been actively involved in the church all her life, from serving in the church café with her Grandma at age 3, to leading small groups and serving as an associate pastor and youth pastor since age 18. Cindi also has a Bachelor of Education and taught high school students for 3 years. Not only did she enjoy teaching them in the natural but loved being able to help and guide them in their personal and spiritual lives as well.
From 2005-2008 Cindi and her husband Ben lived in Portland Oregon serving as youth pastors for Pastor Frank Damazio. This was an incredible privilege and opportunity to learn and be mentored by one of the world’s leading pastors and teachers. In March 2008 they welcomed their first baby into the world, Houston Gregory. He is the joy of their lives and Cindi absolutely loves her new role as a Mummy.
