Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin & Anna Carter.
Hi Benjamin & Anna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We met in church and were married in 2016. As we were planning our wedding, an opportunity was presented by Manor Ghost Town to use the venue for our wedding in exchange for playing music a few weekends. During this conversation, we mentioned that we were involved in ministry. They offered the use of one of the buildings for us to do outreach and have weekly meetings. We wanted to have an atmosphere where anyone felt welcome and may hear something that stirred their heart with hope. Since the Ghost Town was an open air meeting place with public access for food and events it seemed like a great spot for what we hoped to achieve. For several months we would meet Sunday afternoon for worship services, prayer, fellowship and usually some lunch afterwards. It was a great time with good memories and even a tornado watch we waited out at the local McDonald’s!
Later, we were invited to the Luling area to help a small church that was trying to revive it’s community impact. Shortly after we arrived, we became the lead pastors and withing a few years ‘The RIG Christian Ministries’ was established. It’s been a beautiful journey with a lot of ups and downs but it has all been worth it. There is a strong and sweet church family growing together here now. We have people who have seen hard times but have chosen a path of loving and serving others and people who have a deep desire to see others come to know Christ and become whole in Him.
Things that kept us moving forward were being aware that hard seasons would come, but that they would also pass! Seeing value in people, regardless of where they are currently at in life. Everyone you meet has a past but they also have a future! Loving well goes a long way.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We definitely have seen some struggles.
Serving a community while raising a young family is a unique challenge. We had to learn to serve and yet prioritize our family first. Learn to be firm and have boundaries but also exhibit compassion and be available when needed. It’s a balancing act.
Dealing with betrayal and not allowing it to affect our future relationships. We guard our hearts but we can’t bury them. There is a vulnerability that is required to serve others and some people will use that against you. Serve and love people anyway.
Doing what we can. We have seen many needs and tried to fill a lot of them over the years – which led to burnout, a lack of volunteers and just not doing things well. We move a little bit slower now, knowing that we can’t do it all. We want to do what we can do, impactfully.
We made mistakes along the way and took some risks but for every failure there was a success that kept us encouraged. We have experienced so many amazing stories of people getting a fresh start in life and turning things around. Going from loneliness, addiction, hurt, loss and homelessness to restored families, purpose, careers and freedom with the help of Jesus.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The RIG Christian Ministries was established by a dream from God. Like an oil rig brings raw materials out from beneath the surface and turns it into fuel for progress. The RIG is a ministry to unearth the covered potential in people for the glory of God. Our theme as a ministry has always been redemption. The acronym RIG stands for the ‘Redeemed Image of God’. Underneath the mask of the individual images we portray is our created image, the image of God. We were made aware quite early in our pastorate that we would be working with God to restore family’s and ministers that other ministries had wounded, rather intentional or unintentional. We became a place for people to come and grow in their relationship with Jesus and to develop friendships with others on the same journey. Due to the influence of modern technology on our culture, people have become so isolated. Understanding this. we try to make regular opportunities for genuine face to face connection. We do life together, have meals, celebrate milestones, pray for and encourage each other. We have weekly worship services, youth events and adult Bible study classes. We distribute food and meals to people monthly or weekly depending on the need. We have community dinners that are a time for neighbors to come together and kids to play games and spend time with each other. Another of our goals is to have unity among local churches, so we often link up with others for community projects, events or worship nights. It isn’t about building our personal kingdom it’s about building God’s kingdom. We are a family in and out of church and I know that’s something that makes us so special. Love conquers all.
What matters most to you? Why?
Loving God and loving others. Hearing, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
That people will have a genuine encounter with the Holy Spirit and know Jesus. He is the way and the truth and the life. All good things come from God and knowing and trusting Him. He produces the good things in our lives that we can sometimes find ourselves lacking – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.
We have a ministry declaration that we say often together as a group “To as many as received Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, the same he gave the power to become the sons of God. We are spirit led, spirit filled and our steps are ordered by the Lord. Freely we have received and freely we also give.” We love because He (God) first loved us and we give and serve others because that’s what we have seen Him do.
Pricing:
- 501c-3 organization with no salaried employees, that operates solely on donations that go back to the community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.redeemedluling.church
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redeemedluling/
