Echo Spring 2024 - 21

Serving Now
BEN FOLEY
B
en Foley's ('06 &'21) story as a
young college student started
like many others. The Lancaster
County native had enrolled in a
secular university but felt called to attend
Bible college after he and his best friend,
Dave, rededicated their lives to the Lord.
As Dave was in his first year at Thaddeus
Stevens College of Technology, Ben
transferred to Lancaster Bible College just
in time for the 2003 Missions Conference.
He came away with newfound passion
and also felt led to start a Bible study with
Dave for their peers. Ben was happy to
return to his home county and enroll in
Bible college but was " horrified " at the
prospect of starting a Bible study.
" I felt that I was too young, an introvert,
insecure and that I didn't know enough, "
Ben said. " I remember reading the story
of Moses in Exodus Chapter 4, closing the
Bible and realizing my excuses were not
going to work with God! "
The trajectory of Ben's life, however,
took a turn when Dave was killed in a
motorcycle accident at the age of 18.
" I was asked to speak at his funeral, and
God began to work in special ways
through the testimony of this short
season of his life, " Ben remembered. " The
Bible study we had started exploded in
size. Doors began opening for me to
share his story in churches and among
other groups, even other countries.
I also changed my major to Pastoral
Ministry through the encouragement of
people around me who recognized the
budding gift of preaching, teaching and
ministering to others. "
A few years after graduating from LBC,
Ben began in a pastor role at a small
church in New Jersey. After six years
there, Ben sensed God's calling to join
the Colorado-based ServeNow, then a
relatively young organization. After two
years of being trained by ServeNow's
founder, Dr. Lars Dunberg, Ben took on
the role of president. He later returned to
LBC for a Master of Arts in Formational
Leadership.
Launched in late 2012, ServeNow serves
people in need by caring for orphans,
widows, underprivileged children and
youth, as well as equips the Church for
greater fulfillment of its ministry and
provides humanitarian assistance where
needed. From the first project of building
a restroom facility for a Ugandan school,
the ministry serves millions of people
throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin
America and the Muslim world.
" ServeNow is all about partnering with
local churches, training pastors who
have little to no training, serving the
most vulnerable holistically like Jesus
and coming alongside local and national
leaders to enable them to fulfill what God
has put on their hearts for their country, "
Ben shared. " At the heart and core of
everything we do is providing God's Word
(in over 55 languages!) to each member
of a congregation-many who are
forced to meet without an actual church
building, and sometimes the pastor and a
few others are the only ones with a Bible.
Oftentimes these believers live in very
remote and poor parts of the world. "
ServeNow has also created a series of
32-plus books, just 32 pages each, called
" The Basic Things You Need to Know. "
The ministry recently completed a
special 15-set leadership edition for the
pastors of more than 15,000 churches
being partnered with in more than
25 countries. ServeNow staff use the
booklets in native languages worldwide
to provide foundational biblical truths
over a period of eight years. Ben is
the author of several of the booklets,
including " Hope Rising: Finding Hope
in a Turbulent World, " " Everything is
Meaningless: Finding Purpose in a World
of Despair, " " Navigating Disappointment:
Finding Healing in a Broken World " and
" Serve Like Jesus. "
" For many, " Ben said, " it is the first
Christian material and systematic
teaching they have ever had access to. "
With strengthening and supporting the
Church at the core, ServeNow also works
to empower churches to serve their
communities according to what is most
needed and would be most effective to
fulfill the Great Commission globally.
" Doors and hearts to the gospel are
being opened for the first time when
immediate needs are being met, " Ben
said. " Together with the local churches,
we supply clean water and winter
coverings, host summer camps, minister
to orphans, refugees and the elderly, offer
anti-trafficking skills training and much
more. Through these ministries, we have
seen tremendous church growth, as
lives of believers are being transformed
and entire churches experience genuine
revival.
" With all my heart, " Ben continued, " I
believe ServeNow is positioned 'for such
a time as this'-a time to radically impact
the world in exciting ways, where the
need is greatest. LBC played a key role in
my life in bringing me to this point and
in laying a solid foundation. I am more
grateful now and see the blessing of that
more clearly than when I was a student.
The Word of God is living and active.
Now, more than ever, it is needed around
the world, and God is inviting us all to
join Him where He is working! "
Learn more about ServeNow's work,
including missions trips to Uganda, the
U.S.-Mexico border and Nepal during
the summer and fall of 2024 and 2025,
at weservenow.org or contact Ben Foley
at bfoley@weservenow.org. Books and
resources noted are available online for
purchase and use in the U.S. The Basic
Series books are also freely available to
be accessed in multiple languages on
ServeNow's Basic Series App: tbtbooks.
com/appdownload.
ECHO 21
http://www.weservenow.org
Echo Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Echo Spring 2024
