Giving Days 2026

Rebuilding the Walls and Restoring the People: On Mission in the Local Church

The summer of 2022 was a difficult season for Macon Baptist Church. It began with their pastor moving and a lightning strike that set their building on fire, causing serious, long-term damage. Through this difficulty the Lord opened the hearts of the people of Macon Baptist for restorative, prayerful leadership. It was also in this season that God, in his goodness, brought two Southeastern Seminary students, Ben Williams and later Eli Bear, to shepherd their congregation and help them rebuild.

Ben and Eli both grew up in Christian homes and were saved in college after years of wrestling with their faith. As they look back over their lives, they can clearly trace God’s hand patiently rebuilding and bringing life out of ashes. They can also see how he has grown in them a similar passion for pastoring the local church with a heart of prayerful dependence on Christ and his Scriptures. Weeks before Macon’s devastating fire, Ben and his family had moved to Southeastern so he could start his Master of Divinity after nearly 10 years of pastoring in Pennsylvania. On arriving, he signed up to serve on Southeastern’s pulpit supply team.

One of the first churches he preached at was Macon Baptist, which was newly without a pastor. In a short amount of time, he and his family developed a sweet bond with the Macon church body. They invited him back, and before long, the church asked Ben to serve as their full-time pastor. The people of Macon were so grateful for a new pastor, and what Ben found in them was refreshing — they loved the Lord and were humble and eager to grow after a season of hardship.

In those early months, Ben began praying fervently for the people and started a class to teach them how to study the Bible for themselves. The congregation loved the training and were very receptive of the class. Now, the members will regularly call, text, and email Ben to share what they have learned in their personal Bible studies.

“I love teaching people how to study the Bible for themselves,” Ben shared. “That’s one of my favorite things.”

I love teaching people how to study the Bible for themselves. That’s one of my favorite things.

All the while, Ben himself was being invested in. He was still taking classes at Southeastern, as well as being mentored by the late Dr. Jim Shaddix. He knows that this time in the classroom and moments of discipleship were foundational, sustaining, and growing in his pastor’s heart. He fondly remembers how Dr. Shaddix would challenge him in his love for the people.

“Dr. Shaddix would ask about specific people,” Ben remembered, “folks he’s never met before that I just mentioned four weeks ago — he would remember them. He would say he was praying for them… I got from him more of a pastor’s heart.”

In his first few years at Macon, Ben also brought on Eli, a student at Judson College in the five-year program, as assistant pastor over the youth. Eli’s first few months were devoted to learning about the youth and praying for their growth. Similar to the adults of the church, the youth received their new leader eagerly, and three of the students gave their lives to Christ in those early months. Eli knows that it was only the work of God that could restore their hearts and marvels at the providence and goodness of God in answering his specific prayers.

Both Ben and Eli have sacrificed time, hard work, and their own original plans to follow the Lord’s leading and partner with God’s heart of mercy for a small local church. Their love for Christ, conviction of his ultimate providence, and their shepherding hearts were character traits Christ wove into them through their years of study at Southeastern.

Ben and Eli each represent just one of thousands of character-filled Southeastern graduates who also have sacrificially laid down their lives for the church — men who have committed to shepherding everyday congregations in fear of the Lord, kindness, dependence, and humility.

At the same time, Macon Baptist Church was just one of thousands of local churches in need of someone to come pastor them. Like you, we feel the weight of the burden that there are so many churches needing pastors, and at Southeastern we make it our mission to equip and train more Bens and Elis to go to more Baptist churches because we are convinced that the Kingdom is advanced through the ministry of the local church.

When you support Southeastern by giving to the Southeastern Fund, you are partnering with us in that mission by making tuition more affordable for thousands of students like Ben and Eli who can then be equipped and sent out to more churches, more communities, and more souls in need of godly leadership.