Titus Benton is the busy pastor of student ministries at Current — A Christian Church. He ministers to the tweens and teens, leading the student groups as they study the Word and get involved in the community.
“My wife and I moved here from Missouri the summer of 2011, and my first official Sunday fell on that Father’s Day,” says Benton, who is dad to a seven- and four-year-old. “I knew I wanted to be a part of this warm and welcoming church, made up of people from many different backgrounds, ethnicities, and walks of life.”
The congregation worships God in an upbeat way, sharing God’s truth in a creative, fun and simple-to-understand format. “We take God seriously yet maintain a relaxed come-as-you-are atmosphere which really appeals to the kids and takes the pressure off what we appear to be on the outside. We focus instead on who we need to be on the inside.”
Acoustic, electric and bass guitars, drums, piano and keyboard add a layer of contemporary worship to each service. 6th thru 8th graders meet at 9:30 in the student building in gender- and age-specific small groups and high school students meet at 11:00. “We make sure the students get in a group in which they are comfortable,” says Benton, who maintains a Facebook page for all the student ministry events.
There is some additional excitement at Current, because Benton is also an author who urges people to give the Bible a second look. A Conversational Commentary was just released. “My goal is that people (believers and skeptics alike) read the book and be moved to read the Scriptures for themselves,” he says. “There are scores of books written about the Bible, so the release of another one does not a news story make. But I hope the tone of my book will inspire others to discover (or rediscover) the Bible—for the first time or afresh—and begin to dialogue about what it means for today.”
The bottom line is that In a fast-paced world, and especially in the eyes of the younger generation, the Bible is often viewed as archaic, out of touch, and boring. But Benton’s 350 page summary survey of the entire Bible expresses deep convictions and reasonable doubts that are just as relevant for today’s reader as the ancient documents were to the original audience. He even unearths little-known facts and splashes the pages with occasional humor. “I strove for a readable, entertaining, and inspirational collection of reflections, questions, and Twitter-sized summaries of all sixty-six books of the Bible,” says Benton.
The book is available through Amazon and the CreateSpace e-store. A Kindle edition and audiobook are both due out soon. You can learn more at www.facebook.com/conversationalcommentary or www.createspace.com/3853066. And be sure to check out the church’s website and the adventures of the student ministry at www.currentchristian.org.
