Rev. Woodrow Wilson Benton, Jr. (1941-2025) was welcomed into his Savior’s presence on January 26 at age 83, after an prolonged battle with Alzheimer’s illness.
A memorial service shall be held at 1 p.m., Friday, January 31, 2025, at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, with visitation following.
Benton was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1966 and earned a doctorate from the College of Edinburgh. His pastoral ministry included service as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cleveland, Mississippi, from 1970-1982; Covenant Presbyterian Church in Cleveland, Mississippi, from 1982-1985; Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian in St. Louis, Missouri from 1986-2006; and Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, from 2007-2012.
Benton served as moderator of the twentieth Common Meeting and several other phrases as chairman of the everlasting committees for Mission to North America and Reformed College Ministries.
For practically 21 years Benton was the senior pastor of Kirk of the Hills, and for 10 of these years Stephen Estock labored as an affiliate pastor beneath Benton. When he got here to Kirk of the Hills in 2002, Estock was heading towards ministry burnout, however working for Benton was a time of “refreshment and development in ministry,” he mentioned. Benton not solely mentored him in his position as a pastor, but additionally as a father.
“In Wilson, I noticed a person who beloved Jesus, beloved his household, and beloved his congregation in spirit and reality,” Estock mentioned. Despite the fact that Benton’s kids had been grown by the point Estock got here to Kirk of the Hills, Benton deeply beloved them and beloved the youngsters of the church.
Due to his ardour for Christian training, Benton was instrumental in beginning The Kirk Day College in St. Louis in addition to Promise Christian Academy, a college for youngsters with particular wants.
Along with his work as a pastor, Benton was an adjunct professor at Covenant Theological Seminary, serving as a homiletics teacher and a professor within the Physician of Ministry program.
“As a pupil, I used to be in awe of Dr. Benton’s command of Scripture and his reward for delivering sermons that stirred our minds and moved our hearts,” said Tom Gibbs, president of Covenant Theological Seminary. “Over time, although, what I got here to most recognize about Wilson and Pam was their heat hospitality and dedication to faithfully shepherding these the Lord put of their path. Wilson was a large within the PCA, and he shall be missed by all of us.”
Although Estock is now the coordinator for PCA Discipleship Ministries, he sees Benton’s lasting affect on his work.
“A lot of who I’m as a pastor is related with what God taught me by Wilson Benton. I’m deeply grateful for the time I had beneath his tutelage,” he mentioned.
When Benton retired from ministry at Kirk of the Hills, he had deliberate to serve with Covenant Seminary and assist with church revitalization by Briarwood Presbyterian Church. However when Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville requested him to function interim pastor, he agreed to serve for 18 months. The 18-month dedication became 5 years.
Proper earlier than his deliberate retirement from Christ Presbyterian Church, Benton’s spouse, Pam, started to note some modifications in her husband. He began to repeat himself in a method that reminded Pam of her mother-in-law’s Alzheimer’s illness development (Wilson’s and Pam’s moms each had Alzheimer’s illness). Benton was recognized in 2012.
As Benton’s reminiscence declined, Pam described in a 2020 podcast that he turned extra of who he had all the time been. “Wilson is nice and considerate. He’s turn out to be extra of who he’s by way of being a gentleman, of being loving, of being affirming to me. And sure, he’s sick, and sure, there are very arduous occasions,” she mentioned. “The extra I get out and about, the extra grateful I’m.”
He’s survived by his spouse Pam, whom he married in 1963; his kids Louis Benton (Damea) of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Paige Brown (Reagan) of Nashville, Tennessee; and Laura Pearson (John) of Lexington, Virginia; his grandchildren Wilson (Mallory), Jackson (Ashley), Barnes, and Ford Benton; Benton, Louisa, and Frances Brown; Marion, Maxwell, and Libby Pearson; and nice granddaughter Ramsay Benton.
In lieu of flowers, the household asks that donations be made in Benton’s honor to Reformed University Fellowship.
