Ben was born in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of seven he was invited to Sunday School at a Baptist church. Three years later, he prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior. He graduated from De Paul University in Chicago with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and a major in accounting.
A few years later, Ben enrolled at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota where he met his wife, Carol, and received a Masters of Divinity degree. He received his Doctorate of Missiology from Bethel Seminary. Ben and Carol took took up their first ministry opportunity as youth director at Baldwin Hills Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California. He ministered to the youth from the streets of Los Angeles for about three years.
In 1968, Ben and Carol applied to the mission board of the Baptist General Conference and were appointed as missionaries to Brazil. They served the people of Brazil for 24 years before resigning to help care for their mothers during some difficult times. Ben pastored Fellowship Baptist Church in Carlisle, Iowa for two and half years and then were again assigned as missionaries to Brazil where they continued to serve before retiring in 2001.
Ben and Carol served God faithfully in Brazil as evangelists, assisting pastorless churches, directing a Bible school for a year, directing a seminary for three years, assisting with planting new churches and preparing Brazilians for cross-cultural missions.
Ben and Carol were married in 1964. They have four children, 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.