Dr. Ron Benefiel is President of Nazarene Theological Seminary, where he has served since July of 2000. Dr. Ron Benefiel is President of Nazarene Theological Seminary, where he has served since July of 2000.
He is a native of Southern California where he grew up in a Nazarene parsonage. He holds both the Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) and the Master of Arts (Religion) from Pasadena College/Point Loma Nazarene University and attended Nazarene Theological Seminary in the early 1970’s. In 1986, he earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Southern California in Sociology. His doctoral concentrations were in the fields of Sociology of Organizations and Clinical Marriage and Family Therapy and his dissertation was in the field of Sociology of Religion. He has done additional graduate study in Wesleyan Theology through Nazarene Theological College/University of Manchester in Manchester, England. In 2004, he was awarded the honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Point Loma Nazarene University.
Dr. Benefiel served as pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene in Los Angeles from 1982 until 1996. During his tenure, he led in the development of a multi-congregational organizational structure with four ethic/language congregations coming together as “one church with multiple congregations.” While in LA, he also founded and served as Executive Director of the P.F. Bresee Foundation, a community based non-profit which offers multiple services and educational programs to those in need in LA’s Mid-Wilshire district.
In 1996, Dr. Benefiel accepted a position at PLNU where he served for four years as Professor of Sociology and Religion and Director of the Christian Missions minor. While at Point Loma, he co-founded and co-pastored the Mid-City Church of the Nazarene, a multi-congregational church, and gave leadership to the development of PLNU’s Urban Center.
Dr. Benefiel has worked with numerous community and relief agencies, having served in the past on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Rescue Mission, Union Rescue Mission, and the San Diego Rescue Mission. He currently serves (or has recently served) on the Board of Directors of the Kansas City Rescue Mission, Heart to Heart International, Bresee Institute for Metro Ministry, Southtown Council and the Kansas City Urban Youth Center.
Dr. Benefiel has been active at the denominational level in numerous capacities including the General Youth Council, H.F. Reynolds Institute (a denominational “think tank”), the steering committee for the Association of Nazarene Sociologists of Religion (ANSR), secretary for the Commission on Education, the U.S./Canada Council on Education, the Resource Institute for International Education, and the International Board of Education. He served as co-chair of the 2002 Global Theology Conference in Guatemala City, the 2004 U.S./Canada Theology Conference in Kansas City and the 2007 Global Theology Conference in Holland. He also served on the “Theological Schools and the Church” Task Force for the Association of Theological Schools from 2005-2008.
Ron and his wife (Janet) have three children, Leanne (23), Robyn (21), and Timothy (18).