God Brings New Life to Pine Grove Church
By Sharon Mager
God is breathing new life into Pine Grove Church — a cool wind of change! Following a particularly difficult season, about eight members were hanging on, meeting in a building in desperate need of repair, and the outlook seemed bleak. The church — members and building — needed a fresh start, and God had just the man for the job. He called Ben Eller, happily enjoying retirement with his wife, Judy, serving a church they loved, to lead a replanting effort. After some prayer and deliberation, God made it very clear that Pine Grove was where the couple needed to be. In fact, God spoke to Ben in the middle of a church service, and in obedience, he and Judy got up and left to drive to Pine Grove.
Ben Eller said, “We had 53 people present for our new church celebration day on October 20. It was a miracle! That’s more than has been in that church for a long time. Jeremy Dickson, BCM/D director of church strengthening, and other pastors spoke about what God was doing here! The Nottingham 4 Gospel Quartet and the Aberdeen First Church‘s worship team provided praises to our Lord. Chris Engelbert, the associate pastor of Pleasant View Baptist Church, Port Deposit, led the music. (l-r) Jeremy Dickson, BCM/D director of church strengthening; Dan Sheffield, former director of missions; Pastor Ben Eller and his wife, Judy Eller.
Since then, God has provided for the church in remarkable ways. Ben began ministering to the small group of members. Knowing they had been through a difficult time, he encouraged and challenged them, taught them, and led them in reaching out to their neighborhood, engaging people, giving out Bibles, and doing ministry again.
The building needed a lot of work. Ben said, “The basement was in terrible shape. Water was everywhere, and there was a lot of cleaning and debris removal needed. On June 1, 2024, we held ‘Dumpster Day’ where Christian brothers joined us from three churches to empty the nasty stuff in the basement of the building into a construction-sized dumpster. That hard work helped dry up things so we could clean it up and begin reclaiming the space!
Over the past year multiple volunteers have provided electrical work, painting, debris removal, flooring, grounds work, and a new heat pump and water tank installation. Jerry Eller, Ben’s brother and a member of First Baptist Church of Aberdeen, also installed a baby changing unit and installed two new exterior doors. Ben said, “The Lord has blessed us to the point I’m blown away!” He estimates they’ve done over $50,000 worth of repairs with $10,000 in the bank.
The remodeling and help have been continuing. “Pastor Harold Phillips and our close friends at Pleasant View Baptist Church helped us put new steel handrails into our baptistry earlier this year. Recently, the church took delivery on a storage shed, which will allow the church to move forward with remodeling plans for its fellowship hall and classroom space.They’re also doing minor repairs on their baptistry.
The church has come a long way since Pine Grove’s treasurer contacted Ben. “It was February 1 (2024) when she called and said, ‘Brother Ben, we need help!’” Ben was aware of some church struggles and felt he could lend a hand. He began by leading the church through The Baptist Faith & Message. “I told them, ‘Folks, we need to understand what we believe and why we believe it!” The small group gathered twice a week for two and a half months.
Several BCM/D staff members helped paint the church sanctuary on a staff service day. Above, Megan Jones, director of business operations, paints a corner area at Pine Grove Church. (Photo by Sharon Mager)
On April 1 (2024), the church asked Ben to be its pastor. That was not an easy decision. Ben said, “We were very involved in our church, on the missions committee and teaching. Ben told them he and Judy would pray.
God called Ben into the ministry in 1974 when he and Judy began attending Porter’s Grove Baptist Church near Rising Sun shortly after they were married. The couple went to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and have pastored in Southern Indiana, North Carolina, and finally at Maple View Baptist Church, Joppatowne. They also served with the Home Mission Board (now the IMB) as missionaries in Erie, Indiana. After Maple View, Ben, with a master’s degree in counseling, spent the next 15 years as a behavioral specialist working with children affected by disabilities in the school system. He retired In 2015 due to health issues, but continued to work part-time, teaching, providing pulpit supply, and serving as God called him, which included leading revival services at Pine Grove.
Ben and Judy prayed, asking for God’s direction, and God answered that prayer. “On Sunday, April 25, we went to church, and the pastor was preaching on marriage. He was comparing it to a relationship with Christ, and he interlocked his fingers, pulled tight, and then pulled his hands apart. He said that’s what happens when someone gets a divorce. The bond is broken. “When the pastor did that, pulled his hands apart, the Lord said to me, ‘What do I have to do to get you to go and do what I told you to do?’ We got up in the middle of the service and drove to Pine Grove. We walked in, and they knew what I was coming for. I said, ‘Okay, God has made it very clear that we are quite possibly supposed to be your pastor.’ I gave them instructions on how to vote, and soon after, they unanimously called me.” A month later, the church was working on a new constitution and bylaws, and on May 26, they were reconstituted and became a new church (officially a replant).
Susquehanna Baptist Association Executive Director John Gauger (left) with Ben and Judy Eller. (Photo by Sharon Mager)
The church is now preparing for Resurrection Sunday. “We are hosting a joint Good Friday service with Pastor Richard Berry and Faith Southern Baptist Church, Elkton, and Pastor Steve Hokuf, and First Baptist Church of North East.“
More people are now attending, and ministry opportunities are opening up. Ben is especially excited about a couple, Andy* and Roberta,* who had been struggling with drug use. “They gave their lives to Christ, and I had the privilege of baptizing them in August,” Ben said, adding that God has led them through some challenging times, but they have been faithful. “They are a very important part of our congregation today.” Also exciting, Andy’s ten-year-old daughter accepted Christ on February 14. “She asked about the North American Mission Board’s “3 Circles” diagram on the whiteboard, and I had the privilege of having a gospel conversation with her. She is scheduled to be baptized soon.”
Looking back over the incredible year, Ben reflects on a call with Susquehanna Baptist Association Director of Missions Dan Sheffield, discussing the call to Pine Grove. “Dan said, ‘Ben, I’m Mordecai, telling you, Esther — For such a time as this, God has called you to be there at Pine Grove.”
Ben said, “We thank you for your prayers and are asking the Lord to provide helpers for Sunday School, VBS, and getting our building back in operational shape this summer.”
*Names Changed
Sharon Mager serves as the BCM/D Communications Specialist and BCM/D News Editor.