Following in the ministerial footsteps of both his father and grandfather, Ben France is now the local Walcha Anglican minister. 

Ben grew up in Sydney and attended The Kings School at Parramatta. After studying at University he spent some time teaching as a high school science and geography teacher before heading off to Bible College. He spent four years at Moore Theological College before moving to Gunnedah where he was assistant minister for three years.

“I was offered the opportunity by the church to come to Walcha and we gladly accepted the chance to serve within this community,” Ben said.

“Walcha and the surrounds are breathtakingly beautiful and the Christian community here have been tremendously welcoming and loving even before we arrived. Having only been here just over two weeks, we have also found the community as a whole to be really friendly.”

Ben said his absolute conviction that Jesus is the son of god is what inspired him to become a minister.

“I am convinced that Jesus Christ really is who He claims to be, the Son of God, God’s chosen saviour of the world.

“Being convinced of this truth and having come from a teaching background, I feel that it is right to be serving God by seeking to introduce people to Jesus and helping them to live their lives in a way that gives Him the honour that He deserves,” he said.

“The best thing about my job is getting to teach the bible and to see people come to a deeper understanding of God’s character and plans in the world.”

According to Ben there is a very strong Anglican church in our region as a whole however the challenges that face the Walcha Anglican church these days are similar to anywhere else.

“The challenge remains to keep the authority of the Word of God as the motivation for what we do and say. In particular the exclusive claims of Jesus that trusting in Him is the only way to be in right relationship with God are unpopular in a postmodern society that suggests that everyone’s own experience and understanding of the world should stand unquestioned,” he said.

“The challenge then is to keep speaking the truth of the Word of God, the good news of Jesus and the love of God demonstrated through Him, to a society that is moving away from it’s Christians roots. This is a challenge for the church in our town, our region and the world.”

Like any other profession being a minister has its frustrations and work life balance issues.

“It can be a challenge helping people to see the truth of the bible, that it really can be trusted historically, when they have pre-conceived ideas that it is unreliable and made up,” Ben says. “Equally challenging is making time to love and care for my family in the midst of a demanding job.”

Ben says his immediate priority in the new job is to seek to love and care for the people in the parish of Walcha.

“To this end we are looking forward to getting involved in the community in different ways,” he said.