Pastor Benjamin Lee Faircloth (1968–2026) was an American pastor and mission leader who served for many years as senior pastor of Ignited Church in Lavonia, Georgia, United States, and founded World Outreach Ministries International (WOMI), a ministry engaged in evangelistic outreach and humanitarian assistance.
Faircloth was born on July 12, 1968, in Hialeah, Florida, in the United States. From an early age, he felt drawn to Christian ministry and later devoted his life to preaching, discipleship, and outreach. Over time, he grew into a spiritual leader known for his passion for evangelism and missions.
He served as a veteran of the Army National Guard and worked in public service as a firefighter and correctional officer. At the age of 23, he was called into ministry, and on the night of his call, he heard the voice of God saying, "Ben, preach my word! Ben, preach my word!" He gladly accepted the call and enrolled at a Bible College, where he met his wife, Jennifer.
In 1996, Benjamin and Jennifer Faircloth founded WOMI and travelled to 17 nations worldwide, visiting every continent except Australia. Everywhere Benjamin went, he preached the gospel, trained ministers, held evangelistic crusades, distributed supplies, and loved the widows and orphans. He had the vision of bringing five million souls to the saving knowledge of Christ.
As the senior pastor of Ignited Church, Lavonia, Georgia, Faircloth nurtured and groomed end time workforce for world evangelization. His prophetic messages to the world in general and Americans in particular are sounding alarms of God's warnings and the impending dangers of the Babylonian system in churches and societies.
In addition to international mission efforts, Faircloth served as the senior pastor of Ignited Church in Lavonia, Georgia. There, he encouraged church members to participate in evangelism and community outreach while maintaining partnerships with ministries abroad. In recent years, WOMI partnered with various agencies to provide relief assistance in regions affected by conflict and natural disasters, including support for humanitarian needs arising from the Russia–Ukraine war and other crises.
Through WOMI, Faircloth worked with Christian partners in several regions, including the Caribbean and parts of Africa. In Cuba, the ministry was involved in projects such as Bible distribution, pastoral support, and humanitarian aid, including food and medical assistance. In Nigeria, ministry partners collaborated with WOMI in missionary training initiatives and relief assistance for communities facing economic hardship or violence.
My path with Pastor Faircloth crossed on the 10th day of March 2021 through an email that he sent to me requesting my ministry's account details after reading my article on the Christian Post. My encounter with him redefined my ministry and encouraged me immensely to go the extra mile in the works of the mandate of the Great Commission. What Barnabas was to Apostle Paul is exactly what Benjamin Faircloth was to me and all at Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network Nigeria!
He appointed me as the Regional Representative of WOMI in the Africa region. His passionate mandate to reach five million souls for Christ was a motivating factor to all of us at Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network.
When our mission fields were attacked by bandits, he sent us relief packages to distribute to the victims of the attacks. When the husband of one of our team members was kidnapped, Benjamin and all our other partners continued in prayer until he was released. Through his support and that of other partners, we established the "Bandit Relief Purse" to help persecuted Christians in Nigeria.
When we discovered homeless widows with their children living in very terrible conditions, we communicated their plight to him, and WOMI, in collaboration with Ignited Church, built and furnished houses for them. His ministry helped our Bible Distribution Project to place Bibles in the hands of those who need Bibles in Nigeria and have no money to buy.
He provided us with furniture for the school that we built for orphans and vulnerable children in an unreached community where not a single individual has gone to school. The hungry were not left out in his intervention in Nigeria. Our Feed the Hungry Program received a boost through his support.
Through the support of WOMI and other partners, more than 2,000 missionaries were trained and sent to underserved communities in parts of Nigeria. The ministry also assisted with practical needs such as transportation for missionaries traveling to remote areas and support for educational and humanitarian projects.
On the 10th day of February, God called Benjamin Faircloth home, and it is with a heavy heart but total submission to the will of God that I pen down this posthumous appraisal that explores the impact of his ministry on us in Nigeria and the world. Though his absence has created a big vacuum and will be deeply felt, his legacy lives on in every life he touched and every heart he lifted. His memory will continue to inspire us to serve faithfully to accomplish the five million souls for Christ mandate.
He handed over the mantle of the ministries to his wife, Jennifer, and to his son, Joshua. His last word, "I did not quit," indicated that he finished strong. It is also a message to gospel ministers all over the world to remain steadfast, no matter the challenges in ministry.
