Dr. Gary M. Benedict, is the 11th president of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) in the United States. His four-year term began August 1, 2005. Benedict is known for his commitment to building relationships. “I’m the kind of guy who brings people together,” he said. “My job is to move people to their God-given purposes.” Benedict sees his election to the C&MA presidency as the convergence point of his life experiences. A Minnesota native, Benedict graduated from Iowa State University in Ames with a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1972 he graduated from St. Paul Bible College (now Crown College) with a degree in missions. After pastoring churches in Nebraska and Wisconsin, Benedict returned to Crown College to serve as director of development from 1982 to 1988. In 1989 he was elected superintendent of the Northwestern District of the C&MA. He became the 13th president of Crown College in 1997, having received an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Nyack College in New York. During his eight years as president, enrollment at Crown has increased by 60 percent.

In 2004 Benedict was elected corporate vice president for the U.S. C&MA. He was chosen to serve as president of The Alliance during General Council in Cincinnati, Ohio. “I love The Alliance,” says Benedict. “God has given us a message and a mandate. Our central message is Jesus and Jesus only. The outflow of that is missions.” The Alliance is a 118-year-old missions denomination with nearly 2,000 churches attended by 420,000 people in the United States. Internationally, C&MA national churches and ministries are located in 84 countries with 3 million followers of Jesus in 18,000 churches. The Alliance is ordinary people, empowered by an extraordinary God, multiplying communities of Christ throughout the world. Benedict and his wife, Betty, have been married for more than 45 years and have two children and three grandchildren.