Meet the Pastor
Preaching truth. Practicing love.
Ben Taylor
Preaching truth. Practicing love. At Florence Baptist, those two things belong together.
Hey, I’m Ben. I’m honored to serve as your pastor here at Florence Baptist Church.
I believe God’s Word deserves to be preached fully, faithfully, and without apology. I also believe that every single person who walks through our doors deserves to be loved without exception. Those two things were never meant to be in conflict. At Florence Baptist, they belong together.
At a Glance
Contact Pastor BenFrom Religious to Redeemed
I grew up in church, and for a long time I thought that was enough. I was religious. I knew the right answers and I did the right things. But when I was a young teenager, God showed me the truth about myself. I wasn’t a believer. I was a Pharisee. I was lost, trying to earn God’s attention through my own effort instead of surrendering to His authority.
That realization broke me, and it saved me. I stopped trying to work my way to God and surrendered my life fully to Christ. What happened next still amazes me. Within three weeks of that surrender, God called me to preach His Word. I answered that call at sixteen years old, and I have been preaching for close to 28 years since.
I love preaching and teaching Scripture. But if I’m honest, what I love even more is watching it happen to someone else. Watching a person, young or old, get excited about God’s Word for the first time and start to grow. All these years later, that is still the best part of ministry to me.
Off the Platform
Ministry has always been a family calling for us, and I couldn’t do any of it without Amy.
Amy and Four Kids
I’m married to my wife, Amy, and together we’re raising four children. Everything I do here, I do alongside her.
Coffee and Conversation
Outside the pulpit, you’ll usually find me with a good cup of coffee in hand and time set aside for whoever wants to talk.
Hunting, Fishing, the Range
Some of my best ministry happens outside the church building, over coffee or in a deer stand, not only behind a pulpit.
Almost Every Seat in the Room
Since surrendering to preach at sixteen, God has given me the privilege of serving His church in nearly every role there is. Each season taught me something different about shepherding people well.
- Youth Minister. Where I learned that discipleship happens in the ordinary hours, not just the big ones.
- Missions Pastor and IMB Missionary. Serving the church beyond our own walls and our own borders.
- Associate Pastor and Interim Pastor. Coming alongside congregations in transition and in growth.
- Head Pastor and Church Planter. Building from the ground up and shepherding what is already standing.
Ordained as a Baptist pastor and deacon, and a certified church planter. Serving as Lead Pastor of Florence Baptist Church since May 2026.
Verse by Verse, Without Apology
My preaching is rooted in expository preaching. That means walking verse by verse through books of the Bible and preaching intentional sermon series that let God’s Word, not my opinions, set the agenda for our church.
Here is what I believe, plainly. Boldness is missing from the American church, and it is missing because too many pulpits have gone silent and too much truth has been watered down. I refuse to let that be the standard here. I am determined to stand in the gap and preach God’s Word truthfully, fully, and faithfully, because a watered down gospel doesn’t save anybody and a silent pulpit doesn’t grow anybody.
“I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men!” Richard Baxter
2 Timothy 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
This is my favorite verse in all of Scripture, and it has guided me through life, not only as a pastor but as a husband, a father, and a friend. Paul wasn’t telling Timothy to suppress fear by trying harder. He was reminding him that timidity was never something God gave him in the first place.
Power
The same power that raised Christ from the dead, living in every believer.
Love
Not a feeling, but a sacrificial love that reaches the people our culture would rather write off.
A Sound Mind
A steady, clear headed faith that holds together whether things are going well or falling apart.
That is the kind of pastor, husband, and father I want to be. Not timid, but full of the power, love, and steadiness God has already given me.
You Have Nothing to Worry About Here
If you are far from believing in God at all, if you have been searching for truth and haven’t found it yet, or if you grew up in church, drifted away, and are nervous about walking back through the doors for fear of being judged, you have nothing to worry about at Florence Baptist Church.
We promise to love you no matter what you have done or what you currently believe. We also believe that truly loving someone means telling them the truth, even when it isn’t popular and isn’t what people want to hear, because that truth is what leads people to Jesus, who is the only way, the only truth, and the only life.