Renew Church (formerly known as Hightime Evangelistic Center) was founded by the late Bennie B. McFarland along with his wife, Miriam Crawford McFarland. The two met at and graduated from Oral Roberts University, where they were able to build upon their foundation in Christ, which was laid by their parents. The passion to serve The Lord in ministry grew stronger after they were married. God used that zeal to lead others to receive Christ and launch church ministry.
The ministry began in 1985 as an outdoor evangelistic outreach focused on sharing the love of God with those in the North Baton Rouge community. The McFarlands’ evangelistic call fueled the vision to reach people with the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A positive response from the community led the couple to start a Bible Study group at the home of Pastor Bennie’s parents. The initial group, of approximately 10 people, experienced dramatic growth, and it moved the late Rev. Robert Early Sr. to allow the Bible Study to be held at Carroll Baptist Church on Thursday evenings.
In time, the Bible Study attendance outgrew the church facility. To accommodate this new growth, the founders along with a few close associates, formed a Board of Directors to establish the official ministry. In May of 1986, Hightime Evangelistic Center was incorporated based on Romans 13:11, “…now it is HIGH TIME to awake out of sleep…” Within 3 years the ministry found a home in Baker, Louisiana, at 8160 Pettit Road, where it is presently located.
As the church continued to grow, the ministry developed various outreach teams to reach the lost, make disciples, and serve families; especially, in the North Baton Rouge community. There was an outpouring of grace as The Lord added to the church.
In 2005, the church experienced a difficult trial as Pastor Bennie was incarcerated. During that time, Pastor Miriam was graced to fill the office of the pastorate with the support of the Elders, the Board and much of the congregation. Under her leadership, the ministry experienced healing and was strengthened as a congregation by focusing on serving others as an authentic community of believers.
In 2012, Pastor Bennie returned to serve the ministry by volunteering his gifts and abilities. His teaching compelled believers to identify “the inconsistencies between the Christianity of the land and the Christianity of Christ.” He challenged the church to awake from “spiritual complacency” and arise to be “salt seasoning” and “light bearers” to their world.
After the historic flood, in 2016, the church building experienced a significant amount of damage which required renovation. During the phase of physical rebuilding, The Lord instructed Pastor Bennie that it was also time to rebuild the ministry. It would be a new start, and a new work, complete with a new name. While meditating on Revelation 21:5, where Jesus spoke, “Behold, I make all things new”, the word RENEW echoed in Pastor Bennie’s spirit. Thus, in January of 2017, the ministry officially was renamed Renew Church.
During the period that followed, the church experienced deeper growth that reflected the paradigm shift that God was preparing for the ministry. Shortly thereafter, in October of 2018, our beloved founder, Bennie B. McFarland, unexpectedly passed from this life to be present with The Lord.
Pastor Bennie believed in the transformative power of God’s Word because he experienced it firsthand. Over the 40-year tenure of his ministry, God used his gifts to teach, enlighten, and lead in a way that was engaging, innovative, practical, and accessible to all; but he was especially called to serve those in the African American community. Pastor Bennie revealed the value of Christian’s critiquing and correcting the cultural norms of society that perpetuated inaccurate stereotypes of African Americans. He understood the unique needs, concerns, and challenges within the Black community, so his gifts were tailored to address those needs and to draw in a multi-generation harvest of souls. He did this by working to cultivate a strong community of believers who could think critically and dynamically using the wisdom of the scriptures to renew their minds, improve their lives, and impact those around them by conforming daily to the image of Christ Jesus.
While there are no words to truly describe how much his presence is missed, Renew Church continues the work of Pastor Bennie’s legacy by carrying out the great commission to make disciples and serve together as an authentic community of believers. Renew Church is a true testament to the faithfulness of God.
Today, Pastor Miriam continues the work she and her husband began together, along with a team of faithful ministers by her side. The Renew Church family is honored to work side by side as “God’s masterpiece”, ministering to others while pursuing His knowledge, and flooding the world with His light.
Renew Church trusts God to fulfill the vision of “a church that understands the spirit of the times – a church that refuses to simply duplicate those services that are in abundant supply and ignore those areas that are lacking. Use us Lord to make up the difference.”
