Full Name
David Benke
Position Title
Bishop
Organization/Affiliation (full name)
Brooklyn Nehemiah Project
Speaker Bio
David H. Benke was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is one of four children of the late Raymond and Dorothea Benke.
His education is a product of the Lutheran parochial system from grade school through graduate school in Milwaukee, Fort Wayne, St. Louis, and New York. He received:
Associate of Arts, Concordia College, Milwaukee, WI, 1966
Bachelor of Arts, Concordia College, Ft. Wayne, IN, 1968
Master of Divinity, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, 1972
Doctor of Ministry, New York Theological Seminary, NY, 1983
Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa), Concordia College, Bronxville, NY, 1997
Ordained into the Holy Ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in 1972, he has served in these ordained capacities:
Assistant to the Pastor, Zion Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO, 1972-73
Teacher of Religion, Martin Luther High School, Queens, NY, 1973-75
Pastor, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York, 1975-1991
Bishop and President, Atlantic District, LC-MS, 1991-1998
Bishop and President, Atlantic District, LC-MS and Pastor, St. Peter’s Brooklyn, 1998-2015
Pastor, St. Peter’s Lutheran, Brooklyn, 2015-Present
At St. Peter’s, Bishop Benke serves as Pastor, Executive Director of Community-Based Organizational Programs (NYC DYCD and DOE), and currently supervises two vicars as well as three Atlantic District lay deacons.
Bishop Benke has served on the boards of numerous local community organizations including East Brooklyn Congregations, Cypress Hills Local Development Corp., Cypress-Fulton Senior Center, Wartburg Lutheran Services of Brooklyn, Mill Neck School for the Deaf (serving as Board Chair currently), Lutheran Social Services of New York (Board and twice Interim Chief Executive Officer), Kennedy Airport Protestant Chapel, and Forest/Highland Park Trust.
During his tenure in Brooklyn, Dr. Benke helped initiate and has continued to promote the Nehemiah Plan, which has led to over 4000 single family homes being built on formerly ravaged inner-city acreage. Dr. Benke enlisted churchly partners through the decades to provide undergirding interest funding for Nehemiah Homes and served for years as the President of the National LCMS Housing Support Corporation. In 2017 Dr. Benke received the “50 over 50 Award” given by City and State New York for being one of the 50 most influential leaders in New York over the age of 50.
In 2001, following the events of September 11, Dr. Benke co-founded Lutheran Disaster Response of New York, which provided twenty-five million dollars to programs serving immigrants and others victimized by the terrorist attacks. Subsequently, Dr. Benke became the founder and host of the annual “Witness In The Public Square” luncheon for The Atlantic District Mission Society, through which three million dollars for missions have been raised.
Two phrases marking this time in his life are “Engaging the World with the Gospel of Hope,” which remains the motto of the Atlantic District, and “It’s OK to Pray,” which is on Judy’s New York license plate.
Bishop Benke has been blessed to be married to Judy for 54 years. She was the first teacher/director of St. Peter’s Pre-School, founded twelve additional pre-schools in Metropolitan New York, and was Director of Church and Community Relations for Wartburg for 14 years and The Lutheran Care Network for 5 years. Both are organizations providing programs for older adults in New York Metro area, Westchester County and upstate New York. Dave and Judy have lived for over thirty years in their home in Oakland Gardens, Queens.
His education is a product of the Lutheran parochial system from grade school through graduate school in Milwaukee, Fort Wayne, St. Louis, and New York. He received:
Associate of Arts, Concordia College, Milwaukee, WI, 1966
Bachelor of Arts, Concordia College, Ft. Wayne, IN, 1968
Master of Divinity, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, 1972
Doctor of Ministry, New York Theological Seminary, NY, 1983
Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa), Concordia College, Bronxville, NY, 1997
Ordained into the Holy Ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in 1972, he has served in these ordained capacities:
Assistant to the Pastor, Zion Lutheran Church, St. Louis, MO, 1972-73
Teacher of Religion, Martin Luther High School, Queens, NY, 1973-75
Pastor, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York, 1975-1991
Bishop and President, Atlantic District, LC-MS, 1991-1998
Bishop and President, Atlantic District, LC-MS and Pastor, St. Peter’s Brooklyn, 1998-2015
Pastor, St. Peter’s Lutheran, Brooklyn, 2015-Present
At St. Peter’s, Bishop Benke serves as Pastor, Executive Director of Community-Based Organizational Programs (NYC DYCD and DOE), and currently supervises two vicars as well as three Atlantic District lay deacons.
Bishop Benke has served on the boards of numerous local community organizations including East Brooklyn Congregations, Cypress Hills Local Development Corp., Cypress-Fulton Senior Center, Wartburg Lutheran Services of Brooklyn, Mill Neck School for the Deaf (serving as Board Chair currently), Lutheran Social Services of New York (Board and twice Interim Chief Executive Officer), Kennedy Airport Protestant Chapel, and Forest/Highland Park Trust.
During his tenure in Brooklyn, Dr. Benke helped initiate and has continued to promote the Nehemiah Plan, which has led to over 4000 single family homes being built on formerly ravaged inner-city acreage. Dr. Benke enlisted churchly partners through the decades to provide undergirding interest funding for Nehemiah Homes and served for years as the President of the National LCMS Housing Support Corporation. In 2017 Dr. Benke received the “50 over 50 Award” given by City and State New York for being one of the 50 most influential leaders in New York over the age of 50.
In 2001, following the events of September 11, Dr. Benke co-founded Lutheran Disaster Response of New York, which provided twenty-five million dollars to programs serving immigrants and others victimized by the terrorist attacks. Subsequently, Dr. Benke became the founder and host of the annual “Witness In The Public Square” luncheon for The Atlantic District Mission Society, through which three million dollars for missions have been raised.
Two phrases marking this time in his life are “Engaging the World with the Gospel of Hope,” which remains the motto of the Atlantic District, and “It’s OK to Pray,” which is on Judy’s New York license plate.
Bishop Benke has been blessed to be married to Judy for 54 years. She was the first teacher/director of St. Peter’s Pre-School, founded twelve additional pre-schools in Metropolitan New York, and was Director of Church and Community Relations for Wartburg for 14 years and The Lutheran Care Network for 5 years. Both are organizations providing programs for older adults in New York Metro area, Westchester County and upstate New York. Dave and Judy have lived for over thirty years in their home in Oakland Gardens, Queens.
Speaking At
