About RBM & the OFMB
Our History...
The Outpost of Freedom Mission Base was birthed in the hearts of Rick and Susan Bennett a long, long time ago. Susan’s pursuit of missions was first stirred as a teenager as she was afforded the wonderful opportunity to be raised in a missions-minded home. Her mom, Dolores Duck, was a director at the world headquarters for the General Baptist denomination. Dolores trained women and raised funds for missions and traveled the world in support of her role there. Early in Susan’s life she developed a great love for missionaries and their work.
Later on Susan and her husband,Pastor Rick Bennett, served as youth and young adult pastors at Christ the Rock Church in Memphis. They were also teachers in a Bible College. They were and still are very serious about discipling the young, equipping them for ministry and then providing them opportunities to move into their gifts. Leading teams on missions trips that exposed team members to different cultures became a strategic component of their discipleship program. Having been part of foreign missions teams and leading some himself, Rick realized early on that taking large teams of children and youth overseas was logistically and financially difficult.
Just in time, ministry friends introduced the Bennetts to Navajo leaders, Pastors Kenneth & Mary Begishe. Quickly their hearts were captured with a deep love for Native Nations people. Then a most divine connection occurred as God connected us with one of our mentors Dr. Tom Gossett of Indian Trails Mission. Over the next several years, Tom would not only advise us, but he fervently prayed us to Arizona! It wasn't about facilitating teams any longer. God used that season in their lives to reveal His heart to them regarding a life changing calling.
Dr. Thomas Gossett with Ricky Bennett
In 2005 Rick Bennett Ministries, Inc. was established as a religious non-profit organization with an IRS 501 (c) (3) determination. RBM was chartered for missions, church and missions base planting, Christian education, leadership development, credentialing and oversight, and benevolence. The board immediately began to pray about a location to establish a missions base. Although five cities were prayerfully considered, our hearts were never far from our Navajo and Apache friends. The Phoenix area was uniquely located to support our base operations.
Our Name...
And here we are, landed in the Southwest...so Outpost of Freedom just seemed right!
An outpost was and is a place on a frontier where both pioneers and settlers connect. It was a place in the middle of the future. It provided protection and resources for people looking to settle as well as for those just passing through. People who were in the outpost were there for a specific season and for a specific purpose.
Ministering freedom in and through Christ is our calling.
Through RBM’s ongoing ministry each short-term outreach can be a part of a long-term strategy.
Our Covering...
The Outpost of Freedom Missions Base is a division of Rick Bennett Ministries, Inc. In addition to the ministry's board of directors, it also receives guidance from an anointed group of advisors and overseers. The OFMB is funded and supported through RBM, by local churches, ministries, organizations and individuals who provide regular monthly support and occasional financial gifts.
For more information concerning Rick Bennett Ministries, Inc. please connect with us via our contact page.