Ben arrived at BASECAMP 2026 with little idea of what to expect. Having only heard about the conference a couple of months earlier, he joined two other men from his church and was blown away by the weekend. From worshipping alongside more than a thousand men to being reminded of the simple foundation of Christian courage, BASECAMP gave Ben a bigger vision of Christian brotherhood and for the men’s ministry back home.
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m Ben. Married to my beautiful wife, Rose, and we have 4 boys: Lewis (13), Atticus (9), Francis (2), and Joseph (7 months). Our church is City Church Nowra, which we have attended for 3 and a half years, and where I currently lead the Men’s Ministry. I have been in the Navy for 14 years and am in my second year of studying for a bachelor of ministry as part of my transfer to Navy Chaplain.
2. How many times have you attended BASECAMP and what made you attend this year?
This was my first time at BASECAMP, and prior to about 2 months ago, I had never even heard of it. One of the men from my church was super keen to go, so I was just coming along with him. It ended up being 3 of us, as another man from our church has been attending KCC conferences since he was a kid and comes to BASECAMP every year. I really had no idea what to expect coming in, but BASECAMP blew me away.
3. A takeaway from the talks?
My biggest takeaway from the talks was the simplicity with which Matt Fuller described Christian courage. Trust in the promises of God. That’s it.
Trust in the promises of God. That’s it.
4. A highlight from BASECAMP 2026?
The highlight of the weekend for me was the worship. Coming from a Pentecostal church, we know how to worship, but being in a shed with over a thousand men, worshipping the Lord with everything they had, will stick with me for quite some time. The Spirit was moving in that shed, and it has given me a bigger vision for City Church Nowra’s men’s ministry.
The Spirit was moving in that shed, and it has given me a bigger vision for City Church Nowra’s men’s ministry.
4. Why should men set aside time for conferences like BASECAMP?
Men were never meant to be alone. We need to be around other Christian men. To spend time with them. To sit and listen, to pray, to worship together, to listen to solid teaching on issues that affect men. BASECAMP has all this and more.
For someone on the fence, I would simply say, “What do you have to lose by going?” What I got out of the weekend was infinitely more than the financial or time cost.
What I got out of the weekend was infinitely more than the financial or time cost.
Register for BASECAMP 2027
John Stott says, “Holiness is not a condition into which we can drift.” No one wakes up one day and finds himself holy. Character is shaped by direction, and if we aren’t actively pursuing Christ, we are drifting toward something else.
Left unchecked, that drift carries us toward the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. These vices rarely announce themselves. They arrive one small compromise at a time until they become habits, and the habits become the shape of a man’s life.
Every man is becoming someone, and the question is who. We need to look honestly at the trajectory of our lives and ask, What man am I becoming? Then comes the deeper question: How do we go from drifting to pursuing Christ?
Together we will explore and learn how to live out what it means to stop drifting with the current and start moving with purpose toward the One who calls us into men of lasting character.
