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On Tuesday, January 4, San Diego's Maranatha Chapel founder and senior pastor Ray Bentley passed away from COVID-19 complications at the age of 64. The news of his demise was announced on the chapel's website and in a Facebook post.
Late pastor Ray Bentley is reportedly survived by his wife Vicki and his two children, Daniel and Jill Bentley. However, either of the two also had two other children, Shawn and Annie Stone. The pair also had six grandchildren.
According to Maranatha Chapel's website, the church is also hosting a special service in honor of Ray Bentley. His son, Daniel, will lead the service on January 8 (6:00 PM) and January 9 (8:30 AM and 10:30 AM). The event will also be live on the church's main website at maranathachapel.org.
What is known about Maranatha Chapel's late pastor Ray Bentley?
Ray Bentley was a senior pastor, evangelist, author, and podcaster. He was mostly known for founding the Maranatha Chapel in August 1984. Bentley was reportedly teaching a mid-week Bible study to 30 participants at a recreation center during the chapel's inception.
After its humble beginning, the church moved to a new location in 1996 at Coastwood Road in San Diego and remains there after almost 26 years. Nearly 7,000 people per week now attend the church as per its website. Ray Bentley also hosted a podcast series called The Red Thread on Maranatha TV with his children, Shawn, Annie, and Daniel.
Bentley was also known for his literary work based on his Christian faith and beliefs. He reportedly wrote several books, including two children's books, The Great Gator Princess (Bubba Gator & the Gator family) and Darby the Dinosaur in Naptime for Darby. The late pastor released his books in 1990s, with Building Godly Character (from the Calvary Basics Series) being one of his first books.
As an author, one of his last books was in 2019. Ray was also known for his work in the three-book series Elijah Chronicles. He co-wrote several of his books with renowned author and scriptwriter Bodie Thoene.
The pastor was also one of the benefactors and founding members of The Nehemiah Fund, which funds NGOs to help Jews of Israel. Bentley was also one of the pastors featured in a 2017 documentary titled, The Coming Convergence.
