Benji Kelley Net Worth 2026: NewHope Church Founding Pastor
No reputable outlet publishes a net worth for Dr. Benji Kelley. Here is what is documented about the Durham pastor who founded NewHope Church and now leads Our Redemption Church.
- Full name
- Benji Kelley
- Profession
- Pastor, author, founder of NewHope Church and Our Redemption Church
- Birthplace
- Sumter, South Carolina, U.S.
- Nationality
- American
- Spouse
- Jess Kelley
- Relationship
- Married
- Children
- 5
- Source of wealth
- Pastoral ministry, books, speaking
In this article
No reputable outlet has published a net worth estimate for Dr. Benji Kelley, the Durham, North Carolina pastor who founded NewHope Church in 2002 and now leads Our Redemption Church. The $30 million figure on older profiles, including a previous version of this page, had no source and has been removed. His known income sources are pastoral work, two books and speaking.
What is Benji Kelley's net worth?
There is no published figure from Celebrity Net Worth, Forbes or the regional press. Pastors' salaries at independent churches are set by church boards and are rarely disclosed, and churches are generally not required to file the public tax returns that other nonprofits do. That makes a sourced estimate impossible for now.
The old page also described Kelley as vice president for development at Campbellsville University and as a businessman. We found no reliable source for either claim. His own church biography, published by Our Redemption Church, describes a career spent in ministry in North Carolina, so those claims have been removed.
How Benji Kelley earns money
An earlier version of this page gave him a yearly income of $1 million with monthly and daily breakdowns. Those figures were not sourced and have been removed. What is documented:
- Pastoral leadership. He led NewHope Church as founding senior pastor from 2002 and is now senior pastor of Our Redemption Church in Durham. His compensation has not been published.
- Books. He wrote Preaching to Connect Truth to Life (2012) and Wrecked and Redeemed: A Story of How God Unleashes His Church (2018).
- Speaking. He describes himself on his official social profiles as a speaker and author. Fees are not public.
Early life and family
Kelley comes from Sumter, South Carolina, according to his church biography. ABC11 also identified him as a South Carolina native in its 2016 report. The earlier page's text about his childhood interests had no source and has been cut.
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Benji Kelley wife
Our Redemption Church's staff page says he is married to Jess Kelley and that they live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It also says he is the father of five adult children. The earlier version of this page named a different person as his wife; we found no source for that, so it has been corrected.
Education
His church biography lists the following degrees:
- University of South Carolina, 1994: an associate degree in religion and a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary studies.
- Duke University Divinity School: two master's degrees, a Master of Divinity and a master's in the theology and practice of Christian preaching.
- Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky: a doctorate in Christian leadership and preaching through the Beeson Pastor Program.
The older page said he earned his degree at Campbellsville University. That does not match his own biography and has been removed.
Professional life
After finishing his doctorate, Kelley returned to North Carolina and planted NewHope Church in 2002. According to Our Redemption Church, NewHope later served more than 7,000 people across 10 campuses in North and South Carolina, with annual growth that ranged from 30% to 67%. Outreach Magazine placed it on its list of the 100 fastest-growing churches in the United States in 2010, 2013 and 2017, the biography says.
In June 2016, ABC11 reported that Kelley traveled to Charleston for the first anniversary of the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting, attending services there and speaking about unity across race and class. The station described NewHope as having 10 campuses at the time.
Kelley has since moved on from NewHope and started Our Redemption Church in Durham, where the church website lists him as senior pastor. His biography frames the move as starting the same kind of church-planting work again, this time with a new congregation.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Graduates from the University of South Carolina |
| 2002 | Founds NewHope Church in Durham, North Carolina |
| 2010, 2013, 2017 | NewHope named to Outreach Magazine's top 100 fastest-growing churches |
| 2012 | Publishes Preaching to Connect Truth to Life |
| 2016 | Ministers in Charleston on the shooting anniversary |
| 2018 | Publishes Wrecked and Redeemed |
| Current | Senior pastor, Our Redemption Church, Durham |
Age, height, weight
The earlier page said he was 52, 5 feet 6 inches tall and about 89 kg. None of those figures had a source and they have been removed. His birth date has not been published; his 1994 graduation is the only dated point in his early timeline.
See Also: Ben Uretsky Net Worth
Benji Kelley's net worth compared
Other pastors on this site face the same problem: church compensation is private, so reliable numbers are rare. See Alyn Waller of Enon Tabernacle in Philadelphia and Ashley Wooldridge for comparison.
Why there is no reliable figure
Kelley has not sold a business, does not appear in public financial filings and has not discussed his personal finances. Book royalties for two ministry titles and pastoral pay are unlikely to add up to anything close to the $30 million once claimed, but we will not replace one guess with another. His documented record is a church plant that grew to thousands of attendees across two states, two books and a second church launch in Durham.
Frequently asked questions
What is Benji Kelley's net worth?
No reputable outlet has published a net worth estimate for Dr. Benji Kelley. The $30 million figure on some websites has no documented source. His known income comes from pastoral work at NewHope Church and now Our Redemption Church in Durham, two books and speaking, and none of those amounts are public.
Who is Benji Kelley's wife?
According to Our Redemption Church's staff biography, Benji Kelley is married to Jess Kelley and the couple live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is the father of five adult children. Earlier claims naming a different wife could not be verified.
What church did Benji Kelley start?
Benji Kelley founded NewHope Church in Durham, North Carolina, in 2002. It grew to more than 7,000 people across 10 campuses in the Carolinas, per his church biography. He later started Our Redemption Church, also in Durham, where he serves as senior pastor.
Where did Benji Kelley go to school?
He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1994, earned two master's degrees at Duke University Divinity School and received a doctorate in Christian leadership and preaching from Asbury Theological Seminary's Beeson Pastor Program, according to Our Redemption Church.
What is Benji Kelley's yearly income?
His salary has never been published. Churches generally do not file public tax returns, so pastor pay is rarely disclosed. Claims of $1 million a year that appeared on older profiles had no source. He also earns from two books and speaking, but amounts are not public.
What books has Benji Kelley written?
Benji Kelley has written two books: Preaching to Connect Truth to Life, published in 2012, and Wrecked and Redeemed: A Story of How God Unleashes His Church, published in 2018, according to his biography on the Our Redemption Church website.
Follow Benji Kelley
Sources
- Our Redemption Church: https://ourredemptionchurch.org/team/dr-benji-kelley/
- ABC11 (WTVD): https://abc11.com/post/durham-pastor-in-charleston-for-shooting-anniversary/1390665/
