Jason Benham graduated from Liberty University in 1998 and obtained a master's degree from American Christian College in 2001. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles and later moved to the St. Louis Cardinals farm system. Jason was named the third-most productive real estate agent in the United States by The Wall Street Journal and Real Trends after he concluded 970 transactions in 2011. and listed again as one of the nation's top real estate agents in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. As of 2018, Jason and his wife, Tori, had four children and resided in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Business Ventures
After finishing college, the Benham Brothers began working in real estate in Charlotte, North Carolina. The brothers had had little success until a bank contacted them to work on a foreclosed home. After the brothers fixed the home, the bank was impressed with their work and gave them many more jobs. In 2003, they co-founded BENHAM Real Estate Group with a national focus on bank listings and preparing foreclosed homes for resale. They also operate Redwood Realty Group focused on residential homes in the greater Charlotte, NC area.
Missioneering
The brothers are devout Christians. The 2007-09 global recession forced a significant number of Christian missionaries worldwide to cancel or downsize their proselytism due to substantial reductions in donations. Two years later, in 2010, the brothers devised an alternative, for-profit model for Christian mission work the termed "missioneering". In 2014, the brothers' "missioneering" projects fully supported three missionaries in the Philippines by hiring and training 300 employees to offer virtual assistant and business services. The brothers expanded their social enterprise efforts by opening two CrossFit gyms in North Carolina with some 500 members.
Expert Ownership
In the wake of the 2007-09 global recession and the foreclosure crisis in the United States two years later, the brothers shifted their primary focus away from real estate and toward helping entrepreneurs. In March 2020 the brothers launched their new weekly Expert Ownership Podcast and business masterclass coaching platform.
Film & TV
''Flip it Forward'': HGTV
On April 18, 2014, HGTV announced it was planning to premier a home improvement reality television show called Flip It Forward, featuring the brothers to debut in Fall 2014. On May 6, 2014, Right Wing Watch published a report that labeled David Benham as an outspoken anti-gay, anti-abortion extremist. The report listed several controversial public statements made by David Benham, who opposes abortion and same-sex marriage, at a prayer rally outside of the Democratic National Cenvention in Charlotte in 2012. Right Wing Watch also challenged public statements made by the Brother's father, Flip Benham who led Operation Save America, and questioned the Benhams support for North Carolina's Marriage Amendment, North Carolina Amendment 1, which defined male–female marriage as "the only domestic legal union" recognized by the state until being struck down by US District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. later that year. The following day, May 7, 2014, HGTV issued an announcement via a tweet that it would not move forward with the brothers' series, thereby immediately canceling production in the middle of filming. While the network never publicly gave a reason for the cancellation, the Benhams suggested HGTV was "bullied" into canceling the show by People for the American Way and other progressive groups over public statements they made about their faith and beliefs and blamed a "gay agenda" for the network's decision. The brothers privately finished the house flip projects on the six Charlotte area homes connected to the cancelled show.
Filmography
The Benhams are credited as actors and producers in a number of Faith-based films:
The Reliant Studio City Pictures
Life Changes Everything: Discover Zac Ryan 180Films and New Day Dream Films
War Room Sony Pictures
Courageous Sony Pictures
Arrest of David Benham in Charlotte, North Carolina
On April 4, 2020, David Benham was arrested outside a Charlotte abortion clinic for violating stay-at-home orders during COVID-19 crisis. He was working with Cities4Life, a Charlotte-based 501c nonprofit offering social services to women. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers told media they saw nearly 50 people protesting outside of A Preferred Women's Health Center. Police issued 12 citations and arrested eight for failing to comply with the stay-at-home orders which limited gatherings to only 10 people. Benham maintains he complied with all applicable emergency orders and proclamations related to the coronavirus crisis. On April 18, 2020, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit, Benham et al v. Charlotte et al, in the Western District of North Carolina, against the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, on behalf of David Benham, Cities4Life and Global Impact Ministries, for violating their First Amendment rights.
