About Eric and Lana Elder

Growing up on a farm, I experienced the peace and quiet of life in the country. Since then I've lived and ministered in some of the largest cities in the world, but I still realize the value of spending time away from the "busy-ness" of the world.

In creating The Ranch on the Internet, I hope to encourage people to take some time out from their busy lives to get the spiritual nurture they need.

As one of nine children, Lana grew up knowing the value of having people around to encourage and help one another. As we minister to people, she always has a listening ear, a loving spirit and an encouraging word. Having seen the power of the Gospel in her own life, she is glad to share what she's experienced with others.

We currently live in central Illinois with our six children.  You can hear a message from Lana and watch the kids sing on Lana's Christmas Message (when the kids were even smaller!)

We'd love for you to join us in praying for this ministry. If you'd like a simple prayer reminder, you can click on our picture above and print it out. Then put it on your fridge or in your Bible or somewhere that you'll see it from time to time.

Please pray for ...

• God to provide everything we need to do His work,
• wisdom to share the message of Christ in the most effective ways possible,
• health, strength and endurance for our whole family,
• protection from anything that would hinder our efforts,
• and for many to find their way to The Ranch so they can find their way to Christ.

Thanks for your prayers!

Eric's Interest In This Ministry

My interest in this ministry has been stirring for years. As a researcher for Texaco's Advanced Technology Group for nine years, I was responsible for researching new computer technologies that could be put to use throughout the corporation. Over the years, I researched virtually every new computer technology that came on the market, from virtual reality to multimedia, from speech recognition to language translation.

When the World Wide Web appeared on the horizon, I developed Texaco's first Web Site to demonstrate to executives how the web could be used for global communication with customers, investors and the public. (Here's their current website, texaco.com, which has undergone many changes since my time there!) At that time, I saw the great potential for this technology to be used to encourage people in their faith.

I committed my life to Christ in 1987 and have ministered one-on-one for over a decade. You can read about that life-changing event here.  I went into full-time ministry in February 1995 and created my first Internet outreach that year called The Hall of Faith, which grew to reach 800 people a month from 72 countries.

In 1995, I launched "The Ranch" website which now reaches several thousand visitors per month from over 150 countries. The Ranch has been featured in newspaper and magazine articles such as USA Today and Billy Graham's Decision Magazine.

I was ordained as a minister in October, 1996 and served for a year as an Associate Pastor of NorthPointe Church in Richardson, Texas.  

As the Internet outreach continued to grow, we created a formal organization to focus primarily on the Internet for the next several years.  

In March of 1998, we officially incorporated as Eric Elder Ministries, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) religious organization whose purpose is to spread the gospel throughout the world.

To learn more about our ministry and how you can be involved with it, click here.