Sarah Bentley

"All I did was praise
All I did was worship
All I did was bow down
All I did was stay still

Hallelujah, You have saved me
So much better Your way
Hallelujah, great defender
So much better Your way"

Defender by
Francesca Battistelli

Obituary

Sarah was born in Colorado Springs, to Michael and Kathleen Garrison. She was raised in Santa Maria, California, where her love for God and her curiosity about the world began to take shape.

Sarah pursued that curiosity to Portland, Oregon, where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Missiology and Bible & Theology at Multnomah University. It was there that she met and married “the love of my life and best man in the world” Ryan Bentley. They began building a life together that would take them far from home in the best way possible.

In 2015, Sarah and Ryan answered a call that had been forming in her heart since high school: to bring the love of Christ to the people of England. Over 10 years serving the Church they lived in Birmingham, Oxford, and the place that God had called her to many years before: London. In each location Sarah lived out her deepest conviction of living life with the British people and sharing the love of Christ with all those around her.

Sarah was a space maker. Over cups of coffee and tea, she drew people into the kind of honest conversation that most are too guarded to have. She loved being creative and expressing herself through art and beauty. She painted, knit, and crafted beauty for her home and family. She loved to worship. She loved to travel and marvel at the world God made. She loved adventures and a good prank. 

She loved people with a generosity and warmth that made them feel truly seen and valued. She was a cultivator of deep friendships and impactful relationships. She had a particular heart for young mothers, walking alongside them as they found their footing in faith and in life especially after just having children. She believed in raising children who didn't just hear about Jesus but watched Him lived out. Her passion continued to grow to see children become creative, resilient, and secure in love. She poured that vision into her own three children every single day.

Sarah passed away on January 15, 2026, in London, after a courageous battle with cancer. She faced it the way she faced everything: with trust in God as her defender and protector, right until the end.

She is survived by her husband, Ryan Bentley; her children, Rhys, Victoria, and Asher; and her parents, Michael and Kathleen Garrison.

Gallery

Celebration of Life

Memory wall