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What We Believe

Mission & Vision

We believe God is calling Bethel to be: “A biblically vibrant community of the cross praying and working for the renewal of all things in Christ Jesus.”
How do we work to accomplish that vision? We see our shared mission to be “Connecting to Christ, His people, and His mission.”

Core Values

Our core values drive this process. And that is the value of “reaching up” – connecting to God in Christ, the value of “reaching in”– connecting to God’s people at Bethel, and “reaching out” – connecting to God’s mission in the world.
Here, too, is a closer look at what it means that we are a church rooted in the historic Reformed tradition of the Christian Faith.

For Reformed Christians, the Bible alone is the final authority for faith and practice. There is no other book that holds equal status to the Bible. But how should we as Christians interpret the Bible? Creeds and Confessions passed down through the centuries assist us in this interpretation of Scripture, aid us in teaching the truths of Scripture to others, and unite us to other believers around the world.

Bethel CRC holds to three creeds — Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed — and three confessions — Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort.

The Lord’s supper: Believing Christians are commanded to eat this sacramental broken bread and to drink this cup as a remembrance and proclamation of Christ crucified until He returns.

We currently celebrate communion 5-7 times per year. Communion is normally celebrated on the second Sundays of March, June, September and December as well as on Good Friday and at various times where it best fits the Biblical content of the message.
 
Baptism: Jesus Christ instituted this outward washing and with it gave the promise that as surely as water washes away dirt from the body, so certainly his blood and Spirit wash away our impurities. We believe this promise is for us and our children.

We do not have a particular Sunday on which baptism is administered. Parents or adults are asked to contact the Senior Pastor or one of the elders. They will meet with each family to discuss the sacrament and its meaning and schedule a time when baptism will be administered.

Profession of Faith is the way mature Christians respond to Christ’s promises. We do not believe this to be a third sacrament, rather a response to the promises of God offered during baptism.

Those who profess their faith become members of Bethel, which allows them to vote on congregational meeting items, participate in the sacrament of communion and receive a church mailbox.

A pre-Profession of Faith class is held a couple times throughout the year. Individual classes can also be arranged. You will then be asked to come to a church council meeting where you will have the opportunity to present your testimony of faith in Jesus Christ and express your agreement with the basic doctrines of the Reformed faith.

CONTACT US

Our elders (and sometimes deacons) make visits to the homes of our members. The goal of our church is that each family and single person has a time of visitation about once every year. This visit is intended to be informal and relaxed. The intention of the visit is to speak of your relationship to Jesus Christ and to see if the ministry of the church is nourishing your faith in the Lord. Schedules are set up during the course of the year with a specific date and time for the visit.