Ministries

As we have described in our order of worship, the worship service narrates the story of redemption, and in this aspect it has an anticipatory character, that is, we enjoy elements of eternity that we have not yet fully experienced here.

For this reason, the Church, gathered for worship, is directed to a continuation of the worship performed on Sunday. What we experience in the Sunday liturgy flows into our weekly routine. The biblical texts read, the themes of the songs, the sermon preached, the challenge given to each of us, the beauty of the sacraments, the prayers to God. Each of these elements influences the weekly decisions, trains the heart to actually experience and enact the Missio Dei (mission of God).

In worship, mission is given, directed, enabled, and finally initiated. It involves both worship and action. It is a field where the baptized, participants in worship, are now sent and prepared for God's mission in the world.

Our order of worship is designed to help us to remember that worship tells and retells, week after week, the story of salvation, namely, the Gospel narrative. The biblical drama includes: creation, fall, redemption and consummation (renewal). We are at the point of eschatological tension between redemption and the consummation of all things. This is where the Church lives and acts, and therefore has her mission. Christian hope, fueled by the anticipatory character of worship, does not generate a static local church, standing with its hands raised, waiting to be abducted. Rather, it creates a church in motion, that puts the hands and feet into action, walking in the world and sowing the Word of Truth.

The people of God gathered, who have their hearts comforted and sin confronted, can be welcomed and taught, not only for their own enjoyment, but mainly to serve God in the midst of His world. Gathered, we are trained and sent. Then, we work and witness. The Christian church spread to the world after Christian worship must act according to what was learned during the worship, based on the implications and applications solidified in the exposition of the Word and the inspiration given in the songs, prayers and readings.

Yes, the retelling of God's story emphasizes his outpouring to the world, from creation, in the act of speaking and calling things into existence, to the incarnation of Christ, his Son, given to the world and present in temporality in order to fulfill the Father's purpose in announcing reconciliation and forgiveness of sins. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, one of the central issues of Christian worship in the Lord’s Supper, we prepare each other to understand the same dimension that the disciples understood at Pentecost, moving them to witness to the ends of the earth (See: Acts 1:8).

When the Word of God preached, sung, prayed, and explained in Christian worship is properly embodied in us, our presence in the chaotic and hopeless world will point to a Kingdom of order and real hope.

OUR MUSIC

The music we sing at Bethel is a blend of old and new. We love the doctrinally rich ancient hymns and we find blessing in the contemporary choruses. While lyrics and style are important in the songs we sing, we are most concerned with congregational singing which emphasizes the gathered body singing praise to God with one voice, over performed music, which tends to spotlight the abilities of some while encouraging passivity in the rest.

NURSERY

The Bethel Presbyterian nursery exists to support our young families as they seek to grow in their devotion to the Lord. The nursery serves as an emotionally engaging and physically safe environment for children ages brith through three years. Our desire is to partner with the parents in the discipleship of their children by teaching them the truths of God’s Word and encouraging the very earliest stages of Christian community with their peers and adults in their church family. While Bethel welcomes families with children of all ages to worship together, we also want to offer parents of young children (Ages 1-3) the opportunity to worship and learn undistracted, especially during this very demanding season of life.

We come together to worship every Sunday at 10:00 am.