Who We Are
Sunday School | 9:30 AM • Sunday Morning Worship | 10:30 AM • Sunday Evening Worship | 5:00 PM
Mission Statement
Bethel exists to make disciples and lead them into maturity in Christ.
Who we are
Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed Faith, and Obedient to the Great Commission
As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), Bethel Presbyterian Church is dedicated to glorifying God through faithful worship, sound teaching, and loving service. Rooted in the rich heritage of the Reformed tradition, we strive to live out our faith in every aspect of our lives, guided by the Holy Scriptures. We believe that the Gospel of Jesus is transformative. We hold to timeless Biblical truths, not as ends in themselves, but because they best express the wonders of our God and the incredible story of His rescue mission to an unworthy people. We worship not as those who have it all together, but as those who are grateful and thankful that in our brokenness, Jesus rescued us.
VISION OF THE CHURCH: We want to be a gospel-centered community where people feel welcome, where the biblical truth goes forth with grace, and where friends together pursue Christ-likeness.
OUR CORE VALUES: To fulfill our mission of making disciples and leading them into maturity in Christ, three pillars compose our core values:
1 - FAITHFUL TO THE SCRIPTURES: God‘s Word is essential for our discipleship. We believe the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. Our teaching and preaching are firmly grounded in Scripture, guiding our beliefs, practices, and daily living. We are committed to studying and applying God’s Word faithfully in every area of our lives.
2 - TRUE TO THE REFORMED FAITH: Bethel continues the rich tradition passed down from the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, adhering to the doctrinal standards articulated by the Westminster Assembly. Our heritage traces back to the Scottish Presbyterian tradition led by John Knox, influenced by the Genevan Reformation led by John Calvin, which followed on the heels of the German Reformation through Martin Luther. In other words, we are not seeking to create something new; rather, our goal is to faithfully preserve the gospel tradition that has been entrusted to us (1 Cor. 15:1, 3).
3 - OBEDIENT TO THE GREAT COMMISSION: We share and live the gospel with our words and deeds, in obedience to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:28-30). We want to equip the congregation that God has called us to serve. We want the practice and mindset of the church to be described as a culture of evangelism and discipleship, so that we can taste it in the conversations. We are dedicated to fulfilling Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations. Our church is involved in missions and discipleship, both locally and globally. We aim to share the gospel, nurture new believers, and equip them to grow in their faith and serve others. In other words, our goal is not only to win converts but to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us.
WHAT WE BELIEVE:
The Bible is the inspired word of God. It is without error in its original manuscripts, and contains everything we need to know about having a right relationship with God and our fellow human beings. The Bible is the basis for all of our essential beliefs (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
God is one (Mark 12:29), yet mysteriously exists in three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), who are to be equally loved, honored, and surrendered to (Matthew 28:19).
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. He is the sole Mediator able to restore the broken relationship, and the resulting alienation, between God and people (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
The Holy Spirit is God, the third Person of the Trinity. He is alive and active. He indwells followers of Christ, working in unison with the Word of God to guide them in all truth. He is the power that enables Christians to live as new creations in Christ and empowers believers for service (John 16:7-14; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 6:17).
People are created by God and in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). On this basis, all people must be treated with dignity, honor, love and respect (James 3:9-10). At the same time, in their quest for independence and the centrality of self, all people begin their lives alienated from God, and in this condition are without hope and under judgment, a condition that can only be cured through God’s loving, gracious, and saving intervention (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1). As the image of God, we are most alive when our trust, affections and allegiances center on Him.
Restoration between God and people (also called ‘salvation’) happens when the Holy Spirit gives people a new heart, leading and enabling them to trust in Jesus alone for salvation (John 1:12-13). Because God loves His creation, He will also restore the entire universe to a condition of beauty, rest, joy, perfection, and freedom (Romans 8:18-30). God’s world, which began as a promising Garden (Genesis 1:27-31), will find its fulfillment in a perfected, life-giving City in which there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:1-8).
Good works do not and cannot make us acceptable to God (Ephesians 2:8-9), but are the natural outcome of authentic faith in Jesus (James 2:17). We become more fully human—the very best and most healthy version of ourselves—to the degree that we follow God’s loving commands. His commands, properly understood, are neither limiting nor oppressive but life-giving. Obedience to God’s commands is an essential prerequisite for true human flourishing.
The Church is the family of God and consists of those who place their functional trust (faith) in Jesus. God wants all members of His worldwide Church, together with their children, to be active in a local church which meets regularly to worship God, serve each other, and be a life-giving presence in their local community and world (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25).
We believe that God has created men (male) and women (female) equal in their essential dignity and human personhood, but different and complementary in their functions; He also created marriage to be exclusively the covenant union of one man (male) and one woman (female), and designed intimate sexual activity to occur exclusively within that covenant union.
