Do We Really Need Sunday School?

Why Should We Have Sunday School?

Sunday School gives opportunity to study the scripture based on the age and understanding of each individual. 

Sunday School allows us to share in a small group setting with people who are in the same stages of life as ourselves. 

Sunday School gives multiple saints of God an avenue to serve the Lord. Developing skills in a smaller setting that may be used in future ministry. 

Sunday School creates a place where saints can invite visitors who may not be comfortable in a larger church service. 

Sunday School sets the stage for the worship service. A dynamic Sunday School class will always benefit the worship service. 

Sunday School teachers have an opportunity to make a major impact in young lives. Consider this...

- Sunday School Teacher Edward Kimball reaches a young man named Dwight Moody. 

- Dwight Moody in turn influenced a man named Frederic Meyer to become an evangelist. 

- Frederic Meyer led a young preacher named J Wilbur Chapman to respond to the call of God in his life. 

- J. Wilbur Chapman influenced a young man by the name of Billy Sunday, who eventually took over his ministry. 

- Inspired by a 1924 Billy Sunday crusade in Charlotte, North Carolina, a group of Christians there dedicated themselves to reaching that city for Christ.

- This group of Christians had Mordecai Ham preach a revival in their city. A young man by the name of Billy Graham gave his life to Christ. 

Who knows what life might be touched in your Sunday School class. 

Bus Workers Have It Easy

1. I  understand that bus workers have to sacrifice being able to go out and eat Sunday lunch with family and friends because they have to take their bus riders home.

2.  I know that by the time Sunday night service comes around bus workers are tired after two full days of ministry.

3.  I admire bus workers who continually have to miss family get togethers, parties, and other functions because they do their bus route on Saturday.

4. I appreciate bus workers who give up their Saturdays to do a bus route.

5.  I wish all of our buses were air conditioned in the summer.

6. I know that the buses are too cold in the winter.

7.  ​I realize how much that the bus workers have to miss out on

8. I pray that God would bless all our bus workers for their financial sacrifice, gas is very costly.

9. The bus ministry is a lot of work.

10. I know you get discouraged but do not get weary in well doing for in due season ye shall reap.

Sunday Staffers

Sunday Staffers

Why I appreciate our Sunday Staff:

1. I saw a teacher who had 31 children age 6-7 years old in her Sunday School Class and did not have to be committed to an institution.  I can appreciate the teachers who are crowded and yet somehow still find away to deliver the lesson.
2. Once again I saw Sunday Staffers burdened for the souls of some of the young people that attended their service yesterday.  I really appreciate a teacher/worker who see's it as more than just baby sitting for an hour.
3. I like to hear the stories of our captains, how they were divinely led to find a new rider, or how they rediscovered an old contact that had been lost.  I appreciate the hard work that it takes to build a bus route and how much work goes into just one rider.
4. When I see new workers arriving early to help out on a bus route.  I appreciate that the vision of Bethel Chapel is not lost on those that make Bethel Chapel their home.
5. When I have the privilege to preach to lost souls and see a middle age couple pray together at the altar.  I appreciate that someone was out there on Saturday knocking on their door and inviting them to church so I could have that privilege.

What's So Exciting About Childrens Church

What's So Exciting About Childrens Church

On Sunday evening we heard the testimonies of each of the Childrens Church staff.  It was great to hear of their burden for the children that they lead and to sense their excitment.  A Childrens Church that "has it going on", is crucial to the success of the bus ministry.  Having a Childrens Ministry that is entertaining and at the same time ministering is what keeps the children coming back Sunday after Sunday.

What Makes A Childrens Ministry Work:

1.  Love the Kids - Yes, the kids know if you enjoy doing what you are doing or if you are just there to have some place to go. 

2.  No Screaming - Many of the childen in our ministry are screamed at constantly, if you want them to hear you change the tone. 

3.  Control the Music - Music is one of the most important tools of the ministry.  With the proper control of the music you can get them loud and you can also bring them into a more somber attmosphere.

4.  Have a Program - Have a goal for each service that you are working towards.  Your worship, games, verses, and word, should all be leading the children to that goal.

5.  Give an Invitation - If we do not give children a chance to accept the Lord Jesus the program is a failure no matter how many children you may have present.  Always, always, always, give them a chance to pray.

I appreciate all of our Childrens Workers, they are genuinely interested in the lives of those they pastor.

Happy Thanksgiving

3 Things To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving.

1.  Family - I am thankful for the wonderful family that I am blessed with today.  I am especially thankful for my wonderful wife and children,

2.  Favor - How can we not recognize the grace of god in our life. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings.

3.  Friends - I appreciate each of our friends who have been so kind to us through the years.

Please, take a moment and leave a comment telling us what you are thankful for this thanksgiving.

Making A Difference

I hear people say that they want to make a difference.  And I guess there is something inside of everyone of us that longs to do just that.  However, I find that no matter how strong a desire that we may have to make a difference, we are so easily sidetracked.  A few thoughts I would like to share on making a difference.

"And some having compassion making a difference."  Jude 22

1. Compassion

It takes compassion to make a difference.  A heart that is broken at what sin is doing the life of the sinner.

2.  Compel

To make a difference one has to be compelled to break out of their lethargy and do something that changes the outcome.  A strong enough compulsion that makes us forget self and focus on others.

3.  Complacency

It is so easy to get complacent; losing sight of what is actually your purpose.

4.  Capability

Everyone of us have the ability to make a difference in one life or another. 

5.  Compensation

There is a great reward for those that make a difference.  There is a reward in seeing the wonderful change that you can bring into someones life, but an even greater reward awaits in our future.

5 Thoughts On Revival

As we enter into a time of revival I want to share a few thoughts on what I think revival brings.  

1.  Revival Reveals Sin

A product of revival is the Holy Spirit revealing sin in the hearts of people.  Sinners feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit as the y repent and give their selves to God.  Christians humble themselves before God and repent of coldness and sin in their lives.

2.  Revival Refreshes the Saints

A atmosphere of worship that stirs the heart of the church to higher heights. 

3. Revival Refills Us with the Spirit

Revival will bring an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church as the saints are filled once again.

4.  Revival Brings Real Sanctification

Revival is a time for the Spirit to lead us into a deeper more dedicated life in the Lord than what we have previously experienced.

5.  Revival Brings Renewal for Service

Every move of God should be accompanied with a desire to reach the Lost. 

Bethel Chapel let us enjoy revival!

From Press To Praise

Promises, Promises

"Jg 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.  Jg 6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

Gideon has been under alot of pressure lately.  His enemy has been stealing everything that he owned and he has been driven into the press.  Like Gideon, when we are under pressure, we begin to question the promises of God.  Gideon asked the angel, Why?  Have you ever asked God Why?  When we are under pressure nothing seems to make sense.  We do not understand why certain things have happened to us.

The first promise Gideon questioned was, "...if the Lord be with us,..."  Where?  When you are under pressure you begin to question, God where are you?  He said i will never leave you or forsake you. Don't crack under pressure, God is still there.

The second promise that Gideon questioned was God's willingness to perfrom miracles.  "...where be all his miracles..."  God has not changed and He will move on your behalf.  God is going to show up in your pressure filled life and deliver you.

From Press To Praise

From Press to Praise​

Jg 6:11 ¶ And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

​We live in a pressure filled world.  All of us feel the pressure of our everyday life, we can relat to what Gideon was facing on this day as he was threshing his wheat.

​Into The Press

A press is a device that has been used for centuries to squeeze the juice from grapes for wine or the oil from olives.  Some of these devices were extremely crude yet simple, being a just a vessel to contain the fruit while an individual would trample the fruit squeezing out all of its goodness.  Other devices were a little more complex​, being a container with a lid that could be slowly screwed down a little at a time to squeeze out the goodness.

Gideon has been driven into the press by his enemies the Midianites.  He had been terrorized by the Midianites for so long and his crops stolen so many times that he was living in fear of his enemy. 

Satan, our enemy, loves to put us in the press and begin to apply pressure to our lives.  His purpose is do drain every bid of goodness and everything of quality from our souls.  Something similar happened to Peter,  "​Lu 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:".  Satan was going to attempt to drain everything that was good from Peter, as he will in our lives as well.   Slowly, but steadily adding to the pressure of our lives hoping to drain away the grace of God from our lives till all that is left is worthless.

There is victory after the press.  Check back for more of ..."From Press To Praise"​

Why Do We Do Teen Church?

A few years ago Bethel Chapel felt the need to have a Sunday morning service directed at the unchurched teens, many of which rode the bus to church.  We had experienced a major drop off of these teens when they no longer went to Children's Church and were expected to come into the sanctuary for service.  They were losing interest, didn't understand what was taking place, and eventually left Bethel.  Teen Church was intended to continue to reach these youth with the gospel and present it in an environment where they would feel free to worship.

Why Does Teen Church Work?

1.       Teen Church makes church relevant to the unchurched teenager.  Many of our teenagers are not raised in church and do not understand the methods of worship that we find to be common place. In Teen Church we can help them to understand what takes place in a church service.

2.       Teens do not take a secondary role to the adults.  Many of the young adults that ride to church on the bus feel intimidated by those that have been in the church for years and feel very uncomfortable to worship. In Teen Church they are able to worship without any inhibitions.

3.       Teen Church teaches lessons are directed to what the teenager is dealing with at that point of their life. The challenges that these young people face are unique to this generation.  Teen Church endeavors to address the current needs of these young people.

4.       Teen Church creates unity and support among the teens. Many have no support to live for the Lord in their home or in their school.  At Teen Church they find other young people that can give them strength.

5.       Teen Church gives our teenagers a mentor.  We are blessed with wonderful leaders in our Teen Church. They genuinely care about the souls of these young people.

Keep up the good work Teen Church we are seeing the fruit of your labor.

Way To Go Bus Ministry

Way To Go Bus Ministry!

This past Sunday was a great day for the bus ministry at Bethel Chapel as we set a new high of 95 on the bus.  This is due primarily to the hard work of our four bus captains that labor to bring in all of these people.  Keep up the good work and we will reach that goal of 100 real soon.  The new bus (John 4) enjoyed a good day with 33 riders, Great Job!

Three Reasons Why We Do Bus Ministry

1.  Seed is planted in the heart of children at a young age and they will never forget.  Recently, while checking out at a Wal-Mart, the young lady recognized my name and asked if I went to Bethel, I said, yes, and that I was the Pastor.  She went on to tell me that she had rode the green church bus when she was a little girl as well.  They never forget.

2.  Services are more exciting when you see people coming forward and giving their life to Jesus.  A couple of years ago, Bro. Mike Blue pointed something out to me that I had not noticed in that morning service.  During the altar service there were four different ethnic groups praying at the altar.  Wow! Only in Bus Ministry!

3.  Sermons are more effective when they are preached and there are actually sinners in the church.  Bus ministry causes the minister to preach with greater burden knowing that there are people sitting in the pew that need God.

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

John 4
Tomorrow the Bus Ministry will be using the new church bus for route 4. We are excited about the new bus and are anxious to see it filled with children. Sis. Bonnie Bontrager and the her staff will be doing a special promotion tomorrow for all those that ride on the new bus. Thanks, to all those that sanded and painted the bus, it looks really sharp. 

Youth Xtreme
Thanks, to all those that worked at the camp on Thursday evening. We had a great crew that worked hard and got a lot done. We will be putting the finishing touches on the camp this Tuesday evening at 4:00 p.m., we would love for you to help We are praying for a great youth retreat which starts on Thursday and goes through Saturday, be praying for a powerful weekend.

BCCS
We had another great week of school. We could not have asked for any better group of students to begin this first school year. There is such a great spirit of unity among the students and staff. We appreciate all those that have helped the school with you labor and donations There will be no school on Friday due to Youth Xtreme.

I am believing that we are going to have a great weekend of services. We look forward to seeing you in Bethel Chapel this weekend. 

Beat The Bully

Beat the Bully 

Everybody hates a bully, but in recent years there's been a movement to eliminate bullying from our society. Bullying is certainly not something that is new, the bully has been around ever since Cane killed Able, it seems to be part of our human nature. 

What is bullying, it is the intentional tormenting whether in a physical, verbal or  psychological way.  Methods can range from hitting, shoving, name-calling, threats, mocking, extorting or  taking ones possessions.  The indirect methods of being a bully would be gossip, refusing to socialize with certain people, criticizing people on their manner of dress, their faith and other characteristics. Webster says a bully is a blustering browbeating person, one who habitually is cruel to others or to a person who they perceive to be weaker. 

The goal of the bully, is to beat a person into submission.  Research indicates that those who Bully others have an authoritarian personality combined with the strong need to control or dominate.  Further studies of shown that resentment maybe a motive for bullying, some bullies are arrogant, narcissistic and they use use bullying as a tool to boost their self-esteem by demeaning others.  By abusing others they feel that they are empowered. 

Satan Is The Chief Bully

Satan attacks those that do not submit to his wishes.  

John 10:10

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly."

Satan desires that each of us submit to his bullying tactics.  Just as the bully wants to steal your lunch money, Satan wants to steal every cent of God's grace from you. 

It's time to stand up to the bully!