BETHEL’S CORE VALUES

Every Church has core values, those commitments that they hold dear. We may believe that we have them but be unable to articulate them. There are so many good things that are important for a church to be and do. But, the truth is that no church, not even Bethel, can do and be everything. So, I set out in the summer of 2009 to invite the church to join me in affirming these core values for our common life together.

After living with Bethel for three years plus then, I took from my own prayer and study life and the congregation’s work and witness to put together these core values. I welcome dialogue about any of these. One of my goals will be to help us be more intentional in living out these values. What do you think.

The core values, as I see them, for Bethel are:

1. Biblical Foundation - The Bible is the story of the people of God. The Bible is our story and we will do all in our power to teach, learn, and live out that story with our children, youth and adults, and in our community. In my sermon I said that the Bible is not a science book or a history book. It has some science and history in it but it is not primarily any of this. The Bible is not a monolithic book. It is 66 books. The Bible is a book about God, a book about human beings. It is the Word of God. Somehow mysteriously this ancient book comes alive under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is a book to be studied: thought about, reflected upon, sweated over. Bethel people should be reading the bible daily. They should be studying the Bible with others.

2. Evangelism - It came to our attention as a church through Natural Church Development that we aren’t that interested in evangelism. The reasons are many. Evangelism has been used by some people in our culture as a manipulative tool. Many are offended when someone tries to tell them about faith. We are living in an age in which we are almost forbidden to say anything about Jesus or our faith in public. In my sermon I encouraged us to think of evangelism this way:
a. It’s caring- everyone needs love
b. It’s sharing=- everyone needs a community
c. It’s about God- everyone needs forgiveness
d. It’s planting a seed- everyone needs an important mission

3. Teamwork- Church is a team sport. Christian faith is a team sport lived out with a group of people called the church. We are imperfect and lost sometimes. We struggle to do God’s will but we are not alone. We are in this together. We are united as a mighty team. We bear one another’s burdens. We have a common calling. Every Christian is called, not just the pastors. We have a common mission to make disciples together. We do this faith together

4. Hospitality- Hospitality is about welcoming others to our church. If someone comes to church on Sunday morning and does not have anyone speak to them, then we have failed to be Christ’s love to them. There are people in this world who don’t get any human touch at all during the week. So, on Sunday, we are a people who are reaching out to touch others with love. We are committed to being a people who are always not about judging and condemning others, but welcoming them into this fellowship

5. Enthusiasm- I believe that maybe one of the greatest problems in many churches is this lack of enthusiasm. The worst witness that we can give is to appear to be uninterested in the faith that we profess. Those who are in love with Jesus Christ are not bored or indifferent. We are a people who are filled with the Spirit. We affirm the beauty of this Gospel of Jesus Christ and choose to believe, and love, and do it in the world

6. Love in ACTION - You might expect that this would be a core value. But often it is not. In my sermon on love in action, I said that this means that we see suffering people. We don’t close our eyes to them. We move toward those who are suffering because that is what Jesus does. We do what we can in mission/love to relieve suffering. We go on mission trips across the street and across the globe. We reach out in this community, in our neighborhoods, in our city, in our schools- wherever God shows us a need. Where are you putting the Love of Christ in to action?

Jesus is continuing to make himself a people. Bethel is part of that great people. May we be the people who do God’s will and reflect these values wherever we are

David E. Nichols
Senior Pastor