35[Jesus] sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” 36Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, 37“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
~ Mark 9:35-37
I begin this message for October with thanksgiving. Thank you, Bethel! Many of you have been involved throughout the church helping us both to maintain our existing building and ministry, and to strive to move forward – preparing the soil and planting the seeds for the future ministry of Bethel. I’ve been very encouraged by your response to The Story. A number of people have been participating in the Sunday morning classes. We have even begun some in-home small group studies! If you are interested in leading or participating in these small group ministries, please let me know. But there is still more we can do. Each and every one of us is a minister. We all have gifts to use for the ministry. So, it is up to each and every one of us to reach out and welcome members and non-members alike.
One of the best ways to increase the number of people in worship, have more people to become friends with, and to increase involvement in the mission and ministry at Bethel is to encourage current members to be at worship more frequently. On average, Christian congregations have about 1/3 of their membership in church on Sundays. We can do better than that, and I need your help to make it happen. Please, reach out to people you see infrequently or haven’t seen in a while. In what ever way best suits your personality, welcome people as they come to the church whether for worship services or mid-week. You will have contact with people in ways that I never will. Invite them to join you. We will often have no idea what a person or family had to overcome just to make it through our doors. So, we celebrate whenever someone does. You may be surprised that your welcome or your invitation may be what someone needed that day.
I also need your help encouraging our fellow Bethel-ites. Our leaders do a great job. Many of them give more hours than they have, but they do it because they love God and His people. They need your prayers and encouragement. We have people who are new to Bethel as well as who have been with us for a very long time, but haven’t found a way to connect with others and use their God-given gifts. The best way to help them is to get to know them, and, those of you who really know Bethel’s ministry can help them see their gifts and make connections.
In this issue of the Bell Tower and throughout October, you will see much more on The Story, we will hold two New Member Classes (October 6 and 13), you will hear more details from the Long Range Planning Team and have opportunities to interact with them, and the draft 2014 budget will be made available after the October Council meeting in advance of the November 17 Annual Congregational Meeting.
Thank you for your partnership in the ministry of Jesus Christ!
Pastor Jeff
Epicurious Lutheran 