FEBRUARY
WWW.BETHELSARNIA.COM
Welcome!
Welcome to Bethel! We are so glad to have you here! As you look through this Connect bulletin, we trust that you will quickly find that Bethel has something for you and your family. Our hope is that you will take the next step into our community and get involved. As you do, you will begin to see that Bethel is more than just a Sunday service, it is a family of everyday people following Christ to bring hope and change to the world - one life at a time.
Pastor Tim Gibb Lead Pastor
2011
THIS MONTH
BETHEL NEWS
Annual Meeting - March 2nd For all official members of Bethel, please mark your calendars and plan to attend our Annual Church Business meeting on Wednesday, March 2nd at 6:30PM.
Charitable Tax Receipts Charitable Tax receipts for charitable giving in 2010 will be mailed out this month. If you do not receive your receipt from Bethel, please call Carol in the church office 542-7731. If you have recently moved or your contact information has changed, please also contact the church office.
Are you interested on how the videos are made, bulletins are created, and everything is designed from Sunday to Sunday? We will be starting creative nights where you can come and learn and help create things that help promote the ministries here at Bethel. If you are interested, email jordan@bethelsarnia.com or call the church office. Dates & Time TBA.
Bay Of The Holy Spirit Pastors Keith and Patricia will be attending this revival from March 10 – April 2. If anyone would like to visit Mobile for any of these weeks (note that the Revival services are Thursday, Friday and Saturdays) and would like accommodation, please let the office know or contact Pastor Keith direct. You would be responsible for your own transportation to and from Mobile, but we would hope to arrange free accommodation (or at minimum cost – dependent on numbers) for your stay in Mobile.
MINISTRY PROGRAMS
Young Adults On Tuesday Nights If you are between the ages of 18-30, then we have a group just for you. Life is our Young Adult program that meets every Tuesday night. We are currently discussing the book ‘Forgotten God’ by Francis Chan.
Young Adults Dinner - Sunday, Feb 13th Every Tuesday Night At 7:00 in the Bethel Cafe Ages 18-30
For all our Young Adults, join us on Sunday Feb 13th after the morning service in our Gym for a FREE lunch. This is an great opportunity to get to know other Young Adults in our church and to enjoy a lunch together. Please Sign-up at the Welcome Desk by Tuesday, February 8th so the lunch can be planned.
Tuesday Night Hymn Sing & Bible Study Tuesday Nights at 6:30pm Do you enjoy singing the old choruses and hymns (and a few newer ones as well!) and the study of God’s Word? Then come out Tuesday nights for our Tuesday Night Hymn Sing & Bible Study. Gilbert & Margo Vansligtenhorst lead this Bible Study group. You will receive a warm welcome and enjoy the teaching along with the rich fellowship.
COMING EVENTS
If you are a business leader in our community, then this event is for you. Leadercast is a live streaming simulcast featuring John Maxwell along with America’s top business leaders and life coaches. Cost is $80 for the day and includes a breakfast and lunch plus a program. This year Bethel will be hosting the event. Talk to Pastor Tim or Mark Faasse for more information or call the church office to register.
Ladies mark your calendars for April 8-9 for the PAOC Western Ontario Jesus is Enough Women’s Retreat. Information brochures are available at the Welcome Desk or speak with Pastor Tricia for more information.
Ann Emberley Tribute My mom, Ann went to be with the Lord, January 14th at 6:45am. We were all together here at the YWAM Tyler base where we spent Christmas & New Years together as a family. So many wonderful memories were made. On the Sunday we had a memorial service here at the base which was a wonderful tribute to Mom and her life. Singing some of her favorite songs, watching a video of her life and legacy ; and then listening to some testimonies. Mom’s passion for God, the many lives she touch through her walk with the Lord and through her work. In Brazil she was affectionately known as ‘Mommy’ by everyone, including the young ladies she discipled through the years. By the end we were crying and laughing. Even the hospice staff showed up and one said 'in all the time I have been doing this work, you are the family that has most impacted my life’. Everyone at the hospice office know about Mom. For me the most touching story was by Gus Hunter who is one of our regular teachers in our training school in Brazil. He came from Waco with his wife Claire to be with us. Mom loved to talk about the 'things of the Lord' with Gus when he came down.
Anne Of The Little White House I imagine that there is a great library in heaven full of story books. They are the stories of the lives of all God's children. There is a book there with a cover picture of a little white cottage next to a small forest in the North East of Brazil. The name on the book is 'Anne of the little white house'. The last chapter...
Christmas Bay The last chapter in this book begins with Anne taking a walk along side a great wide channel of water. She comes across a small rowing boat and then suddenly finds herself in the little boat alone out in the deep water of the channel in the wind and waves. There is distant land on the other side that is calling her. She finds herself struggling against wind and waves that make her feel very scared, tired and lonely. As she comes near the other side the weather gets worse and she can not see any place to land on the shore. All she sees is rocks and cliffs and she becomes more tired and scared. She holds on to her trust in God with all her strength. After a while she suddenly finds a small inlet into a bay with a lovely beach. As she enters the bay it becomes calm and warm and peaceful. As she beaches her little boat on the white sand she looks up and there she sees her whole family, her son and daughter and all her grandchildren. The name of the bay is 'Christmas Bay' and it is very beautiful. It is Christmas time and she is together with her family and they have a wonderful time of celebration in this peaceful cove. The day eventually begins to come to an end and as the light slowly goes out she goes to bed tired and worn out but with a heart full of love. In the morning she wakes up and everything seems strangely different. It feels like it is the first time she has ever really woken up. She feels more alive and full of energy than ever and everything is so much more bright and beautiful. It has the feeling of a great beginning. It is the birth of eternity and she is more awake than she has ever felt before and drenched in joy and anticipation as she slowly rises from her earthly bed into her new eternal day. There she will live forever in the light of Father's love and wait for a time when her family and many friends will join her for the eternal celebration of Christmas. Thank you to all of you that wrote, prayed, encouraged and gave to us during this time. We have felt very loved! From Julie Gali (Ann’s daughter) & Bob Emberley (Ann’s Son).
ATMOSPHEREs CLIMATES & CULTUREs
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By: Pastor Tim Gibb
Atmospheres are so important. Everyone of us knows the feeling of walking into an atmosphere that is cold versus an atmosphere that is warm and inviting. Atmospheres have a direct impact on what you are trying to produce. Atmospheres can change, look at the weather. Atmospheres can also be set, ask the business owner or restaurant manager.
Atmospheres that are sustained create a climate. Climate is necessary in order to produce the right vegetation. There are things you can grow in California that you cannot grow in Thunder Bay Ontario simply because of the climate. In the spiritual realm, many churches may have good seed (Word of God) and good soil (receptive people) but they do not have the right spiritual atmosphere and climate to produce the harvest they desire. Climates have a direct effect on culture. In cold climate countries, the culture tends to be conservative versus hot climate countries that tend to be more outgoing in their personality, music, and expressions. Spiritual atmospheres and climates in churches produce a certain kind of culture. The culture a church adapts will have a large impact on the harvest and effectiveness it produces. While we may not be able to change the weather in Ontario in January, we are able to set the spiritual atmosphere and culture in the church. As I pray for our church and consider what the culture of our church is and should be, here are things that I consider important for our church culture to have and foster:
A church culture of forward thinking people Step into many churches today and it is like stepping into a time machine. Many churches are consistently 20, 30, 60, or even 100 years behind everyone else. Instead of embracing innovation and creativity, in order to keep up with the times and be relevant with the culture; they seem more determined to reach back into yesterday and prop up something that was. This does not mean compromising our witness, diluting the gospel message, or sacrificing our Christian moral and spiritual values. It does mean finding new and fresh ways to present the timeless truths of our faith to each new generation.
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This means that we are people of faith. We are not afraid of change, taking risk or stepping out of the boat. We want a church culture that is innovative, creative and ahead of the curve. We want a church culture that does not pine for “the good ole days” but believes that our best days and brightest days are yet before us.
A church culture that is next generation minded We place value on every generation and consider it a strength to be a part of a multi-generational church community, but we believe that our primary responsibility is to prepare the way for the next generation. Many churches are ineffective in making a difference in their culture because they plan only for the season they are in and not for the future. Being generational minded means that we understand that we are one generation away from extinction. All that our generation has gained and built will be lost if we do not prepare for the next generation. Being next generation minded is that we understand the importance in investing in the next generation and sowing excellence into them. We cannot just stick our kids in a damp basement with broken crayons, wrinkled flannel graph and a barbie with its head snapped off and think you are
going to raise world changers. You sow excellence into them and excellence will come out of them.
A church culture of participatory services A church worship service is not a spectator sport; it is an participation worship event! Too many Christians come to church and sit in a pew with an expression on their face that says, “Okay, entertain me.” Worship is not entertainment (although it should be fun and joyful!); it calls for active involvement and participation. Participatory services are important because we get out of something no more than we invest in it. God is not only to be studied; He is also to be experienced. In order to experience Him, we must get involved with Him. The only way to experience God or receive anything from Him is to participate actively in the process. God moves in our moving. This means we are engaged. We come to church with an attitude of expectation. We don’t stroll in 10, 15, 20 minutes late, like what we are doing isn’t valuable. We don’t do that on our job, our doctor’s appointment or our kids sports events. No, we serve the Lord with excellence. We come to church prepared to worship, prepared to minister, prepared to receive the Word of God, because what we do is important and has the power to change lives.
A church culture of acceptance that releases freedom The church should be a place where anyone can find unconditional love and acceptance. Nurturing an atmosphere of acceptance does not mean permissive love or coddling people in their sin. Neither does it mean lowering our moral or ethical standards. There are times when we must confront and challenge someone who is wrong, but an atmosphere of acceptance assures that such confrontation is done in love and from a genuine
desire to see the other person made whole. We must be careful to keep our church free of all impurity and immorality. At the same time, however, we cannot help people if we do not have an atmosphere that says, “Come into God’s house and find deliverance. Come into God’s house and find life.” Our goal is not to change people into our image of who they should be but to bring them into the presence of God where the Holy Spirit can change them into the image of Christ. That means we have a church culture that says, ‘We are not a museum for the saints but a hospital for the hurting.’ And we accept the fact that everybody has issues and everyone is in process. And if we were in their shoes, we might be fighting the very same temptations and struggles. And so we resist a church culture that is pharisaical, self-righteous, condemning, gossiping that wants to control and get up in everyone’s business. No, we are called to love and let the Holy Spirit do His work of change and transformation. This also means that not everyone in our church thinks the same, worships the same, likes the same music...and we are happy about it! We have a church culture of acceptance that releases freedom. That means we can sing in the same service “How great Thou art” and “we will dance for your glory” and we are happy about it!
An Atmosphere of acceptance assures that confrontation is done in love and from a genuine desire to see the other person made whole.
A church culture that embraces order with a spirit of excellence We have a church that embraces order. We resist the idea that for God to move it has to be chaos. The Apostle Paul said, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. (1 Cor.14:33). God is a God of order. He sets up rank and authority. Order does not mean boring or restrained. It simply means doing the right thing at the right time in the right way. In fact, order is what provides purpose, freedom and joy! So we embrace order and we do so with a spirit of excellence. We resist the attitude that says, ‘It’s good enough.” No, we strive for excellence in all that we do. Because we are doing what we do as unto the Lord. And we believe that we should give our very best. In the Old Testament, God became angry with the people as they were brining to the house of the Lord the animal sacrifices that were sick, crippled, and weak. God said their offerings were an insult. They were to bring their best. So should we serve today. We should have a church culture that celebrates excellence. This means whether on the welcome team, the nursery team, the worship team or the preacher; whatever the ministry, we serve with excellence. We do not arrive late or not show up without securing a replacement. And we strive for presentations that are done with excellence. Because we believe that what we do is important and matters.
A church culture of manifestation without weirdness This means a church culture that believes in the full gospel - all the miracles, all the signs and wonders, the whole power of God to save, heal and deliver, all of the Bible from Genesis through Revelation - yet resists the mentality that believing these things has to make us “flaky.” Some churches seek and welcome manifestation but don’t understand how to bring it into balance with everything else. As a result, these churches end up filled with weird, “subjective revelation” people who cannot be pastored because they place all of their visions and feelings and angelic visitations and goose bumps and the like; on equal footing with the Word of God. Manifestation without weirdness means that we measure and judge all such experiences against the standard of God’s Word. Whatever measures up we embrace; whatever doesn’t, we don’t. There is more than enough manifestation with the real thing; we don’t have to make anything up. Just stick around God long enough and we’ll see miracles; we’ll see signs; we’ll see wonders because God is a wonder worker.
A church culture that embraces increase with integrity God’s people ought to increase. The church ought to prosper. I am not talking about a gospel of excess but a gospel of success. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of success, of triumph, of victory. God told Joshua that if he meditated on the law daily and obeyed it faithfully, he would have “good success”. 1 John 4:4 assures us that He who is in us is greater than he that is in the world. We resist a poverty - ‘never have enough’ ‘can’t do’ mentality. Our God is not El-Cheapo. He is El-Shaddai - the God who is more than enough. Increase with integrity means being responsible, honorable and accountable with the wealth and assets God blesses us with.
A church culture of generosity We have a church culture of generosity. We believe the Proverb that says ‘he who waters will be watered himself. The generous man will be made rich.’ (Proverbs 11:25). This means we are blessed to be a blessing. And God’s blessing comes to us as we are a blessing to others. That means we foster a culture of generosity. Not only in finances, but in time, in kindness, in encouragement, in hospitality.... And not only in our own church but in the community God has placed us in. We are not stingy hoarders, we are liberal givers. For what we sow is what we reap.
A church culture of ministering members with identifiable leadership Ephesians 4 tells us that God has placed Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers (Leadership) for the purpose of ‘equipping the saints (members) for the work of the ministry.’ (4:12) It goes on to say that this it was causes ‘growth’ of the body (4:16). We have a church culture that says every member is a minister. Every member should be involved in ministry. It is not the Pastors job to provide all the ministry. It is the responsibility of the members. And so we have a church culture that welcomes, celebrates, encourages and expects its members to be actively ministering to encourage the body and to share our faith. We think it strange when a member is not actively involved in ministry.
A church culture that values the preaching of the Word of God We have a church culture that strongly desires to learn and grow in the Word of God. We recognize that God’s voice is not the only voice in the world today. That we must be diligent to hear, understand and grow in God’s Word and a Christian worldview. We understand that it is not
optional, but imperative that our children know God’s Word. We understand that we as parents must model the value of God’s Word to our children. This means we are not a church culture that looks for a 15 minute sermonette for Christianettes who want to rush home to their TV sets. We don’t tolerate the Word, we celebrate it, cherish it, desire it, and grow by it.
A church culture embraces the power and necessity of prayer We recognize that all we do must be anointed by the Holy Spirit. While we celebrate excellence, creativity, innovation; all these things do not have the power to change a life. We affirm the Scripture that says, ‘It is not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord.’
We embrace order and we do so with a spirit of excellence. We resist the attitude that says “It’s good enough.” No, we strive for excellence in all we do. This means that while we work like it all depends on us, we pray like it all depends on God. Things happen when God’s people pray. We cannot expect anything of eternal value to happen if we do not have a culture of prayer. Of all the things Jesus could have emphasized for His church to be, He said His house is to be a house of prayer.
A church culture of missionary zeal Finally but most importantly, this is what it is all about - SOULS! This is why we pray, we give, we welcome, we serve with excellence - the value of a person coming to a place of faith in Jesus Christ and receiving salvation. This is the priority of our church culture - seeing men and women, boys and girls coming to know the Lord. As wonderful as miracles of healing and financial provision are, this is the greatest miracle we celebrate. This means that ultimately we are not about what blessing we can personally receive from the Lord but how God can use us to touch others. I believe as we set the spiritual atmosphere, climate and culture of this house with these practical and spiritual cultures, we will see the blessing of the Lord is even greater ways...beyond what we can even imagine or think!
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6:30PM Financial REVO3-To London Peace University-Free at the Gathering Place Preview
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6:30PM Movie &Financial Pizza 6:30PM Financial PM LIFE-Young 7:00 University Peace Peace University Trip REVO3-Ski Trip REVO3-Ski 6:00 PM RESCUE-Hub 6:00 PM RESCUE-Hub Adults-Café
12 11 11 10 9 10 9 8 PM Bible Study & 6:30 Keenagers Room Sing-Prayer Hymn 1:00pm
4 3 1 2 Financial 6:30PM London REVO3-To University-Free Peace PM Service 7:00 at the Gathering Place Preview Richard Crisco
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FEBRUARY 2011
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY 26 25 24 23 22 Sunday mornings during service: 1 1 2 2 1 3 SEDNursery - Newborn to Age 3 y Pre-School - Ages 3 to 5 6:30PM Financial Study1&to 4 6:30 PM Bible Kidsplosion - Grades Hymn Sing-Prayer Room PM Service 7:00 7:00 PM Service Financial 6:30PM 7:00 Service University-Free PeacePM ily Peace University Crisco Richard Richard Crisco PreviewCrisco YOUTH MINISTRY Richard LIFE-Young 7:00 Revo 3 -PM Thursday night Jr. 6:00 & Sr.PM High Youth RESCUE-Hub 7:00 PM REVO3 13-17} Additional activities 7 6 9 8 7 6 6 [AgesAdults-Café rena service 7 8 6 7 9 8 10 AM Service 10:30 Study & 6:30 Study & Bible BibleService 6:30 PM planned throughout the year. 10:30 AM Service PM AM 6:30 PM Bible Study & 10:30 AM Service 10:30 Pastor Tim Gibb Tim Gibb Room Hymn Sing-Prayer Room Hymn Sing-Prayer Pastor Tim GibbRoom Hymn Pastor Tim Gibb Sing-Prayer Pastor ADULT MINISTRY 6:30PM Financial 6:30 PM 6:30 6:30 PM PM Service 6:30PM 6:30 PM Service PMPM LIFE-Young 6:30 6:30 PM Service LIFE-Young LIFE-Young PM 7:00 PM 7:00 7:00 Service PM 6:30 We Communion have many groups with ongoing activities, DivorceCare DivorceCare Peace DivorceCare Communion Communion RESCUE-HubDivorceCare RESCUE-Hub 6:00 PM PM University 6:00 Communion Adults-Café Adults-Café Adults-Café check the Tim bulletin and website Gibb of Timdetails Pastor for Gibb Pastor Pastor Tim Gibb Pastor Tim Gibb what’s upcoming! 17 16 16 15 15 14 13 13 14 14 15 13 14 13 AM Service 10:30 Study & BibleService Study & 6:30 Bible 6:30 PM 10:30 AM Service 6:30 PM Bible Study & Young Adults - Weekly 10:30 Bible AM StudyService group PM AM 10:30 Pastor Tim Gibb Pastor Tim Gibb Room Hymn Sing-Prayer Room Sing-Prayer Hymn Sing-Prayer Pastor Tim GibbRoom Hymn Tim Gibb called “Life” meets Tues nights in Bethel Cafe. Pastor 6:30PM Financial Led by Chris & Linda Guerette. 6:30 PM 6:30 PM University Peace PMPM 6:30 PM LIFE-Young 7:00PM 7:00 PM LIFE-Young 6:30 7:00 LIFE-Young 6:30 PM Service DivorceCare DivorceCare 6:30 PM Service 6:30 PM Service DivorceCare Service 6:30 DivorceCare RESCUE-Hub PMPM RESCUE-Hub 6:00 PM 6:00 PM Adults-Café Adults-Café Gibb Tim Pastor Gibb Tim Pastor Adults-Café Pastor Tim Gibb REVO3 7:00 Pastor Tim Gibb Young Families - Monthly activities for families with young children. Led by Kevin & 24 23 23 22 21 20 22 20 21 20 21 22 Josie Hazzard. 21 20 Service AM CLOSED AM Service 10:30 10:30 AM Service CLOSED OFFICE OFFICE Service AM 10:30 10:30 OFFICE CLOSED CLOSED OFFICE Lyndon Straton Lyndon Straton Lyndon Straton Straton Lyndon Real Women - Ongoing activities for women Family Family Day Day Family Day Family Day 6:30 PM PM 6:30 PMBible Study & 6:30 of all6:30 ages. Bible Study & PM 6:30 PM 6:30 PM Bible Study & PM 6:30 Foundation Foundation Room Sing-Prayer Room Hymn Hymn Sing-Prayer Financial 6:30PM Foundation Hymn Sing-Prayer Room Foundation Family Church Church Family Church Family Course Course Church Family Course Course Peace University The6:30 CorePM Men’s Ministry Activities for all Skate Skate Skate Skate 6:30 PM Service Service 6:30 PMLIFE-Young Service LIFE-Young PM 7:00 PM 7:004-5PM Service PM 6:30 7:00PM PMRESCUE-Hub LIFE-Young 4-5PM men.Lyndon Led byStratton Shannon Smith. 4-5PM Lyndon Stratton RESCUE-Hub 6:00 6:00 PM 4-5PM Lyndon Stratton REVO3 7:00 PM Stratton Lyndon Adults-Café Adults-Café Adults-Café Time Fellowship Fellowship Time Fellowship Time Clearwater Arena Clearwater Arena Clearwater Arena Time Fellowship Arena Clearwater service after service after after service Keenagers Seniors Ministry - Monthly after service lunch Led 27 27 by Carl & Faye 28 27 27 or special activity. 28 28 28 Johnson. 10:30 AM Service 10:30 AM Service 10:30 AM Service 10:30 AM Service Pastor Tim Gibb Pastor Tim Gibb Pastor Tim Gibb Pastor Tim Gibb Music Ministry - Is always looking for new PM Service 6:30PM 6:30 PM Service PM PM Service 6:30 6:30 6:30 PMPM Service 6:30 6:30 PM talent, audio and visual 6:30 TBA TBAincluding choir, DivorceCare DivorceCare TBA Guerette DivorceCare TBA DivorceCare Chris personnel. Speak to Caleb or Stephanie Courtney. Small Groups - Organized throughout the year around specific themes. Usually 4 to 6 weeks long. A great way to connect with others. Bible Study - Tuesday night Bible Study & Hymn Sing. Led by Gilbert & Margo VanSligtenhorst. Foundation Course - A course on the essentials of Christian faith followed by a retreat weekend. Led by Pastor Keith Patrick.
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