May Connect by Bethel Sarnia

CONNECT BETHEL CHURCH

WELCOME TO BETHEL 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.

WWW.BETHELSARNIA.COM

MAY 2015

THIS MONTH

BETHEL NEWS LAMBTON COUNTY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL FUNDRAISER Baby to Teen Bonanza will be holding a fundraiser here at Bethel on Saturday May 23rd from 8:30-12:00PM. For sale will be baby to teen items such as clothing, toys, bedding, footwear, DVD’s, books, games, furniture, strollers, etc. This is a bi-annual fundraiser for Lambton County Christian Academy. For more information about the school, please visit their website at lambtoncountychristian.ca or to participate contact Cindy Coates at 519-344-3283 or Jodi Huerter at 519-332-2314.

BIBLES FOR MISSIONS THRIFT STORE The BFM Thrift Store is thriving as they are seeing a greater number of customers and donations coming into the store. BFM are looking to increase the number of volunteers to help in the store. If you are interested in helping please contact Connie Berry here at Bethel or call 519-337-1614.

POWER EVANGELISM Power Evangelism will take place this month on Saturday May 9th and Saturday May 30th from 10AM to 1PM. We go out into neighbourhoods, parks and door-to-door with a Gospel script that has proven to be quite effective in reaching people in Sarnia. We welcome anyone to join with us. If it’s your first time, you can come out and simply watch what we do. Everyone is put in groups of two and works with a leader. This is a very exciting ministry as there is no greater joy than to pray with someone the salvation prayer.

BUILDING OUR FUTURE This is a very important month in the life of Bethel Church as we provide opportunity for each person to invest in our next step of faith in the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Youth area renovation project. There cannot be a better investment in kingdom matters than in the local church for the purpose of reaching & discipling children and youth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is the schedule for our Building Our Future project for this month:

SUNDAY, MAY 3RD - PRE-COMMITMENT SUNDAY On this Sunday, Pastor Tim will have some of the leaders of our church share their heart for this project. Pastor will also announce what our leadership team (Elders, Deacons & Pastoral Staff) is financially committing to this project. We will then ask each person who is a part of Bethel to ask the Lord what He would have you do in a financial commitment to this project. Commitment cards will once again be made available.

SUNDAY, MAY 10TH - COMMITMENT SUNDAY On this Sunday, we are asking each person to put their commitment card in a special offering. The commitment card provides a place for an immediate first fruits offering and then what the remainder of your commitment will be over the next 3 years.

SUNDAY, MAY 17TH - CELEBRATION SUNDAY On this Sunday, we will announce the total amount given and pledge by our church family for our Building Our Future project. We believe that as everyone asks the Lord what He would have them do and responds to that prompting, we will be successful in reaching our goal. We will celebrate that morning and outline when construction will begin.

THE VISION

THE REASON

COMING SOON

STUDENT MINISTRIES

REVO (SR.HIGH) MAY SCHEDULE MAY 7TH YOUNG GUNS MAY 14TH NO REVO MAY 15TH OVERFLOW MAY 21ST TESTIMONY SERVICE MAY 28TH LEADER TAKEOVER

We have 30 students (and 10 leaders) going to Overflow Youth Convention. Pray that God does amazing things in their lives over the May 1517 weekend.

NEW SCHOOL CURRICULUM INFORMATION MEETING AT BETHEL TUES MAY 12TH 6:30PM-8:00PM (CHILDCARE PROVIDED) Hello my name is Carrie Praill. I am the Core Team Leader for the Lambton/Kent chapter of P.e.a.c.e. Ontario. Pastor Tim has asked me to explain to you why I’m so passionate about this organization. This is something that I am hoping you become passionate about too.

The growing emphasis of alternative sexual lifestyles and today’s worldviews in public education puts subject matter before children which often leads to conflicts with teachings of many traditional faith families. This should be alarming to parents and grandparents.

Over a number of generations faith communities have slowly withdrawn from public education, now alternative worldviews, lifestyles and teachings are becoming more prominent in schools. In the education system you will find that other organizations are pushing strongly for their views to be included, leading to conflict between traditional faith families and schools.

As a response to the above curriculum changes our community Pastors met with Phil Lees, President and Founder of P.e.a.c.e. Ontario (Public Education Advocates for Christian Equality). P.e.a.c.e. Ontario’s vision is to empower faith families to build positive relationships with schools, and advocate for their children by informing the schools of their Christian values and beliefs. P.e.a.c.e. Ontario helps parents with this process by providing guidance, tools and curriculum alternatives.

Starting September 2015 our children will be required to participate in a new Sex Education format as part of the new Health and Physical Education curriculum. This curriculum was adopted by the Department of Education with very little parental or community input, and at first glance it may seem harmless. However, when you take a closer look you will notice that it introduces topics that are explicit, age inappropriate and do not line up with Christian family and faith values. Some of the specific curriculum changes, include • labeling male and female genitalia in Grade one (formerly covered in Grade six) • introduction of concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity in Grade three • masturbation, vaginal lubrication and wet dreams in Grade six • the practices of anal and oral sex in Grade seven

Phil Lees was invited by our local pastors to speak to our community about the changes in the new Sex Education curriculum and how we as parents can respond. This meeting was held on March 26th at New Horizon’s Church. Phil spoke about why it is so important to be aware of what our children are being taught as well as how to work with schools in a positive constructive manner. A follow up meeting was held for those individuals interested in finding out how to bring P.e.a.c.e. Ontario to Lambton/ Kent. P.e.a.c.e.’s 6-Step Community P.e.a.c.e. Process was discussed and volunteers were requested. As a result of this meeting a number of concerned individuals decided to build a P.e.a.c.e. Ontario team for Lambton/ Kent. It was during Phil’s presentation that the Holy Spirit made me aware that I needed to be involved in this organization. After the presentation I took the time to pray about what exactly God wanted me to do and my

level of involvement. After discussing with my family and further prayer I volunteered to become core team leader. The ushers will be handing out forms for you to fill out with your families schooling information. On the form your will be asked details about your family such as your child’s (or children’s) school and their current grade. Pastor Tim and I will use these forms to help us gain a better understanding of our families within our church. By understanding what schools are represented within our own church community we can begin to help our parents respond to this new Sex-Ed curriculum in a positive constructive manner. This information will be kept confidential and is being used for statistical purposes only, meaning we will use the data collected within the church but will not share your personal information without previous consent from you. At the end of the Service today a table will be set up for P.e.a.c.e. Ontario where you can hand in your completed family forms. If you have any questions about P.e.a.c.e. Ontario please meet me at this table. Pastor Tim and I felt the importance of offering Phil’s presentation again to those who may have missed it the first time. We encourage you to attend the presentation right here at Bethel. It is open to the public and childcare will be provided free of charge. See the banner below for more details

Thank you Carrie Praill P.e.a.c.e. Ontario Lambton/ Kent Core Team Leader

Missions to Ukraine May 20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; June 2

In the summers of 2012 and 2013 Bethel had the honor of sending teams to Ukraine to teach 600 orphans at a camp about the love of God and His great plan for their lives. It was a remarkable time to see so many kids and teenagers who were broken over their life circumstances and yet as our Bethel team spent time with them, teaching them, showing them love, they began to open up, smile, and show us love in return. In those 2 summers we saw hundreds of kids/ youth give their lives to Jesus and commit to following Him. Our ministry in that camp opened a door for us to return, this time to work directly in government-run orphanages. At the end of this month Bethel is sending 14 individuals who will be in Ukraine for 2 weeks, with most of our time being spent in 4 orphanages. This open door truly is a miracle and a testament to the missions work of Ed Dickson and the ministry that Bethel has already done in Ukraine. Our morning ministry will be spread out in 3 different orphanages teaching some kids that are disabled and some that are recovering from an illness. We are going in with gifts and crafts and stories that will share with them how much God cares for them. Please pray for our team that our short time in these 3 orphanages will be incredibly fruitful and that God will add His anointing to our message so it can be quickly received. Every afternoon we will be in an orphanage called Sunrise that specifically requested a Bethel team to come teach their kids. We will be doing a full VBS program with 228 kids ranging from age 6 to 16. Throughout the week they will hear about Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; love for people, the plan of salvation and how they can experience God through the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. We believe that many will come to salvation at Sunrise, pray with us for a great harvest! In addition to our kids ministry we will be spending our weekends in multiple Churches. We are excited to return to Smila where Bethel provided funds to build the first evangelical Church in the town. We will also be ministering in Poltava where Pastor Vadim, who visited Bethel last Fall, has a growing Church. Pastor Tim, Pastor Tricia and the team will be preaching and sharing testimonies in these Churches (and more) and at a Pastorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Conference in Krivvy Rog. On our final Sunday, May 31st, Bethel will be joining Evangelist Nathan Morris in the Sports Arena in downtown Kiev for an evangelistic service. Please pray for our team as they travel and minister in Ukraine. We are so thankful for the support of Bethel that allows individuals to take the Gospel message around the world!

Our team members Pastor Tim Gibb Pastor Tricia Gibb Julie Kerr Steve Berry Kim Lapier Carolyn Vanderbeld Shirley Martin Breanne Newton Lauren Ellenor Sarah Ellenor Anu Chinnadura Margaret Gibb Donna Taylor Grace Celaire

MAY 2015 SUN

MON

Sun

TUE

Mon

10:30 AM Service Pastor Tim Gibb Pre-Commitment Sunday

WED

Tue

FRI

Thu

7:00PM Bible Study at Dalton & Robyn Burke’s

7:00 PM Service Watoto Children’s Choir

6:30 PM ALPHA

6:30PM Cancer Prayer Support Group-Board Room

10 Mother’s Day

SAT

Fri

Sat

10:00AM Power Evangelism

6:30 PM Bible Study & Hymn Sing-Prayer Room 7:00PM LIFE-Young Adults at Chris & Linda Guerette’s

10:30 AM Service Pastor Tim Gibb Commitment Sunday

THUR

Wed

7:00 PM Israel Trip/Meeting with John Tweedie 6:00 PM Rescue 6:00 PM Prayer

7:00 PM REVO

6:30 PM Bible Study & Hymn Sing-Prayer Room 6:30 PM “PEACE” School

Curriculum Info Meeting

7:00PM LIFE-Young Adults at Chris & Linda Guerette’s

6:30 PM Service Pastor Tricia Gibb Communion

6:30 PM ALPHA

7:00PM Bible Study at Dalton & Robyn Burke’s

10:30 AM Service Pastor Tim Gibb Celebration Sunday

Overflow Youth Convention Waterloo May 15th-17th

6:00 PM Rescue 6:00 PM Prayer

6:30 PM Bible Study & Hymn Sing-Prayer Room 7:00PM LIFE-Young Adults at Chris & Linda Guerette’s

6:30 PM ALPHA

6:30PM Cancer Prayer Support Group-Board Room

6:00 PM Prayer

7:00 PM REVO

6:30 PM ALPHA

7:00PM Bible Study at Dalton & Robyn Burke’s

30 9:00AM Alpha Day

6:30 PM Bible Study & Hymn Sing-Prayer Room

10:00AM Power Evangelism

7:00PM LIFE-Young Adults at Chris & Linda Guerette’s

6:30 PM Service Marie Miller

8:30 AM-NOON Baby To Teen Bonanza 9:00 AM-3:00 PM (re) Ignite Conference

7:00PM Bible Study at Dalton & Robyn Burke’s

6:30 PM Service Pastor Keith Patrick

10:30 AM Service Marie Miller

6:00 PM Prayer

7:00 PM REVO

10:30 AM Service Pastor Keith Patrick 6:30 PM Service Pastor Keith Patrick

Ukraine Missions Trip May 20th—June 2nd

OUR PASTORS PASTOR TIM GIBB

Lead Pastor Ext. 228 pastortim@bethelsarnia.com

PASTOR TRICIA GIBB Student Ministries Pastor Ext. 223 tricia@bethelsarnia.com

PASTORS KEITH & PATRICIA PATRICK Pastoral Care Ext. 226 pastorkeith@bethelsarnia.com

NEED A RIDE TO CHURCH? Need a ride to Church on Sunday morning? Just call the church office before 8:30AM Sunday morning & follow the instructions to leave a message.