By Pastor Dan Gibson

BETHEL'S CONGREGATIONAL EMPHASIS 2005: PROJECT: EXTREME MAKEOVER!

On the day of the Annual Meeting, Part II, January 30, 2005, in partnership with the Executive Committee and Congregational Council, I submitted to the congregation a vision for mission for Bethel Lutheran Church for 2005 - and beyond.

The following summary presents four points that highlight this plan: Project: Extreme Makeover!

Theological Foundation

The mission that Jesus lays before us as a church is the Great Commission (which is incorporated into our own Mission Statement) to “go into the world and make disciples” (Matthew 28: 16-20). When we normally think of “mission fields”, we think of far off places like Africa, Central and South America or Asia. What we don’t always realize is that the “field” that surrounds the church is a densely populated area that is made up of people from all around the world - many of whom are unchurched. Essentially, our mission field is literally at our front door. Our door, therefore, needs to have its hinges firmly attached in order to swing open to our world. In short, our church grounds have been neglected for quite some time now - and it’s beginning to show. How well we keep up our church on the outside says something about who we are on the inside.

Target Areas

The second step is to identify the areas of need around our campus and to prioritize them. Following my initial proposal to the EC (Executive Committee), our Congregational President, Gavin Hall challenged the Congregational Council at our first meeting in January to make a list of areas of need. Soon afterward, our Congregational Vice-President, Lisa Jones came up with the theme for this congregational emphasis in which to rally around, calling it: “Extreme Makeover.”

Community Emphasis

By now you know that it has been an overall goal of mine to urge Bethel to strengthen our community for the sake of outreach. This includes intergenerational, intercultural, and integrative dimensions. Therefore, Project: Extreme Makeover would seek to employ the efforts of the children, the youth, the OWLS (Older Wiser Lutherans), MOB (Men of Bethel), BOB (Babes of Bethel), the committees, the user groups, the Korean Churches, group homes, recovery homes - all “shareholders” working together to build up, both structurally and spiritually, the common good of the church: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is for the common good.” (I Corinthians 12:7).

Funding

Unlike the theological portion, this is not an area of my expertise. However, I did suggest that one place to start would be to investigate funds in the church that are available, transferable, what the contingencies are to the funds, and what funds could be borrowed against. We are also aware that there are funds specifically designated for a parking lot, and some of those funds add up to a great deal of money. Now, the notion of a parking lot is a good one - I mean, who wouldn’t want a parking lot? But we have also learned that based on zoning, cost, and availability, that the purchase of a parking lot is not likely - not now, and perhaps not ever.

Therefore, perhaps we need to look within to ask ourselves, in what manner we are “storing up our treasures” (Matthew 6: 19-24). I cannot speak on behalf of those who designed this place, but I would venture to guess that, since they did not build a parking lot here to begin with, perhaps they intended the church to be more of a community church; in other words, intended to minister to the surrounding community. Indeed, members who have joined our church in recent years live close by - and there remains a multitude of unchurched people within a five-mile radius of our facility - people who are yearning for a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Again, our mission field is at our front door.

All members of Bethel are encouraged to join in to help “get our house in order” physically and spiritually in order that we might more faithfully and effectively further the gospel throughout our mission field, Where East Meets West in Christ!

Work begins Saturday, March 12th, 2005 at 8am!

See you there!

Moving Ahead In Christ,

+ Pastor Dan

Previous Pastor's Pages

• January, 2005
• December, 2004
• August, 2004
• June, 2004
• Summer, 2004
• Spring, 2004
• Winter, 2004
• Fall, 2003
• Summer, 2003
• Spring, 2003
• Winter, 2002
• Fall, 2002