Bethlehem Lutheran Church

You may have noticed that we have re-stated our vision at Bethlehem. Your council and staff believe that "connecting people with God, each other and their mission in the world" is a more dynamic way of describing what this congregation has always been about. We reach out to the people beyond our walls with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We grow in deep friendship with each other and discover together ways of sharing the difference that Jesus makes in our lives with our friends, neighbors and those we have not yet met, as we take the Good News of Jesus into our world, in word and deed.

     To make this vision more than words, we have set an ambitious target of reaching 20,000 new people in our metro area with the Good News by the year 2020. Audacious? Perhaps-but more than possible, given what we know about God. As an old evangelical preacher by the name of Hudson Taylor once said "where God is at work, there are three stages: impossible, possible, done..."

     There will certainly be challenges as we start to live out our vision, and I can think of two immediately. First of all, for much of the rest of the year, Lyndale Avenue will be under construction; and I mean UNDER CONSTRUCTION. A long overdue makeover will be starting this spring and continue into the fall, rebuilding the infrastructure of a street that hasn't been touched in years, slowing traffic down so that people will actually be able to read our signs and know when to come to church. This will coincide with a time of year when folks are often on vacation, or thinking of other ways to spend Sunday mornings. We will, of course, always be open; and we have been assured that you will always have access to our parking lot from Lyndale Avenue. You can also reach us via Bryant Avenue from the west. We will make sure that it is worth your while to be here, as we help you grow in your faith through preaching, gathering around the Lord's Table and sharing wonderful music in our worship, both the music you are accustomed to, as well as the Barbary Coast Dixieland Band on June 22, 9:00, 10:15 & 11:30 am and the extraordinary bluegrass band, Monroe Crossing on July 20, 9:00 & 10:15 am.

     We also know that for many, the tendency is to give thanks to how God is working in your lives through your giving when you are here worshipping on Sundays. I want to encourage you, even in difficult economic times, to give thanks to God through your returning what God has first given you, whether you are here in worship or not. If you have offering envelopes, the packet includes mailing envelopes. And I join with the Stewardship Ministry Team and strongly urge you to try automatic giving, which will simply deduct your gift from your bank account. You will learn that you can grow in your generosity while you help share the Good News of Jesus with your friends and neighbors, through Vacation Bible School, the Youth Mission Trip, and a host of other ways... And, you will be serving the church we love by helping even out cash flow through the summer.

     There will be a place for every person in the Bethlehem church family to serve as we begin to live out our vision. I am terribly excited and energized by what God is calling us to do; I am looking forward to your active participation in making this vision a concrete reality. God has used us repeatedly through our 114 year history. Clearly, God is calling us once again to make a difference in our world-God's world!

     Thanks for your partnership in the Good News!

Pastor Christopher Nelson