BARBEQUE ANYONE?

For a second year in a row Bethelites will be gathering in their local communities to enjoy a barbeque with their Bethel neighbours this summer.  The Events Team has recruited over 20 host couples from around the region to organize these area gatherings.

We get together like this because barbeques are just plain fun, of course.  Who doesn’t love to enjoy hot dogs, burgers, or steaks with friends?  But these gatherings also serve an important purpose in the life of our church.  Consider the following:

• Believe it or not, some people attend Bethel Church, and live very close to one another geographically, are not even aware of it or have had very little opportunity to get to know one another.  These barbeques can deepen our sense of belonging to the Bethel community by establishing these relationships.  We may potentially see our neighbours more often than anyone else from Bethel; so now, each time we wave to one another in our neighbourhoods, or stop to say “hi” in the local Starbucks, we will be reminded of the bond we share.
• These barbeques create a nonthreatening environment for people new to Bethel, and people only peripherally connected with the community, to get to know others from the church.  This could open the door to their becoming even more involved.  
• These local gatherings increase the chance that our unchurched friends will get to know Jesus and be enfolded into the Bethel community.  Who better to introduce your unchurched neighbours to than your fellow Church members who live in your very community?  (You might consider inviting an unchurched friend to your local barbeque this year—contact your host to let them know you have a guest coming).
  

For all these reasons regional barbeques are a great idea.  Enjoy your local gathering.  If your name is not in the phone directory yet, be sure to sign up at the Welcome Center so the organizers know you want an invitation. –Pastor Tom

---