Chasing the Dream

I am sure there are other churches, besides Bethel, where the church’s leadership spends a day and a night together each year at a prayer-and-planning retreat, but I honestly do not know of any (and I think it is fair to say that that the practice is rare).  However, this is the habit of Bethel’s leaders, and I think it speaks highly of their love for Bethel Church and their dedication to the church’s ministry.

So what happened at this gathering of over thirty Bethel Council members and ministry leaders that took place last Friday and Saturday?  The short and honest answer is:  more than I possibly can say; however, I will pass on a few highlights: 

• The group felt that progress has been made in deepening the sense of community in Bethel over the past year.  They don’t want the movement in this direction to stop.
  
  
• They believe that a priority this year should be creating a welcoming and enfolding ministry that will allow guests to feel the warmth of Bethel church, get all the information they require easily, and become fully involved in the church.
  
  
• All agreed that we need to improve communication at Bethel, so that all members are notified as rapidly as possible of needs and good-news reports from the church community.  (A new approach to communication will be implemented soon!)
  
  
• The group endorsed a strategy for pursuing our goal of being a vibrant church of prayer by [the end of] 2014.  Each team and ministry in Bethel will be asked to identify how they will make prayer a number one priority for their group to ensure that everything we undertake at Bethel is undergirded by prayer.  (Joanne Rozendaal will help groups in this process.)
  

This year’s leadership retreat was called “Chasing the Dream.”  I believe our time together was another small, but important step forward in seeing God’s dream for Bethel Church come true.--Pastor Tom

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