• "FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD FOR SALVATION TO EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES..." -ROMANS 1:16

  • WHAT WE BELIEVE

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    Our Articles of Faith

     

    • We believe there is one true God--eternally existent in three Persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. He is the creator and sustainer of the universe.
    • We believe that the 66 books of the Holy Bible are the divinely inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God for all matters of doctrine and conduct.
    • We believe in the dignity of all people, made in God's image, yet they are corrupted by sin, under God's judgment, and unable to save themselves.
    • We believe in the incarnation of God's eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ--born of the virgin Mary, truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
    • We believe in the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, and reconciling us to God.
    • We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, His ascension to the Father, and His reign as the only Lord and Savior of the World.
    • We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who inspired all Scripture; who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ in regeneration, and conforms us to the image of Christ.
    • We believe that the Church is the body of Christ both universal and local; in the priesthood of all believers. The Church is endowed by The Holy Spirit with gifts to edify itself and evangelize the lost.
    • We believe in the personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead: the righteous to eternal life, the wicked to eternal judgment; and to establish a new heaven and a new earth.

     

  • FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

    WHAT CAN I EXPECT WHEN VISITING BETHEL CHRISTIAN CHURCH?

    The Sunday morning service at Bethel is fairly simple and could probably be classified as traditional. We build our service around teaching the Bible during the sermon, but we also sing, pray and read Scripture together. We do not mind the sounds that small children make in our services, rather, we welcome children in our services. Parents are encouraged to talk over the message with their families as part of raising their children to love God and understand their need for salvation. Sunday School is a time for reflecting on what we learned during the morning worship and discussing its application in our lives.

      What do you offer for adults?

      • Sunday Morning Worship: It may go without saying, but the core of our church activity is the weekly gathering to worship and fellowship on Sundays. Gathering regularly is commanded in Scripture (Heb. 10:25) and corporate worship is one of the unique activities of believers in Jesus Christ.
      • Sunday School time is a time to study and discuss, either a response to the sermon we have just heard, or to process what it means to live a Biblically faithful life in response to the issues we face in a secular culture.
      • Prayer Meetings: Men and women meet separately to pray throughout the month. Prayer is an essential activity of the church, and we pray for each other, all of our Bethel families and visitors, the ministries we support, our nation and the world. Prayer puts us in communion with God and allows us to lay our concerns before Him, strengthens the relationships of those who gather, and increases love and connection in our congregation.
      • Women’s Bible Study: It’s a great time to dig into the Bible and get to know each other better while we work at applying Scripture to our lives. These tend to happen in shorter 6-8 week sessions throughout the year.
      • Men's Breakfast: Our men meet one Saturday morning a month to fellowship, share devotions and pray over breakfast. Men of all ages join in this gathering.
      • Guitar Group: This is an informal meeting of those who enjoy playing guitar in worship. We enjoy fellowship, playing and singing, as we get ready to play for one of our worship services each month.
      • Fellowship gatherings: We occasionally have a time set aside to fellowship in a more relaxed way than is sometimes possible on Sunday mornings. A fellowship evening, fall bonfire or summer picnic would be examples of these.

      What do you offer for kids?

      Children are welcome and involved in most of the activities of our church as a natural part of church life. Beyond that...

      • Our nursery is available to use during our morning worship.
      • Your children are welcome in our main worship service, and in our service and fellowship activities that happen at other times.
      • We have children’s Sunday School following worship for preschool and school age, as needed, but we encourage families to include their children in our adult Sunday School discussions as they are able.
      • Teens provide an important perspective as they join our adult Sunday School discussion.
      • We encourage families to be involved in the spiritual nurture of their children and would be happy to talk to you about how you can do this with your children. Parents are to be the primary spiritual influence on their children, in a Christian home.

      What is the dress code?

      There is no dress code at Bethel. The folks who come to Bethel dress in a variety of ways. You will see some people “dressed up” while others wear jeans, and all are appropriate as long as they are modest and comfortable for you. Really, we do not worry about what you wear.

      What kind of music can I expect?

      The music in our services is mostly traditional, with many well known hymns, as well as some of the best of the more recently composed hymns and songs. Depending on the Sunday, we might use piano, guitars, brass, woodwind or string instruments and occasionally, we even sing a song a’cappella. In our lovely, old-fashioned sanctuary, that is always a moving experience.

      What version of the Bible do you teach from?

      We have ESV pew Bibles (English Standard Version) and that is the version that is often used for preaching, but it is not unusual to also have our Pastor reference the KJV, NKJV or another version during a message. We are concerned with faithfulness to the original texts in selecting a Bible version to use in preaching, but we do not make a doctrinal issue over Bible versions.

      What denomination is Bethel church affiliated with?

      Bethel is currently an independent congregation without denominational affiliation, though we could probably be best described as an independent Bible Church. Bethel Christian Church was a Mennonite church for most of its history. Bethel Mennonite Church was founded in our current location on Seville Road in 1832. There have been several buildings on this spot, but the congregation continued as a Mennonite Church until 2013, when the church decided to leave the Mennonite conference and become an independent congregation. The word “Christian” in our name does not denote any particular denomination, it simply describes us as a church of those who have given their lives to Christ in salvation.

      When do you hold communion services?

      We serve communion on the first Sunday of each month. Communion at Bethel is “open,” that is, we invite all who are relying on Jesus Christ for salvation to join us, whether they attend Bethel regularly or not. Our monthly Communion service is followed by a fellowship carry-in meal, and we welcome visitors there as well. We look forward to this time each month.

      What does it mean to be a member?

      Membership is never directly discussed in the Bible and you will not read of people “becoming members” in the book of Acts in the Bible. However, the New Testament is written with the obvious expectation that people will be a committed, active part of their particular local congregation. Paul and other New Testament writers wrote their letters to specific local churches. We believe church membership is a positive thing, and in a day where people can choose from many churches, we encourage people to make a membership commitment to a particular local church. However, we know many people feel differently about this. Since it is not explicitly commanded in Scripture, we would say that if you aren’t comfortable joining as an “official” member, we hope you will still be an active, committed part of our fellowship. Church officers however (pastor, elders), must be church members.

      What is the process of becoming a member?

      A person interested in membership should approach the Pastor and express their wishes. At that point, they will meet with the Pastor to discuss their faith in Christ and to answer any questions they may have about the process or about life at Bethel. Members at Bethel must have been baptized and will affirmatively answer the following statements:

      • Do you acknowledge that you are a sinner and in need of a savior?
      • Do you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness of your sins and for eternal life?
      • Do you promise with the Holy Spirit's help, to keep the commandments of God and allow Jesus Christ to be Lord in your life?
      • Do you promise to support Bethel Christian Church by worshipping with us regularly, praying for fellow church members and engaging in the ongoing work of the church, to the best of your ability?

      Do you ask members to tithe?

      We believe the Bible principle of generous and cheerful giving, and that all believers should support the operation of their local church and its missions activities, as “God prospers them” (I Corinthians 16:2). In all things, we want to encourage our people to let the Bible dictate their practices. We do not spend a lot of time “asking” people to give, except when it comes up in the Scriptures we are currently studying.

      Do you have membership classes?

      While we do not have specific membership classes, we do meet individually with those interested in joining. This is done informally, in homes or after services on Sunday.

      What missions does Bethel support?

      Bethel is pleased to be able to support a number of ministries both local and international. We are especially drawn to ministries that explicitly preach the life-changing message of salvation from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Our support of these ministries takes the form of acts of service, focused prayer and financial support. We occasionally try to support other ministries in smaller ways, but the main ministries we currently support are:

      • The Peter & Maggie Sample Family, missionaries with RHMA
      • New Destiny Treatment Center
      • Oasis of Hope Pregnancy Center

      CAN I LISTEN TO ANY OF YOUR SERMONS BEFORE I VISIT IN PERSON?

      Absolutely! We post our weekly sermons at SermonAudio.com and at the top of this page, you can follow the "listen to sermons" link to a page which will allow you to listen to messages.

    • GET IN TOUCH.

      Let's talk.

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      Phone

       

      Brian Gerber, Pastor:

      cell: 330-347-5163

      Carl Aeschliman, Elder:

      cell: 234-410-6122

      Email
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      Visit

       

      Bethel is located at:

      2684 Seville Road

      Rittman, OH 44270

      (between Wadsworth, Seville and Rittman in Wadsworth Township)

      Sunday morning worship is at 10:00am, Coffee, fellowship and Sunday School after morning worship.

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