What kind of church is Bethel?

Bethel is a warm, family-oriented church seeking to follow the Lord as we go through life together. We are, first of all, Christians; second, we are Protestant; and third, we are Reformed. Our congregation is a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

We are a Confessing Church, holding strongly to the belief that Jesus Christ alone is Lord, and seeking to see the Scriptures, which we believe to be the inspired Word of God, faithfully upheld in all that we do.

In addition, we are a "Partners for Life" church with Presbyterians Pro-Life (www.ppl.org)

What do Presbyterians believe?

A brief overview of some basic Presbyterian beliefs can be found here: www.pcusa.org/101/ .

Presbyterians are part of the Reformed tradition, a tradition which has always placed an emphasis on the value of Creeds and Confessions. These constitute an important part of understanding who we are as Presbyterians. The PC(USA)'s Book of Confessions can be found online here: http://www.pcusa.org/oga/publications/boc.pdf.

Are there certain beliefs that you emphasize?

While we strive to teach "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27), we hold strongly to what are called the "five solas" of the Protestant Reformation. In some way, everything that we believe or teach is grounded in these truths. They are:

sola scriptura ("scripture alone"): We can only know God to the extent that He has revealed Himself to us, and we believe that Scripture (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is God's inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word given to us. Our faith and practice are governed by Scripture alone.

sola gratia ("grace alone"): Because of our sin, there is nothing in us deserving of God's mercy or forgiveness. God's offer of salvation in Christ comes to us freely and from His own good pleasure. We are given new life through the Holy Spirit (regeneration) by His grace alone, and not in response to anything that we have done. This act of regeneration enables us to respond in faith to His offer of salvation.

sola fide ("faith alone"): We are declared innocent before God (justification) through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and not through anything that we have earned or works that we do. Faith looks to the perfect life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ and clings to God's promise of life through Him.

solus christus ("Christ alone"): There is no way back to Father but through the Son. Because Jesus Christ is both perfectly God and perfectly man, He alone can represent us before the throne of God. He is our Mediator. Through His perfect life, He earned the blessings that we could not. Through His substitutionary death, He underwent the punishment for sin that we deserve. In His resurrection, we have the pledge of our own future resurrection. Because of His ascension, we have an eternal advocate at the right hand of the Father. No one other than Christ has accomplished these things.

soli deo gloria ("to God alone be glory"): God created all things for His glory, and has redeemed a people for Himself for His glory. When we see that all of the parts of our salvation come freely from God, we return all glory and praise to Him. God alone is worthy of our praise and worship for who He is (holy, perfect, and righteous), and for what He has done (saved us from our sins and given us new life in His Spirit).