Missions
It won’t take long to see that Bethel cares about God’s call to share the gospel around the world. Bethel supports 30 missionaries and ministries all over the world — and right here at home, too! The missions team coordinates about five mission trips each year to places all over the world. Our desire is that missions will always be a part of who we are. Rather than just some list of names in a newsletter or a random video shown in service. We want missions to touch every aspect of our church life.
To get connected with our missions program, contact Jeff Bice.
Sierra Leone Student Scholarship Fund
Over the last several years, our church has sponsored over 65 children allowing them to attend secondary schools in the city and giving them a chance to live a better life. Pastor Peter Conteh says, “Each and every one of them has a personal testimony that expresses a rescue situation where the student sees him/herself as one being relieved from a situation of stress, handicap, and deprivation.”
The Junior Secondary School (JSS) is similar to our middle school in the States, and Senior Secondary School (SSS) is comparable our high school grades. It costs as little as $120.00 to sponsor one child for one school year. This gift covers expenses much more than tuition. It takes care of their exam fees, textbooks, bags, uniforms, shoes, as well as sporting fees.
Far removed from the city, scattered across many miles of rural villages lie the primary schools of GEM (Grace Evangelical Ministries). If you walk towards the “blue tarp church” in Sierra Leone, you hear loud laughter and songs echoing through out the property. As you walk closer, you are overwhelmed by an ocean wave of little children dancing and clapping and jumping. The tireless teachers that lead these village schools are a sight to behold! What enthusiasm! What energy!
This year, if Bethel raises additional funds beyond what is needed for the Secondary School students, monies will go towards supporting Teacher Training and Salaries for the GEM teachers. These educators teach everything our kids in the States would learn, but they also serve in a mentorship capacity as mothers and fathers need to find work during the day to support the family. Some working without a full college teaching certificate, they have a strong desire to better themselves as teachers. Raising extra money would enable them to bring in teacher trainers to motivate, inspire, and educate themselves. They bring the gift of a future to an often make shift school building like the “blue tarp church”. These dedicated workers get paid $360 per school year to provide a quality learning environment in the rural communities of Sierra Leone. They are competing with the high Muslim influence of other schools, but God has been so faithful to grow these schools with more and more children every year.
Today, you can invest $120 in one child, or give another amount to go towards the general Scholarship Fund. Drop a check in the offering box, or log on to our web-site at www.bethelbible.com and donate on our missions page under “Sierra Leone Scholarships”.
If you sponsor a child, please wait until September 4th to pick up your student’s photo.
Click here to donate online and select “Sierra Leone Scholarships” from the Contribution Fund drop-down menu