Our Mission & Guiding Practices
Our Mission
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At Bethany United Methodist Church, we are in a season of listening for where God is calling us next. In the Spring of 2025 we entered a season of discernment to develop of fresh mission statement and vision for our ministry and life together with God. Rooted in a long legacy of faithful ministry, we have prayerfully discerned a mission statement that reflects who we are and who we are becoming:
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Bethany UMC follows the path of Christ by growing spiritually through our acts of worship, welcome, and service.
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This mission shapes how we worship together, how we extend welcome, and how we serve God and neighbor in our community and beyond.
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Our Guiding Practices
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To help us live out this mission, we are learning to practice these four core values in every part of our life together:
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• Sharing the Love of Jesus Christ
We seek to reflect God’s generous and gracious love in how we care for one another and our neighbors.
• Providing Opportunities for Spiritual Growth
We grow in faith and understanding through worship, study, reflection, and community formation.
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• Welcoming Everyone into God’s Family
We strive to be a place of belonging where all people are received with warmth, dignity, and respect.
• Engaging Our Neighbors in Generous Service
We respond to God’s love by serving others with joy and compassion, in our local community and beyond.
These guiding practices help ground our decisions, shape our ministries, and invite every member to participate in the life of the church.
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Continuing Together
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We invite you to explore these commitments with us, to find your place in the life of Bethany, and to join us as we grow in Christ’s love through worship, welcome, and service. If you’d like to learn more about how you can be involved with ministries shaped by the guiding practices, please contact the church office.
The Voice of Bethany
During the listening phase of our mission and vision process, we listened for the stories, hopes, and insights of the people who make up Bethany UMC. We asked the congregation to reflect on what Bethany means to them and what they hope for the future of the church.
From those responses, we created this word cloud—a visual expression of the words and themes most commonly expressed and most important to our community.
Take a moment to see the words that shaped our new mission mission—words of love, welcome, community, service, faith, and hope.
