In other words what does God want us to achieve as a Church?

Bethany Presbyterian Church exists to grow (faithful and passionate) disciples of Jesus Christ for the flourishing of Oxford and beyond.

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Every church, as led by the Elders of that body, has the responsibility of determining how they are going to strive to fulfill God’s calling to “shepherd the flock” which has been entrusted to their authority and care. (1 Peter 5:1-4) The ordained Elders of God’s local churches are tasked with the responsibility not only to watch over, protect, and defend God’s flock, but also to diligently “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” (Eph. 4:12) This means we are striving to help you grow up to full maturity in Christ in order that your life is progressively renewed in every part according to the grace of God and increasingly reflects God’s will for God’s glory. God’s gracious, merciful, and sovereign love for us in the gospel is the ever-flowing fountain from which all true Christian obedience springs forth (John 15:9-11; Ephesians 1:3-5)

In our desire as Elders to faithfully care for you according to God’s will and design, we have prayerfully determined a general approach to ministry which we believe will encourage the spiritual health of our church. We are not striving to cultivate a church of people who merely show up to a particular building on Sunday mornings, but rather a real Christ-centered community of disciples living on mission for God in the midst of the ordinary moments of their everyday lives. We want to help you know God truly, and love God fully. We believe that cultural or Sunday-only Christianity is not only unhealthy, but also unwise, often artificial, and ultimately contrary to God’s holy design. With love, understanding, tenderness and patience, and yet also a fervent devotion to the good of your soul, we want to be a church in which members are joyfully pursuing a full and flourishing walk with God. We believe this is the kind of discipleship that our Lord and Savior is looking for.

That is why our mission at Bethany is to grow faithful and passionate disciples of Jesus Christ for the flourishing of Oxford and beyond. Our prayer is that through this mission God will be glorified, God’s people will be edified, and God’s kingdom will advance in Oxford and beyond.

How are we going to achieve this mission as a Church?

By Gathering together in Christ; by Growing together in Christ; and by Going together in Christ

Growing Together In Christ

Lord’s Day Worship & Sunday School (Sunday)

Midweek Discipleship (Midweek)

Personal Pursuit of Christ Through God’s Word & Prayer (Daily)

Our primary discipleship ministries are Lord’s Day Worship and Midweek Discipleship. Through these ministries we are striving to faithfully minister the Word of God to our flock for their progress and joy in Christ. This includes encouragement, instruction, counsel, practical application, and even correction when needed.

All of these facets of the ministry of God’s Word are given to God’s children for their benefit and blessing. To use a helpful metaphor, through each of these times of being together to grow through the ministry of the Word, the Elders of Bethany are prayerfully preparing a rich spiritual meal to serve to our beloved congregation. This spiritual feast is intended by God to nourish, satisfy, strengthen, and sustain your soul as you walk by faith through all of life.

In addition to our private personal pursuit of Christ, we encourage and expect the members of our church to make these events a priority in their lives, to participate regularly, and even to reorganize their schedules as needed to pursue these opportunities for continued growth together in Christ.

Gathering Together In Christ

Pursuing meaningful relationships with “one another”

Fellowshipping together and encouraging “one another” in Christ

Praying for, supporting, and bearing “one another’s” burdens in love

A very significant, (yet often overlooked), aspect of the Christian life is our call to live in authentic and meaningfully connected relationships with “one another” as children of God.

The New Testament is filled with verses which identify the manifold aspects of this calling. As Elders, we desire to both model and cultivate this kind of genuine community life among those who call our church home. We desire our flock to be actively connecting with each other both inside and outside of our formal gatherings by praying for one another, checking in over the phone, sharing burdens and struggles, hosting times of fellowship with others, and spurring one another on toward faithfulness in Christ.

By so doing, much of the burdens and needs which we all face in life, will no longer be faced in isolation, or attempted to be carried alone. Rather, we will be able to link arms with one another, have trusted friends to confide in, find the encouragement and support that we need, and be able to offer the same things to others as they face trials of their own.

Living for the glory of God is never easy, but doing it alone is almost impossible.

Going Together In Christ

Living evangelistically in the midst of everyday life

Seeking opportunities to share your faith with others

Cultivating relationships with those who do not know Christ

Inviting others into the life of our church

It is no secret that God intends to call men, women, and children from every neighborhood and every nation to be His chosen possession for all eternity. However, the way that God has designed to do this is through His ordinary people—like you and me!—living out their faith in public view, sharing Christ with others, pursuing the lost, and inviting those who are dead in their sins to receive the free gift of salvation in Christ.

There are certainly special callings in this regard, such as pastors, missionaries, and evangelists. But God’s primary way is not through special events hosted by the church, but through ordinary saints living on mission for Christ in the midst of their everyday lives.

We encourage and expect our members to be prayerfully pursuing relationships with those who are outside of Christ, sharing their faith often and inviting others in the life of our church. There are innumerable ways that this might look in our lives, but all of us have been called to “Go and make disciples...”

What are the tools that are going to help us achieve this mission?

The Ordinary Means of Grace

At Bethany, we believe that God will accomplish His mission for His church by His means. In other words, we recognize that the fulfillment of our mission statement—and far more importantly, the universal mission which God has given to His global church—is not up to us to accomplish in our own strength or by our own ideas. God invites His people to participate with Him in the work He has planned from all eternity, and for us to do so in a posture of complete dependence upon His grace, His wisdom, and His strength.

We believe that God has given us rather simple and straightforward means for going about the work of ministry. Historically, the Reformed church has referred to these as the “ordinary means of grace.” According to the holy Scriptures, there are certain ‘tools’ which God has both called His people to make full use of, and at the same time, which God has promised to bless the use of as the primary way that He will pour out His graces both in and through their lives.

The Word of God

The Word of God is both foundational and central to all that we do as God’s people. It is through God’s Word that our souls are given the light of the knowledge of God, nourishing spiritual food to help us grow strong in our faith, encouragement to endure, wisdom to act honorably, training in godliness, clarity concerning righteousness, and much much more. Even the songs that we sing back to God in our worship are ultimately rooted in the truths He has first revealed to us through His Word. The Word of God is the seed which the faithful Sower is called to scatter everywhere he goes, and it is the one and only sure foundation upon which the enduring house is built. (Matthew 13:18-23; 7:24-27)

The Sacraments

The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are a further ministry of God’s Word through which the Lord visibly proclaims the truths of His covenant promises to His people. As these sacraments are administered, God is actively preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to His people to encourage and strengthen their faith through the visible elements which He has assigned to each sacrament. There is real spiritual ministry taking place in the hearts and lives of all who receive the sacraments by faith.

Prayer

Prayer is our bold and unhindered access to God from whom we can ask, seek, and knock for all that is needful in order to honor, serve, and glorify Him with our lives. In fact, prayer is not merely suggested for the Christian, but actually commanded as part of our faithful obedience. In other words, God demands that His people rely wholly upon Him to be their Provider by calling out to Him through prayer. He is never burdened by our asking or troubled by the size of our requests. Rather, God delights to reveal His inexhaustible glory, grace, wisdom, and strength by abundantly supplying the needs of His praying people. 


The Fellowship of the Saints

While Christians are undoubtedly called to a private pursuit of God in their personal lives, they are doubly called to live out their faith together within the context of membership in the local church body. Fellowship around the Word, Sacraments, and Prayer is undeniably set forth in the Bible as a necessary aspect of truly participating in all three. The primary way we do this is by gathering together on the Lord’s Day weekly, as well as other times appointed by the Session of the Church. Thus, in our philosophy of ministry at Bethany we strive to help God’s people “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25) 


The Power of the Holy Spirit

Yet, behind all of these things stands an indispensable reality that undergirds absolutely everything we do as a church. Apart from the powerful working of God the Holy Spirit, no efforts of our own will amount to anything.45 For unless the breath of God blows upon the valley of dry bones, Ezekiel’s proclamation will impart no life.46 Yet, God the Spirit was pleased to work through Ezekiel to bring life to the dead, just as He is pleased to continue working through us today. Thus, in total dependence upon God, we strive to abide in the True Vine who said to His chosen people, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.”

What steps will we take to implement our mission in 2024?

Continue providing a vibrant, engaging, and God glorifying Sunday Worship experience.

So much of what we do as a church begins and ends with corporate worship. Also, as mentioned above, corporate worship is one of our primary discipleship ministries. Therefore, it is vital that we continue to provide a worship service that seeks to build up our faith and send us out with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Evaluate and assess the many different ministries of our church.

As we consider our new mission, we need to make sure everything we do as a church falls in line with it. Therefore, we will be taking a good look at all our ministries, evaluating, and assessing their faithfulness to that mission. We will be asking questions like “What is the purpose of this ministry?”, “Is this ministry supporting our mission or hindering it?”, “What changes (if any) need to be made to ensure our ministries are supporting our mission? Hopefully these kinds of questions will allow us to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in our ministries, as well as improve their overall purpose and goals.

Identify and train up potential new officers and leaders in the church.

A pastor once said, “As the leaders of a church go so goes the church. A church never gets beyond the quality level of its leadership.” Here at Bethany, we wholeheartedly agree with this statement, especially when it comes to the carrying out of our mission. Leadership plays a vital role in the flourishing of our mission. Therefore, we will be seeking to train and raise up new officers and leaders in the church this year. The congregation will have the opportunity to nominate new elders and deacons in the coming weeks.

Roll out and begin implementing our new hospitality ministry.

As was said above, one of the core ways we will achieve our mission is by living in community (aka fellowship of the saints). Our hospitality ministry, headed up by Sandra Doshi, has been created to help foster community in the church. In the coming weeks Sandra will be sharing more about the ins and outs of this ministry and how you can get involved. This is an extremely important ministry so please consider joining it!

Develop a diverse and focused support plan to enhance our engagement in global missions.

One of the vital ways we can engage our mission now is making sure we are supporting the right missionaries and mission agencies. Over the next year the session will be evaluating our global mission budget and the missionaries we support. During this process we will consider ways we can improve our budget, the ministries of the missionaries/mission agencies we support and whether we should make any changes.

What do we expect from our members as we pursue our mission?

For their progress and joy in Christ we expect our members to be:

Resting In the Substitutionary Work of Christ For the Elect By Faith

We desire for our members to live out their faith with the confidence that the substitutionary work of Christ alone is the basis of their standing before God. As our saving-substitute, Jesus’ perfect life of obedience and sacrificial death on the cross, have fully atoned for and justified God’s elect for all eternity. As the Scripture says: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ,” (Rom. 8:1).

Worshipping God In All of Life

Especially important among the Christian’s comprehensive call to worship, is the particular call for us to guard ourselves against the worldly temptation of forsaking to gather for corporate worship with other believers, (Hebrews 10:25). The Devil will always furnish us with ten-thousand plausible excuses of why sporting leagues, personal hobbies, our fatigue from the work week, or fear of illness, etc. are valid excuses for neglecting to assemble with God’s people. And while we know that life does indeed happen, and there are legitimate occasions for missing Lord’s Day Worship, we expect our members to make it a top priority to put God first, not only for themselves but also as an example for their children who look to them to show them the right priorities for the Christian life.

Submitting To the Scriptures

We expect our members to receive the Word of God as the authority over their lives and to endeavor to live in submission to all that God has revealed for our salvation, godliness, and joy therein.

Growing In Spiritual Maturity

We expect our members to be “growing up in every way into Christ,” just as the Scriptures abundantly call us to do: “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity,” (II Tim. 2:19). This means that spiritual maturity is not a goal for the religious over-achiever, but for all who truly call upon the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, (Ephesians 4:15).

Living Out Christ-Honoring Values & Conduct

As God’s people, we are called to “shine as lights in the world” by walking in the grace, truth, and holiness of God, (Philippians 2:15). We expect our members to endeavor to live lives that accurately reflect their professed faith in Christ. Indeed, the gracious gospel of Jesus Christ “trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” (Titus 2:12).

Confessing Their Sins

The lifestyle of the Christian is a lifestyle of repentance. We are not people who pretend that we have no sin, nor that we have ceased from sinning. Rather, we admit our faults honestly and look to the promise of God that through the blood of Christ we are forgiven and cleansed, (I John 1:5-10). Biblical repentance always has two components: Turning from sin, and turning to God in obedience. One will never be accomplished without the other.

Serving According To Their Spiritual Gifts, Talents, Resources

God has spiritually gifted each and every member of his people “for the common good”, (I Cor. 12:7). We expect our members to be actively serving Christ both in and outside of his Church according to their gifts, talents, and resources. We also expect that our members will humbly receive the help and support of others as needed. In this way, God says we will “build one another up in love,” (Ephesians 4:16).

Discipling Other Believers

By God’s design, Christians are all called to help other Christians continue to grow and flourish in Christ. This means that each of us has the ability to invest in others who are less spiritually mature than ourselves in order to encourage and strengthen their faith through instruction, prayer, and accountability. We expect our members to be prayerfully seeking these opportunities in order to cultivate a culture of discipleship among the members of our congregation.

Witnessing To Unbelievers

The local church, including each of her individual members, is God’s ordained vehicle for communicating the saving message of the Gospel to the world. It is through the everyday public witness of the ordinary saints that the elect will be gathered from the four corners of the world. We expect our members to consciously pray for and take advantage of opportunities to speak of God with others, and to trust the Spirit’s ability to work through their weakness in calling the lost to Christ.

Seeking the Peace and Purity of the Church

Unity in the Church is a very high priority to God. This does not mean that disagreements are wrong or bad, but rather that we must be very thoughtful about how we choose to handle ourselves if and when we find ourselves at odds with other believers or our spiritual leaders. Divisive behavior of gossip, slander, or any other disparaging remarks are hurtful, not helpful to the body of Christ. We expect our members to seek the peace and purity of the church by demonstrating charity, patience, understanding, forgiveness and grace whenever they face conflicts.

Trusting the Spiritual Leadership of Their Elders

The Elders of even the very best local church are sinners whose hope is in the grace of God alone, just like every other Christian. This means that despite their best efforts, they will never make all the right decisions, or be free from personal mistakes and failures. Nevertheless, God has called them to provide spiritual leadership and to be an example for the Flock to both submit to and follow. He has also called those who are under their spiritual authority and care to love them, support them, and pray for them. This too is part of God’s good design for his Church and we expect our members to trust the Elders God has put in place, and to submit to their leadership.

Supporting the Ministries of the Church Through Financial Giving

God calls his people to generously support the work of the Church in several important ways. One is by giving back to God a 10% portion of the financial income that God has provided to them. These resources are used to sustain and further the various ministries of the local church. In this way, the Church is bolstered and supported to fulfill her spiritual calling from God. Therefore, we expect our members to be joyful financial supporters of the ministry of Covenant Grace according to their means as part of their ongoing worship of God.

What can members expect from their leadership as we pursue our mission?

As shepherds of God’s beloved people, we promise to provide you with:

Faithful Instruction In the Word of God

We vow to teach you God’s true Word to the best of our ability.

Persistent Prayer & Support For Your Needs

We vow to commit ourselves to praying for you personally, and to supporting you in your varying needs with whatever means we are able.

Loving Pastoral Care (Shepherding, Counseling)

We vow to be available to you for pastoral counseling and care when you are facing difficult decisions, seasons of sorrow, marital challenges, parenting struggles, sinful temptations, addictions, etc. We vow to be a safe space for you to be honest and open, and to walk with you in truth and love.

Christ-Centered Discipleship

We vow to help you grow in your faith by walking alongside you, encouraging and equipping you, and checking in from time to time to see how your spiritual walk is going.

Grace-Centered Spiritual Accountability & Discipline

We vow to gently and graciously hold you accountable to walking faithfully in your relationship with Jesus Christ, while being patient and understanding that sanctification is a life-long process.

Clear Communication About the Life of the Church

We vow to provide you with regular communications about the life of the church in order to keep you informed on the various ministry opportunities which are available, as well as other important developments in the life of the ministry.

Honesty Concerning Mistakes, Misjudgments, and Conflicts

We vow to participate in no leadership activities of which we would be embarrassed for the church to know about, nor to hide any of our decisions and activities from the church, nor to manipulate information in such a way as to be misleading to the church. While we will always strive to respect a healthy measure of confidentiality for personal and sensitive information, we vow to always operate in the light and above reproach.

Compassionate, Thoughtful, Humble, and Approachable Leadership

We vow to undertake the responsibilities which God has entrusted to us of the spiritual leadership of the members of Bethany with tender compassion, sincerity, thoughtfulness, approachability, and humility in all that we do. While we hold a position of spiritual responsibility and authority, we do so as brothers and sisters in Christ who are equals before the throne of grace.