Overview of New Bethel Baptist Church
We are the second oldest American Baptist Church in the greater Indianapolis area. Our relationship with the American Baptist Churches of Greater Indianapolis and with American Baptist Churches USA offers us opportunities to fulfill the commission of Christ “to tell people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In voluntary cooperation with other American Baptist Churches, we share our financial resources to enable mission efforts in our city, our nation, and our world. Through this cooperative effort, we participate in discipling people for Christ around the globe.
What we Believe
As a Baptist church, we have a congregational polity. That means, we do not answer to a council, presbytery, bishop, or any other hierarchical authority. We believe that God is our authority and that Christ is the head of the church. Together, we seek to discern his will for us and then we utilize the Spiritual gifts given to us to accomplish what we have discerned to be God’s will.
We are moderate in our theology, depending upon the Scriptures of the New and Old Testaments as sufficient to guide us into a personal relationship with God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Daily devotional practices of meditating upon these Scriptures and prayer brings us into the presence of God where God can reveal to us his will for our lives.
Two practices (ordinances) we participate in regularly as a congregation
One is the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Bread and grape juice represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ that was given for our sakes that we might come to know God’s love and forgiveness. This meal is a reminder of that love each time we receive it.
The second ordinance is Baptism. Whenever anyone seeks to become a disciple of Christ, we provide him or her a public opportunity to witness that decision through the public act of baptism by immersion. As the person is lowered beneath the water, it symbolizes that person’s death to self. When the minister lifts them out of the water, it symbolizes God resurrecting them to walk in the newness of life in Christ. Each time the congregation witnesses baptism, it reminds us of our own baptism.
Opportunities to Serve
We are told that the Holy Spirit gifts everyone who receives Christ into his or her life with gifts that help the church to fulfill its ministry. It is our hope to assist every person who participates in our worship to discover their gifts and to provide opportunities for them to use their gifts.
Our church has four major boards
Deacons, Trustees, Missions, and Christian Education. Several committees function in special ways such as Flower Committee to provide decorative flower arrangements for worship and other special occasions; a Kitchen Committee is responsible for keeping the kitchen supplied and maintained; a Music Committee operates to maintain a musical program in our church, etc.
Opportunities to Learn for All Ages
We have a number of Sunday school classes for all age levels that meet at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday. Three adult classes and one young adult class helps meet the needs of all adults out of High School for Christian Education. Nursery care is available during Sunday school and worship.
Children’s worship is provided during the second half of the worship time. It is intended to provide more age appropriate and participatory worship opportunities for children.
American Baptist Women’s Ministries is an auxiliary group providing women with special opportunities for mission involvement.
We have an American Baptist Youth program for Senior and Junior High youth. Staffed by a lay minister, the youth meet on the second and fourth Sunday evenings of each month at 5:30 p.m. for fun and study. American Baptist Kids is a new ministry for children we are initiating with once a month meetings to take place on the third Sunday evening.
Our church promotes summer camping in our Baptist Camps in Indiana. We have two camps: Indian Creek is at Bedford, and Tippecanoe is at North Webster. Our church provides camperships to aid parents in sending their children to one of these camps.
In June we have a Strawberry Festival connected with a rummage sale. In December, we have a Chili Supper with White Elephant sale. Both of these are fund raising events for our church. Everyone in the congregation gets involved in these fundraising projects; it is a great time of fellowship and getting to know one another better.
Mission Opportunities
Our Mission Board is considering new ways we can get our congregation involved in hands-on mission projects. One we currently participate in is the Loaves Meal program at Edna Martin Christian Center. We take food to the center and serve it to the people of the Brightwood community who show up for the meal. The churches in our region alternate their involvement in this project so that each church does it about once a year. We have other projects with the center we are involved in more often.
We sponsor two Red Cross blood draws in our church each year.
We encourage members of our congregation to save aluminum pull tabs from cans which are donated to the Ronald McDonald House which can redeem them for financial support of its ministry of providing housing for families who have an ill child in Riley Hospital.
These general items of information should give you a feel for the life of New Bethel Baptist Church. If you need further information, please call the Pastor at (317) 862-4381.