"Wherever you are in your journey of faith, our desire is to walk with you and welcome you into a community where we are all learning and growing together in Christ."

Dr. Prince D. Samuel

We believe God is reconciling all things to himself through Jesus.

We believe there is one God who exists eternally as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Creator and Ruler of all things, and he made humans in his image to cultivate and care for creation as partners who reflect his character and glorify him.

Humankind rejected this role, rebelling against God's design so that creation is now fundamentally corrupted and every person is born as an enemy of God, deserving judgment and unable to live up to God's standards.

But God, out of love for us and for creation, became one of us and fulfilled the role at which we had failed. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can be reconciled to God in Jesus, completely forgiven of our sin because of our trust in him and empowered to join God's mission to make all things new.

Pastors

Directors

Staff

Elders

Governance is an important component of any church leadership structure. We take very seriously the responsibility that God has given us to lead well, and to that end the organizational structure that we have in place involves pastors, directors and elders.

Leadership at Bethel can be likened to driving on a road. The pastors are responsible for navigating that vehicle down the road. Our directors serve as lines on the road to help keep us on mission. Elders serve as the guardrails to pray and ensure that we do not derail doctrinally or theologically.

Elders have dual function at Bethel. Elders are installed to serve as our legal representation to the state and in that sense, they provide financial oversight in budget approvals and expenditures. They are not engaged in daily operations as this is primarily the roles of pastors and directors. But within the Biblical context of the church, elders pray for this house as they ensure that we do not stray from Biblical teaching. Many of our elders are assigned to a ministry to pray and support spiritually and they will often teach within those ministries. The lead pastor will, at different times, engage members of these groups of leaders to gain feedback and insight into particular areas in which they may hold expertise. Should the lead pastor show signs of deviating from God’s Word, it would be the responsibility of elders to direct, guide, and possibly discipline.

Legacy

Bethel Church was founded in 1933 as Emmanuel Gospel Lighthouse, and over the years God has faithfully used this community of Christ-followers to build His Kingdom in Evansville and in places around the world.

The church has been instrumental in the formation of organizations like Evansville Christian Life Center, Uncharted International, and Evansville Christian School, and it continues to be a house committed to making disciples who actively participate in God's mission.