November - December - 2004 Electronic Edition - Vol. 4 No.6 Pastor Ted Brust Newsletter Remodeling Upcoming Events Student Ministries Church Directory Calendar

Where are you leaving your fingerprints?

Pastor Ted and Sue Brust

In 1910, an intruder entered the home of a couple named Mr.& Mrs. Hiller. When Mrs. Hiller awakened her husband because of some strange noises she heard, she never dreamed he would soon be lying dead from a gunshot wound. Mr. Hiller surprised the unwanted visitor, and in the struggle, the intruder shot and killed Mr. Hiller. Earlier in the evening, the Hiller’s had painted their stairway handrail. The killer left his fingerprints in the fresh paint. You see, it had only been six years earlier, in 1904, that American detectives had been trained by the Scotland Yard to use fingerprints to identify criminals. This was the first conviction in American history, where the perpetrator had been convicted by his own fingerprints!

According to scientists, your fingerprints are uniquely yours. No one else has the same prints as you; even identical twins have different fingerprints. You touch something, and a trace of you is left behind. Whether you realize it or not, tangible evidence exists that you were at a certain location.

Author, Amy Nappa, describes Jesus actions in John 14 like this. “The words of Jesus in John 14:11 remind us that Jesus’ identity could be traced through the evidence of his actions. When a leper was healed, people knew Jesus had been there. When a hurting heart found forgiveness, there was proof that the voice of Jesus had been heard. The things Jesus did, the miracles he performed, the words he spoke, these were his fingerprints on the world. These touches proved his identity and left evidence that he had touched lives. Even today they are there for us to follow, leading us to the one and only Son of God.”

As God’s children, you and I leave fingerprints on the world. I am not talking about hand prints left behind in wet cement, or even fingerprint smudges left on your TV screen. I am talking about the actions you and I perform each and every day of our lives. What kind of impression are you leaving on those with whom you come in contact? The “fingerprints” you leave on someone’s heart can be of tremendous value.

As the Thanksgiving and Christmas season draws near, I am asking you to go beyond the empty commercialization of these holidays. I urge you to do some deep soul-searching. Ask the Lord what you can do to make a true difference in the heart of another. You don’t have to look very far to see the needs. Every week I hear of someone’s heartache, another person’s worry, someone’s misunderstanding. I know we have people in our Bethel family with financial needs, as well as spiritual needs. Why not pray and ask the Lord how he would like to use you this season? Our benevolence fund is in need of dollars. We can only assist those as we have the funds to do so. Would you prayerfully consider the needs of others? Why not be involved in something that will make a lifetime impression on others? You could touch someone in a tangible way, a way that will make a lasting difference!

Newsletter Remodeling

Pastor Greg Farmer

You hold in your hand, as I’m sure you can tell, a shortened version of the typical newsletter. This edition is for the month of November only. Beginning in December, we will be changing the frequency of publications. The reason for this is our desire to make the newsletter a better tool for communicating with the Bethel family.

In an effort to make it more pertinent, timely, and useful we are adjusting the number of issues from once every two months to once per quarter. We believe this will help us to coordinate up-coming events of all ministry areas in a more comprehensive fashion. We trust you have been blessed by the newsletter in the past, and that it will be an even greater blessing to you in the future.

The times of printing, as I said, will be once per quarter. We will be using the academic year as our guide. This means that the newsletter schedule of publication will be printed for distribution in the months of September, December, March, and June.

To help us accomplish the goal of improving our newsletter, there will also be a ministry leaders’ meeting in the middle of the month preceding the publication dates. Also, if you are not a ministry leader, but have something you would like to have in the newsletter, that information must be turned into the office two weeks prior to the next publication date. This information must be reviewed and approved by the staff for it to be included in the newsletter.

Change can be difficult, and we here at Bethel understand that very well. But very often change brings improvements and we believe that this change will be for the betterment of an already useful tool. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. If you have any ideas, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Student Ministries

Sign-up Sundays to schedule an appointment to have your picture taken with Olan Mills:

Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28

Olan Mills Photo Dates & Times:

Friday, January 14 3:00 - 9:30 pm

Saturday, January 15 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Thursday, January 27 3:00 - 9:30 pm

Everyone who signs up will receive a free directory and an 8x10 photo. You are also eligible for a special holiday discount of 20% off any photo package. Seniors automatically receive a 10% discount which is a total of 30% off any photo package. An added bonus to having Olan Mills do Bethel’s church directory is that the directory will be online. Each member will receive a pass code to access the online directory and the information will be updated by the church office as needed.

Military Photos Needed! Anyone who has a son, daughter, grandson or granddaughter in active military duty, please submit a picture no larger than 4x6” along with their name and where they are located. Olan Mills will insert a military page free of charge. These photos are needed no later than Sunday, January 2nd.

Business Page : Anyone who attends Bethel and would like to advertise their personal business for $25 may turn in a business card to the church office. These will also need to be turned in no later than Sunday, January 2nd.

Please contact Heather in the church office at 463-0956, if you have any questions about the 2005 Church Directory.

Bethel Calendar