“Therefore make disciples of all nations…” Matthew 28:19

Bethel’s mission is to prayerfully: Invite and Welcome people into a relationship with God, GROW & EQUIP one another as devoted followers of Jesus Christ, and CARE FOR & SERVE others by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

We thank all of the people who have embraced this mission and took the action to grow, invite, welcome, and serve this year.

The Evangelism Ministry at Bethel made it a priority in 2003 to focus on the following areas:

Invite and Welcome

Visitor Follow-up

Continuing efforts have been made to welcome visitors at the Sunday services and follow-up quickly with a personal contact. Kaye Kuhlmann, our Associate In Ministry and Evangelism Ministry team member developed a process that includes guidelines for an introductory call and a tracking system by which information is updated. A set of Bethel volunteers used this process to contact visitors. Our special thanks to the following folks:

· Dave Deeth

· Tom Cole

· Peter Marshall

Bethel Lutheran School Families

Families who do not have a home church have been invited to our church with special letters of welcome. All Bethel Lutheran School families are invited to special events as they occur.

Hope for the Holidays

The Evangelism team joined the Worship and Music and Children’s Ministry teams to organize the “Hope for the Holidays” program. This event was designed to invite and welcome folks in our neighborhood. This holiday afternoon included ice-skating, a puppet show, and a Christmas music program. It was a successful outreach activity and we have received positive feedback from those who participated. In fact, it was suggested that this be scheduled as an annual event!

Cupertino Community Easter Egg Hunt

The Evangelism team helped plan this event in conjunction with Abundant Life Church, Home of Christ (a predominantly Asian congregation), and Child Evangelism Fellowship. It was a good experience to work in fellowship with these Christian churches in our community to spread the Good News of Christ.

Welcome

This ministry has been led by Chuck and Cathy Couchman to organize our welcome ministry. First impressions of our church community often determine whether visitors will return. They encourage not only their team of dedicated volunteers but also all the Bethel partners in mission to extend a warm and caring welcome to those that are new to Bethel. We thank Chuck and Cathy for leading this ministry over the years!

Outreach and Advertising

Some of the Bethel folks personally delivered invitations to over 1000 homes in our community to help publicize the community Easter Egg Hunt event.

Direct mail invitations were delivered to 1000 neighbors advertising our “Hope For the Holidays” Christmas event.

Banners, posters, fliers, and invitations were used as tools for members to invite friends and neighbors.

Easter services were advertised in the San Jose Mercury newspaper.

Our church information was included in the yellow pages to publicize our services.

Invitations to our school families were often extended.

It has been a privilege to serve as a ministry leader during this year. I thank all the partners in mission at Bethel who have followed His call to go and make disciples of our community. Also, my special thanks goes to the following Evangelism team members who are very committed to our mission:

Marion Abney

Norita Hoegel

Kaye Kuhlmann

If you are interested in being part of the Evangelism Ministry team, please contact Sam Sudarsanam.

In His Service

Sam Sudarsanam