Bethel Church has a rich history of serving the Lord in rural North Beaver Township, Lawrence County, PA. Founded in 1798 as the Little Beaver Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, it became known as Bethel sometime before 1826. Today, membership stands at approximately 335, with average total attendance for both worship services at around 230.
Demographically speaking, Bethel contains men and women, boys and girls, ranging from infancy to congregants in their late nineties. We are a truly intergenerational church with toddlers, teens, younger adults, older adults and senior citizens all represented. What unites us, however, is our commitment to be used by God to call people to faith in Jesus Christ, to help people grow as followers of Christ through good times and bad; and to send people into the community and world to serve with Jesus' love.
We offer sixteen Sunday School classes for individual age groups through 12th grade, a college and careers class, a young and married class, and five other classes for adults made up of early adults to senior citizens. We also have youth groups for school-age children, including Sunday night Bethel Student Ministry meetings for seventh through twelfth grade, mid-week Bible studies for youth in seventh through twelfth grade. During the school year, there is a mid-week children's ministry. Also, there are numerous Bible study groups for adults which also meet mid-week.
Bethel has always placed an emphasis on Christian missions, which has been expressed through short-term mission trips, guest missionary speakers, and generous financial support of missionaries.
Overall, while our methods of worship and ministry are rooted in our strong heritage, we do nevertheless, by the Spirit's prompting, seek new approaches to ministry as need arises. We look to share our faith in modern ways together with the time-honored methods and practices which have shaped us into the church we are today. In our worship, we seek to praise and glorify Almighty God and to build up the members of the Body of Christ, however we approach it in terms of style.
Interested in what else Bethel offers?; Feel free to browse our website to find out more about who we are and the ministries we offer.
Bethel's Presbyterian Roots
Bethel Church is a part of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the mainline Presbyterian denomination in the United States. Historically, we are "theologically descended" from the Reformed tradition of Protestant Christianity. The Protestant Reformation was initially a movement to reform the Latin Catholic Church, the Christian church of Europe, begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's posting of the Ninety-Five Theses. In a few years, this movement eventually caused a split between the Roman Church and these "Protestants," who themselves split into 
denominations over theological differences. Bethel's theological traditions come from the Reformed branch of Protestantism, which takes its viewpoints mainly from John Calvin, the theologian from Geneva, Switzerland, as well as from John Knox, the Reformer from Scotland. While our church government is Presbyterian in format (a name which comes from the Greek word presbyteros, meaning "elders") and we hold to and profess the main tenants of the Reformed faith, we welcome theological ideas and thinking from many Christian traditions. We as a church acknowledge, as the Nicene Creed of Christianity declares, "One holy Catholic [universal] and apostolic church." Our congregational makeup includes many members who grew up in other denominational backgrounds, as well as those who have been Presbyterian their entire lives, providing differing viewpoints which enables healthy discussion on biblical topics. We see the entire Christian church as the Body of Christ, and as such, we respect the thinking of other Christian traditions. We unite on the Triune nature of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Sovereignty of God, and the belief that God's Word in Scripture is the specific revelation of Christ to the world and the final authority by which the church and its members should be guided.
In America, the Presbyterian church has had many splits and reunions, and as such the different names and branches can be confusing. Charts have been made to show these splits and reunions. Bethel itself began as a part of the Associate Presbyterian Church, which is one of the three branches of Presbyterianism that emigrated from Scotland, which was nicknamed the "Seceders". In 1858, this branch merged with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church to become the United Presbyterian Church in North America. In 1958, this branch merged with the northern mainline branch of the Presbyterian Church to create the United Presbyterian Church in the USA (UPCUSA). In 1983, the mainline Presbyterian Church in the south and the mainline branch of the Presbyterian Church in the north merged to become the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) [PC(USA)].
While Bethel is a member church of the Presbyterian Church (USA), we are also a member of the Confessing Church movement within the denomination. This is basically a grassroots movement geared at encouraging the denominational leadership to return to the historical understanding of Christian truth and faith as it is found in God's revealed Word, the Holy Bible.
Thus, while Bethel is not narrowly Presbyterian in its thinking, it is still guided by the tenants Reformed tradition (and ultimately God's Word in Scripture) in which the church has been historically rooted.