Dear Bethany Family

On Sunday March 7, we witnessed an outpouring of prayer that has literally left its mark on Bethany Church. A walk around the sanctuary will remind us of our commitment to pray that God would do something extraordinary in the lives of those who call Bethany their church home. Taped to the walls are names of the men and women, young and senior, who profess faith in the Lord Jesus, who are able to accomplish exceeding abundantly beyond all we can think or imagine. I am very confident that the Lord is about to move in a mighty way among us.

March 28th, Palm Sunday, is another day that I am anticipating with great enthusiasm. Why? On March 28th Bethany Church will draw the curtain and showcase the various components of the vision that has led us to engage in an Extraordinary Stewardship Campaign. Material has been produced which highlights the work of God among us as well as detailing the manner in which we can embrace God’s future. The narrative includes recent history, video testimonies, architectural layouts and artistic renderings of the Multi-Site campus in Raymond and the proposed expansion on the Greenland campus. My prayer is that your spirit will resonate with the dream set before us.

As the Lord Jesus and His disciples entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, our plan is to visit every Bethany attender to hand deliver the above information person to person. We decided it would be too impersonal simply to send these materials in a mass-mailing. The message we desire to communicate is that we are in this faith journey together. There will be no soliciting and no conversation about pledges. This is simply a “porch visit” to remind us that we are engaging in this work together for the benefit of the Lord and our neighbors.

Together, with the Lord’s enablement, we will revive the spiritual landscape of New England. Let’s make Sunday, March 28th, a day to remember the Lord’s commitment to us and a day to galvanize our commitment to Him. Greet your neighbors with a smile and pray that God will accomplish something Extraordinary.

God is Good, All the Time,
Pastor Bruce

A Special Message from Dennis & Sally Runey

Dear Bethany Friends:

Sally and I enthusiastically support the Extraordinary capital campaign because we believe it will provide the necessary resources to achieve God's plan for our church. The possibility of preaching the Gospel message at four strategic locations by the year 2015, eliminating or substantially reducing our onerous debt, and supporting the multi-site effort from a significantly enhanced and well-maintained Greenland campus is a compelling and achievable vision. As fixed-income retirees it will be a challenge for us to support the campaign at the level we desire. Nevertheless, we have prayed about our decision and are committed to making a meaningful, sacrificial pledge because we wish to place God's work ahead of our pleasure. We pray that those of us who have benefited from the sacrifice and vision of our church predecessors will be moved to do the same for the next generation of believers in New England. The opportunity to present the Gospel in a region that is so ripe for harvest is exciting and, we believe, a manifestation of Bethany's willingness to be obedient to our Lord and Savior's admonition to fulfill the Great Commandment and Great Commission. We pray that each member and attendee will give generously, sacrificially and joyfully as we seek to win one more for Christ in our region.

Dennis Runey, Co-Executive Director, Extraordinary Capital Campaign

A Special Message from Pastor Bruce Boria

How often do you slow down enough to actually look at people's faces? To look in their eyes, and really see who they are? Each face tells a story, and each story represents a life, a precious creation of God. A life that, when joined with its Creator, becomes one of promise and purpose. An extraordinary life.

As a church, we collectively encounter thousands of faces, thousands of lives, every single day. Our neighbors and co-workers. Our kid's teachers and friends. People throughout our community. People, who from every walk of life, are far from God. Statistically there are more of those people here per capita than in any other part of the United States. An incredible need.

But what others may see as an obstacle, we at Bethany see as an opportunity. An opportunity to reach out, to impact and change lives. God has uniquely positioned us to revive the spiritual landscape of New England. He is calling us to do something...EXTRAORDINARY!

What an incredible time to be a part of the Bethany Church family! Clearly God is at work in amazing ways in the lives of our people. Individuals and families are being changed for all eternity through the love and forgiveness of Christ. It is no accident that each of us has been put here in this specific place and for this specific time.

On Sunday, May 2nd, each of us will have an opportunity to express our love for God and this church in a very real and tangible way. On that day, our Commitment Sunday, we will be challenged to make a three-year commitment to our Extraordinary spiritual initiative. These gifts will allow us to enhance and expand Bethany's ministries, by first making improvements to our current campus, by launching our first multi-site campus in Raymond, NH, and by eliminating debt, freeing up annual resources for ministry. We do all of this for one reason: to see more and more lives forever changed by Christ.

Now it is time for each of us to prayerfully seek God, asking "Lord, what would you have me and my family do to accomplish Your will for Bethany Church?" Specifically, ask God to reveal the level of commitment He wants you to make to this project over and above your regular tithes and offerings for the next three years.

I believe four very important things about this project:

1. We serve an extraordinary God.
2. We live in extraordinary times.
3. It will require an extraordinary effort to fulfill the vision God has given us.
4. We'll see extraordinary results.

I am really excited about where we have been and where we are now, but especially about where we are going.

I can't wait to see what God is going to do. I want to encourage you to join me & my family in prayer and preparation as we get ready to do something.... EXTRAORDINARY!