Superbowl We will be hosting our annual Superbowl party at our church building. Please join us as we route on our favorite teams. Doors open at 5:30pm. Dinner will be provided; if you plan on attending, we ask that you bring a side or drink.

Sabbath Month Every year, the month of February is our Sabbath month where our ministries scale back and give their volunteers a time to rest. With acoustic praise, a more relaxed children’s ministry, and refreshments following the service, we aim for this month to be one of rejuvenation, refreshment, and rest.

Bethany Well Xmas Xchange
Saturday, December 10 at 5:30 PM
Main Street building (430 Main St.)

Gifts should be in the range of $15 to $18 in value.
Dinner will be provided.

UPDATE: The event has moved indoors to Fort Lee High School and will begin at 11am. **The parking lot is located behind the High School. To access it from Lemoine Ave, take Bridge Plaza N toward the George Washington Bridge, then turn left on N Hoyt Ave, which leads directly into the school’s parking lot.

On Sunday, July 3rd, we will be joining with 3 other evangelical churches in Ft. Lee. For that Sunday, we will have our weekly worship service at Ft. Lee Middle School Field at 11am, in lieu of service here at church. We hope to see you there!

The service will be held at 11am, Sunday July 3rd at Lewis F. Cole Middle School (467 Stillwell Ave, Fort Lee, NJ 07024).

Directions from Bethany Well Fort Lee:

1. Travel east on Main St.

2. Turn right onto Anderson.

3. Turn right onto Stillwell.

The school will be on your right. Click the map for more details.

In my 35 years of life, I’ve had to say “goodbye” many times…surrendering to God’s plan for my life is another way of seeing it. For this native Texan, it started off in 1999 when I left the comfort of my home in Dallas, TX for the Far East, Maryland! I packed my VW with most of my treasured belongings and set off for a new adventure…who knew I’d keep going…and going and going?

After eight glorious years in DC, I gave up the Georgetown-Occupational Therapy-Harmony Hills Community Church life…a life that I was deeply rooted in as a young, carefree, single woman. Life was good but it was time for me to move again. I left the comfort zones of DC this time for Cameroon, Africa…a trip I had to make as a new member of Wycliffe. After six months in the “wild,” I had to move back to DC and then prepare for another move to NYC as a full-time recruiter for Wycliffe. At this point, I was getting use to “bon voyage” parties and bidding those around me farewells. Thankfully, the Lord gave me an adaptable spirit!

And now here we are again…having to surrender and sacrifice the life I’ve made for myself in NYC to go further East…across the Atlantic Ocean and past Europe to a region I like to call the “Ar*b World” Each time I pack up and move, I always wonder what the Lord has in store for me next. I’ve had friends envy this adventurous life of mine…but if it was really up to me,  I would be very happy to settle down and raise a house full of kids…I’ve learned to surrender and am continually surrendering my life to the Lord.

The first time I left Dallas, TX, I remember promising the Lord that I would never be too comfortable in one place because that’s what I was…comfortable or as Jim Cymbala puts it…feet cemented. Seems as if the Lord was listening to me that day because ever since then, I’ve always been moving…always ready to move whenever I hear Him say, “Go.”

I’ve been fortunate to meet many cool people along the way…including the peeps from Bethany Well (BW). I met BW when I was just starting off as a recruiter with Wycliffe. It was an exciting period of my life and I remember being prayerful about finding the “perfect” church. BW was it. I went from being greeted as a newcomer to a coordinator of this group of greeters. I’ve also had the privilege of leading a Lifegroup and being in the first group of Wellders at the church. Five years with BW sure does pack a lot of memories. I’m only sorry for being so disconnected with the community in the past nine months because my mind was already “overseas” in Brooklyn while I was immersing myself in the Ar*b community…preparing myself for the next adventure.  I was doing life with my Ar*b students and friends on a daily basis…in the same fashion of communion with my BW peeps when I first established myself at the church. BW taught me this level of community building…it was something I was able to put into practice among the Ar*b community…I have BW to thank for that.

I apologize for only having a few Sundays back at the Well this month but I hope our relationship will continue to grow and stretch forth to where our servants are working and have been sent. I want to challenge the Well family to look beyond the church’s horizon in order to see the other Wellers outside of Fort Lee. Please be connected to the work that the Father has called us to…a work that you too have taken ownership of…we’re going out together…knowing that I’m not going out alone is what gives me courage…Romans 12 tells us we are “one body in Chr*st.” I embrace that and want us to be a model of how that can be true for the relationship of goers and senders.

Thank you BW for five glorious years in NYC. I hope to find a new community of believers in the Ar*b World…not to replace BW but to have the same sort of community in a new place…so here’s to us all…”one body in Ch*ist.” Until next time…Clara

Bethany Well Summer Retreat:
July 29-31
Tuscarora, PA

$150 per person
$75 for full-time students
$25 per kid for families (up to 2 kids)

Last weekend with several church buddies, I attended IJM’s annual Global Prayer Gathering (gpgonline.ijm.org).   One could easily be deterred at such events that reveal the dark reality of evil’s impact in our world (i.e. slavery, sex trafficking of children as young as 4! and other oppressive and wicked deeds).  In fact, I’m sure even the mention of such degrading, debase actions can turn away some of our readers…but fear not this post is not intended to discourage or guilt people by this reality.

Upon first glance, the situations/circumstances you hear and learn about is overwhelming.  We can posture to such realities with questions like: How or what can I do to approach such a massive problem in our world?  Should I even care? How can one individual stand against the deeds of the wicked?  How do I move from a place of fear of guilt, fear of “not doing enough”, etc… to a place of action?  We draw conclusions that leave us paralyzed to do nothing or want to choose to ignore this aspect of our world view.  Why? Because we focus on the hopelessness in these situations or because we focus on believing (assuming) that man has too much power and the cycle of corruption can’t be broken.

But guess what….our God is bigger than the evil, our God has authority over everything.  Now, our cynical audience would quip in their hearts… what a “pat” answer.  Let me elaborate further as I confronted this response with the same kind of heart attitude, once before.  Here is a truth from this past weekend that reminded me of true reality and provided tremendous encouragement and power as I entered into prayer (I hope it serves you WELL).

The “heavens”.  Speak to any astrophysicists, visit the Hubble telescope (http://hubblesite.org), the splendor of the galaxies and the mysteries of the cosmos begs me to wonder and reflect “Gosh, God has power…period, full stop.”   Though it’s so hard for my mind to wrap around the universe’s wonders…. “God of wonders beyond our galaxy, you are Holy, Holy”.   Scripture tells us (Ephesians 6:10-16) “…Finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms…”

When we start qualifying prayer as a wishful speech/thoughts (i.e. “if it’s in your will”, “in your time”) that draws from our human strength, it looses power quickly because we lose sight of the reality of WHO GOD IS.  We stop believing and add “way out” clauses if things don’t pan out as “we” thought.  I relearned I can enter prayer with boldness because GOD is bold. That my friends woke me this weekend. So subtle, so subtle. So true, so true.

Prayer matters. Why go next year?  God’s realities matter.  Because God cares for all oppressed and broken, hates all injustice, loves to allways act: we care for the same (not cherry-pick what pains us the most) , we hate all injustice and allways ask for God to act.

“Knowledge of God and his ways was the Israelites’ only essential resource. Conforming in practice to that knowledge kept them in harmony with the reality that mattered… [But] where people do not want to know God, he usually allows them to be without him—at least for a while. When desire conflicts with reality, sooner or later reality wins.” – Dallas Willard, Knowing Christ Today

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My thoughts started racing, “What could this seemingly kind, harmless woman do to me? I could totally take her!” I ask her where her car is, and she elusively points in the other direction. I immediately think that she spotted the store I walked out of, the car that I am driving, the rings on my finger, and has identified me as an innocent sucker. “What happens if I go to drop her off and her friends are waiting to mug me?” I ask her to give me a second, and walk away to think of a strategy.

It seems like a simple question: do I help or not? How come my mind, heart, and gut are all giving me mixed messages? When does ‘wisdom’ and self-protection trump Jesus’ example of being a Good Samaritan? When did I become so skeptical of people’s intentions that I can not lend a helping hand? Am I potentially going to act foolishly? If so, is it considered foolish to trust a stranger or am I being self-involved? Why is it that I’m having a major moral dilemma over a simple act of kindness?

Somewhat impulsively I agree, and our ride begins. We talk and share a little bit about each others’ lives [I mostly do this because it's proven that people are less likely to hurt you if they come to know you]. I find out about how hard her life has been; her children live on the other side of the world and live a life she couldn’t provide for them here. As I pull up to her destination, she opens my car door, and looks at me and says, “Thank you for trusting me.” Her words reveal my fears to be completely unmerited.

If I had walked away from that seemingly simple request with not so much as a quick, “Sorry, I can’t help you,” I don’t think most would argue that I had made the wrong call. Is going the extra mile ever a prudent choice? And not that giving this woman a ride was really that much of a ‘sacrifice’ or burden, but where does one draw the line between helping out their fellow brother or sister and being a walking door mat. God calls us to die to ourselves and and sacrifice for others every day and we’re constantly asking him how much is good enough? How far is your extra mile? How can I keep from getting in my own way of reflecting His kindness?

Bhupendra Patel, a longtime member of our congregation, was born on December 6, 1937 and passed away on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. Unlike Richard Thompson’s joyous sendoff, Mr. Patel’s passing has filled me with grief. Since the very first day that I started attending our little church on Main Street, Mr. Patel was there, sitting in the corner by himself, awaiting a chance to talk and share his life with anybody who was willing to sit and listen. I saw him almost every week, but sadly, our relationship never progressed beyond an occasional obligatory “hello.” Some Sundays I didn’t even do that. I was way too busy bantering with those I felt more comfortable socializing with—in other words, those who looked, dressed, and talked like me. Today, in the wake of his passing, I not only mourn the loss of a congregation member. I also mourn the state of my faith.

Those of us who knew Mr. Patel knew that he was different. Being from a traditional Indian background and speaking a limited amount of English, he was harder to relate to than the typical members of our congregation. Though I like to think that I’m pretty comfortable with reaching out to those who come from a different background, I found myself having trouble loving Mr. Patel. Our conversations were awkward, unfamiliar, and didn’t flow very well. Eventually, I found myself not even trying anymore and finding different excuses to avoid speaking with him. Now that he has gone, I mourn the many lost opportunities to discover all the beauty and knowledge that he had to offer.

But do you know what’s the saddest part of all this? The loving Gospel that I teach, preach, and live by every day wasn’t enough to overcome my discomfort. It wasn’t enough that Jesus, who forfeited heaven’s perfection to reveal himself to me in my language, my context, and my cultural understanding of the world. It wasn’t enough that my sins that raise such an offensive stink in the realms of heaven were overlooked and forgiven. And it certainly wasn’t enough that Jesus, in the most tragic and offensive fashion, was nailed to a couple pieces of wood and bleed to death for my sake.

This is a problem. Especially for Christians like myself who claim that loving God and loving people is their primary occupation. The Gospel is supposed to be my major motivation that fuels and enables me to love. What happened? Is there something wrong with the Gospel? Is there something wrong with me?

The answer is no.

You see, my unloving attitude towards Mr. Patel was not the problem, but a symptom of a much bigger issue. My problem is that my relationship with Jesus isn’t as strong as I like to think it is. When you have a good, strong walk with Christ, you begin to want to be more like him: fully loving, fully joyful, and CRAVING opportunities to love the Mr. Patels of this world. Conversely, when your walk with Christ is either weak or non-existent, you become your own god: selfish, arrogant, and concerned only with loving yourself. My relationship with Christ is obviously the latter, and it has hurt Mr. Patel, who wanted nothing more from me than to be my friend. He’s gone now. And so are my opportunities to be his friend. What I need to do now is pretty clear. Whether it be through prayer, scripture, or deeper spiritual discussions, I need to repair my relationship with Jesus.

Dear friends, how is your relationship with Jesus? Is it flourishing and causing you to pour your heart out for people? Or are you neglecting him and also neglecting to love those around you? Is the news of Jesus’ sacrifice making you CRAVE opportunities to love the Mr. Patels in your life? Or do they have to wait until (1) you have time for them, (2) you are in a particularly good mood, and (3) they speak and act in a way that you are comfortable with?

During our small group time, we would have a time at the beginning to share “yay God” moments.  These were short testimonies of how God was working in our lives.  It was amazing to hear and see God working in people’s lives every week.  The great thing about these “yay God” moments were that we would also praise God for the hardships we were facing, not just the good.  Through time, we saw God work powerfully in each other’s lives.

You may think my experience of small group/community is atypical, but I don’t think it is.  I think the driving force behind our small group was the Gospel.  We desired to see Jesus and we committed to each other in this pursuit.  I’ve come to see that in our  pursuit of God, we need each other.  As much as we benefit from others giving to us, we are filled even more when we can serve and give to others (contrary to what the world says).  I hope I do not come off being dogmatic, but I believe there is FREEDOM when we serve and give our lives to others.

Starting with your lifegroup, I really believe amazing things will happen if we commit to pursuing God and striving to love each other.

John 15

¹“I am the^(A) true vine, and my Father is^(B) the vinedresser. ^2(C) Every branch in me that does not bear fruit^(D) he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes,^(E) that it may bear more fruit. ³Already^(F) you are clean^(G) because of the word that I have spoken to you. ^4(H) Abide^(I) in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine;^(J) you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that^(K) bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not abide in me^(L) he is thrown away like a branch and withers;^(M) and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If^(N) you abide in me, and my words abide in you,^(O) ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ^8(P) By this my Father is glorified, that you^(Q) bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ^9(R) As the Father has loved me,^(S) so have I loved you. Abide in my love. ^10(T) If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as^(U) I have kept^(V) my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹These things I have spoken to you,^(W) that my joy may be in you, and that^(X) your joy may be full.

^12(Y) “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ^13(Z) Greater love has no one than this,^(AA) that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are^(AB) my friends^(AC) if you do what I command you. ^15(AD) No longer do I call you servants,^[a] for the servant^[b](AE) does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for^(AF) all that I have heard from my Father^(AG) I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but^(AH) I chose you and appointed you that you should go and^(AI) bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that^(AJ) whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷These things I command you,^(AK) so that you will love one another.