Bethel Stories

Everyone has a story to tell. For most of us in Bethel, our favourite stories are the ones that remind us that God knows us, loves us and changes us for the better. Here are some of those stories. (You might also enjoy some of the stories of our friends, too.)

Friends of Bethel

“He tried to kill me — but when I met him, I liked him”

“'Pan-Am Flight 103 has exploded'… the unthinkable slowly expanded, filling not only our minds but every nerve and cell of our bodies… That’s Helga’s flight.”

“God has kept me and given me strength through some very difficult times”

“I felt that God was calling me to speak out against Robert Mugabe ”

“I opened a Bible and the words “the truth will set you free” just stared at me. The next eighteen months were the best in my life.”

“Suddenly a masked man smashed through the driver’s window with an iron bar and began beating Dad to death. There was nothing Dad could do — he was trapped in his own seat, receiving blow after blow. And it was there he died, suffocating on his own blood.”

“Our Christian faith has helped us every single day – if we hadn’t known that God is with us even in the most difficult times, we would probably never have been able to cope. ”

Alison and Kevin

“We set our standards, but when you get there, it doesn't fulfil what you think it will.”

Keith’s story

“I started to see I wasn't the nice guy I thought I was”

After I retired I missed spending time with people and thought I’d find some sort of community in a church. I was quite nervous about going by myself. Eventually, when I did go to Bethel, it was quite reassuring. There were even people on the front door to welcome me. Listening to the preacher came as a bit of a shock though. He said no-one was good enough to go to heaven. I thought that as long as your good deeds are more than your bad you’ll be fine and go to heaven but this wasn't what God said in the Bible. I started to see I wasn't the nice guy I thought I was. God was on my mind more than ever and I knew I needed him so I started to go to Bethel regularly. I often thought about the wrong things I’d done in my life and wondered if God really wanted me.

Read more of Keith’s story