Statement of Building Needs

Hold unswervingly to the hope we professed. Let us consider how we can spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another. Heb. 10:23

According to the Constitution of Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bryan, Texas, the Bethel congregation is a community of baptized Christians which shall hold membership in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as long as the Synod maintains the theological commitment that the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God and the only rule and faith and life, and all of the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church contained in the Book of Concord of 1580 are a true and sound exposition of Christian doctrine taken from and are in full agreement with the Holy Scriptures.

Bethel Lutheran Church’s mission is declaring the Gospel to those who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, calling them into faith, while strengthening the faith of our members and fellow believers.

The following opportunities are therefore to be provided as necessary to supporting the mission of Bethel Lutheran Church, as outlined in the Constitution: Worship, Nurture, Fellowship, Evangelism, and Service. The Church Building should therefore provide the physical setting wherein these components of Bethel’s purpose are carried out.

The 1996 Building Committee of Bethel Lutheran Church recognized that Bethel’s facilities at the present site are inadequate to accomplish the mission. A project to upgrade the facilities was therefore undertaken as a stop gap measure with the recommendation to relocate to a more suitable location and property size within ten to fifteen years. The congregation voted to purchase a piece of property in 2001, and the facility upgrade project was terminated.

Bethel’s property on Highway 158 includes approximately 12 acres of undeveloped land. This land is being planned to provide facilities for the long term future of the church, for the next generation and beyond. As a point of departure, preliminary planning includes worship, education, and fellowship facilities for double the current worship attendance. In addition, the long range plan includes facilities for a parochial school.

The following characteristics are opportunities that development at the new property provides:

§ Facility suitable in size and amenities to support and strengthen the church (people) at Bethel over the next 30+ years to fulfill God's mission for His Church: 1) To take His plan of salvation into the world through the faithful worship of Him (pure preaching of the truth of God’s Holy Word in the Gospel and the right administration of the Sacraments); and 2) To equip the saints to take and live that truth in their daily lives.

§ Location that responds to population and growth area of Bryan.

§ Facility design that provides safety and security for our members, with special concern for children’s safety.

§ Location that makes it easy for potential new members and visitors to locate and provides greater visibility of the church to the community.

§ Facility that creates a favorable impression of the church to visitors and potential members.

§ Location which responds to the regional character of our church.

§ Facility planned for easy conversion for use of education spaces as dual use rooms to serve both parish education and a parochial school.

§ Facility that assists in the retention of members by reinforcing those initiatives that provide a “church home” for our members through ministry opportunities, in addition to creating a safe and secure environment for their families as indicated above.

§ Facility that makes accessibility for physically impaired individuals a priority.

§ Facility that witnesses to the value the congregation places on faith in the unchanging and everlasting God through the character of the facility design and lasting nature of materials.

§ Facility that enhances opportunities for members to come together to learn to live out the faith we share by providing more and larger educational spaces, adequate office space, music rehearsal space, recreation space, and an enhanced worship space.

§ Facility that inspires toward reverence, awe, joy, reflection, and “otherness” when coming into the presence of God.

Therefore the Building Committee is dedicated to planning a long range development of the property that looks to address the needs of future generations of the church by providing the highest and best design and construction of facilities. These facilities will, to the best of our ability in our limited human condition, inspire, enhance, and foster Bethel Lutheran Church to live out our faith through worship, education, fellowship, and service.