Outreach

Care packages

In March, we put together boxes to send to college students and those in the military that are part of our church family. In recent years, we have sent out as many as 16 boxes filled with goodies and love to the students and those in the military. Our youth will also make cards to include with the packages.

Donations

Every year, we make monetary donations to several local charities including our local fire department, rescue squad, the Boyd Scouts, the Salvation Army, and others.  We also set aside missions funds to be used to respond to individuals, churches, or areas in the world  that have been affected by tragedy or disasters.  

Relay for Life

As like many others, Bethany’s congregation has been affected by cancer. In May, we always support Relay for Life in memory and in honor of our members that have been affected by this terrible disease. We typically do fund raisers such as selling chain links to create a love chain that surrounds our church, putting on a talent show, as well as selling food items to raise money for this worthy cause.

Kits for Conference & Camp Rainbow

Each year in June, we collect Kits for Conference. In recent years, our church donated a total of 50-60 health and school kits. We also support Camp Rainbow each year. Our United Methodist Women make crafts to send to Camp Rainbow and the United Methodist Men give a generous donation.

School Supplies & Christian Outreach Program

In August we begin our school supply collection. Our congregation is very generous and we donate all of the supplies to two of the local elementary schools.

Every month we collect canned goods for COP (Our local Christian Outreach Program). Once a year (in October) COP organizes the “Souper Saturday” where area churches donate soups and desserts. Tickets are sold and all proceeds go to COP. Bethany members play a big part in this event by donating soup and desserts as well as working the day of the event serving the soup.

Henderson Mission Project

Bethany is the district collection point for the Henderson Settlement Christmas Mission project. We reach out to other churches in our district and are overwhelmed by their support and generosity. We start collecting blankets, coats, and new toys in July. As we get the items, we box them and store them until the first week of December. We then load them in a U-Haul truck and take them to Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Kentucky. We arrive on a Sunday night and on Monday morning we unload the truck. Our team then spends Monday and Tuesday sorting the items and prepare for the parents to come and shop for Christmas gifts on Wednesday and Thursday.

Christmas and Yearly Giving

During Christmas Bethany plays Santa to all the residents in our local nursing home. The residents give us a wish list and we go shopping to fulfill it. We then visit them to deliver their gifts as well as sing and have refreshments with them.

Also, at Christmas, the United Methodist Men have been helping out by taking toiletry bags to a near-by men’s home called New Horizons. In addition, our United Methodist Men sponsor a road clean up twice a year.

As a year-long mission project, we make toiletry bags for the homeless. Members bring in things such as: toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks, deodorant, soap, washcloth etc. We put the items in a clear bag and then they are available for our members to take and handout to homeless people that they may encounter in their travels.

All of the happenings listed above are conveyed to our congregation by a weekly insert that gives them the dates and events. We also communicate through a phone system called One All Tell All that has been very effective getting messages to the congregation in a timely manner when needed.