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Local Outreach

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Local Outreach at Bethany exists to shine a light into our community by meeting people in their places of need and walking with them toward mutual growth and healing. These ministries seek to encourage and inspire our church members to a lifestyle of sharing God’s love in their everyday lives and to building bridges between the social and cultural divides in our community. Over Bethany's hundred-year history we have had various local outreach ministries, the food bank being the longest standing ministry, as God has given vision to volunteer leaders and enabled them to build teams to carry it out.

"And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” Jeremiah 29:7 (NLT)

Ready to jump in and serve on one of our local outreach teams? Fill out our connection form here to get started!

Serve in local outreach



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SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS

Why School-Church Partnerships?

  • To be a good neighbor, showing the love of Christ 
  • Build a stronger Green Lake community and neighborhood 
  • Support education as a pathway towards bright futures and out of poverty 
  • To build relationships with people of different backgrounds and be advocates for justice and equality  
  • To join the team or for more information, email Pastor Phil Maulding

School-Church Partnership with Daniel Bagley Elementary

Bethany Community Church has had a growing relationship with Daniel Bagley Elementary since 1969. Over the years, Bethany has helped with and supported: Bagley workdays, PTA fundraisers, levies, the annual holiday giving circle, school supply drives, and teacher initiatives. In turn, Bagley has opened its facilities and grounds for cooking, activities, and classroom space. In 2008, we partnered together for a new parking lot at Bagley, in a mutually beneficial scenario. Bethany funded the new 80 space, eco-friendly parking lot providing a place for teachers to park, improved safety conditions during school pick-up and drop off and Bethany gained Sunday parking. In the Fall of 2016, we took another step forward by formalizing our “School-Church Partnership” to transform our Green Lake community. Going forward, our goal is to meet practical needs of students, their families, and staff at Daniel Bagley that utilize our congregation’s abilities and are an example of our love for Jesus and our neighbors.

Holly Park & BCC School-Church Partnership with Martin Luther King Jr Elementary

Bethany Community Church has a growing relationship with Holly Park Community Church under the leadership of Pastor Otis Brown. BCC is coming alongside the Holly Park Community Church congregation to support their efforts in a school-church partnership with MLK, Jr. Elementary in the Rainier Valley. To join the team or for more information, email Pastor Otis Brown.

For more information about our school partnerships, view our School-Church Partnership Presentation.

Bethany Green Lake supports and works with School Connect WA. Learn more about this organization here.


Volunteer Opportunities 

  • Mentor a Bagley student and receive Youthwise training!
  • Serve as a Bagley Booster, bringing hospitality and encouragement to Bagley staff with cards & refreshments once a month. 
  • Adopt a Bagley Class by supporting a specific teacher and their classroom once a month throughout the school year. Assist with classroom support, school supplies, crafts, field trips, and more!

For questions, contact Pastor Phil.  


Community Meals

Through our community meal, we seek to create space where connection can happen between the church and our surrounding neighbors while meeting a practical need.  Come, enjoy a meal, make a new friend, and just sit with our guests sharing God's love.  Families are welcome!

Meals are the second and last Mondays of each month, 6–7pm, in the CLC building.
This ministry has four teams who work together to create each meal:

Meal Prep Team

The meal prep team coordinates and prepares creative and nutritious meals, often taking requests from our guests. The meal usually runs from 6-7 pm, and prep starts at 4 pm.

Table Companion

Build community at the meal by sharing a meal with our guests and providing a loving and listening presence.

Serving Team

The serving team keeps cares for our neighbors by greeting our guests and serving them food. Members of this team answer questions and act as hosts and minglers once the food is served.

Cleanup Team 

The cleanup team helps keep our space clean by washing dishes, taking down decorations, wiping tables, and cleaning the kitchen. Generally, cleanup finishes around 8pm. 

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To learn more or join the team, sign up here.

The Aurora Commons Hot Meal Prep

Weekly, Monday-Thursdays, 8am-10am, sign up

Join other volunteers in preparing around 100 hot meals for our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness. Prep takes place in the Bethany Green Lake CLC building, and meals are then delivered to the Aurora Commons where they are distributed. Volunteers can sign up regularly or every once in a while!

The guest house

Looking to serve immigrants and asylum seekers in Seattle? Join our Guest House ministry! For questions or more information, contact our Missions Team.

On Friday evenings the Guest House provides transportation, meals, and overnight hosting in our church space for immigrants released from the NW ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.

VOLUNTEER ROLES

Overnight Team

Welcome and orient the guests to the Guest House Space and host them for the night before they are transported to the airport in the morning.

Morning Transportation

Meet and pick up the Guests in the morning from the Guest House, transport them to the Sea Tac Airport, and assist them through airport security.

Evening Transporation

Pick up guests at the NW ICE Processing Center and transport them to the Guest House space at Bethany Green Lake.

Sign up here



Food Bank

The Bethany Food Bank is committed to providing emergency food to families and individuals in our community. We are currently open every Monday, 6–7pm. We also provide food for staff to give out during the week.

Open Hours Team

Prepares the Community Life Center for guests and distributes food. This team arrives around 5:30pm to pack bags and organize the space, generally staying until close at 7pm.

Restocking Team

Puts together bags of food to be passed out.

Donate

Another way to get involved is by donating food items. Donation bins are located in the Sanctuary foyer and in the Chapel. To donate see the Food Bank shopping and donation list

Shopping Team

Takes inventory of current food supplies and heads to the grocery store to supplement current donations.

Sign up here

Duwamish tribe & Bethany community Church

We at Bethany Community church acknowledge that we gather today on the ancestral lands of the Duwamish People of Seattle (Dxʷdəwʔabš “people of the inside” ), a people who are still here. We express our respect and gratitude for our indigenous siblings, their Elders, and for their past, present, and future care and protection of our shared lands and waterways.


Bethany's Partnership with the Duwamish Tribe


HISTORY

In 2016, at Bethany's 100 year anniversary, we as a church, examined our beginnings and realized our historical connection with the Duwamish Tribe. We later began to engage in a more intentional conversation around race and justice and were challenged by the prophetic voice of SPU professor, Dr. Salter-McNeil, to do more. Using her book Roadmap to Reconciliation as a guide, Pastor Phil and several lay leaders made it a priority to seek reconciliation and relationship with the Duwamish People. Bethany Community Church is excited to partner with the Duwamish today.      

“Bethany began about 1900 as an Indian Mission.” One short sentence is all we have in our records that hints at what Bethany’s beginnings were all about. We have no idea how many people banded together for this endeavor, who they were, or what they did. We do know that at least some of these people stayed together in fellowship as they went through several changes that finally led them to become Bethany Baptist Church in 1916. [From “Bethany History”, 1983]

We confess that as an organization, while well-meaning and a product of our time and culture, we were directly a part of the process of stripping the Duwamish of their culture in an attempt to westernize them. We further recognize our current church site sits on land that is the traditional territory of the Duwamish Tribe. As Seattleites, we have benefited from the injustices done to the Duwamish and we as a church have been silent in the past. We confess we have not stood against the oppression, injustice, and racism against our Native American brothers and sisters. We grieve this wrong. We purpose to stand with the Duwamish and no longer be silent. We want to stand against the current systems that perpetuate racial injustice. We want to listen to and learn from the Duwamish. We want a chance to build relationship and trust. We want to serve them in practical ways.

For more information on the Duwamish People, visit duwamishtribe.org and www.standwiththeduwamish.org.

To get involved, contact Pastor Phil.

DUWAMISH PRAYER WALK

Join us in prayer for our neighbors, the Duwamish Tribe, by downloading this Intercessory prayer guide. Take it on a walk with you around the Duwamish Longhouse and Ha-ah-poos Park, or pray as you walk around your neighborhood. 

Duwamish Prayer Guide

ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE MINISTRY

The Adoption and Foster Care Ministry seeks to support children and families within the foster care system, partnering with our local Department of Social and Health Services to provide for material needs, mentoring, and other services. We also support children and families in crisis through our partnership with Olive Crest and the Safe Families for Children program. 

Support Group

The Adoption and Foster Care Support Group offers support, fellowship, and education to anyone who is curious about or connected to adoption or foster care. Attendees can include those thinking of adopting or providing foster care, those currently in the process, those who have adopted, and those who have been adopted.

Safe Families for Children

Bethany’s approach to foster & adoption ministry is multi-faceted. As part of its response, we have partnered with Olive Crest’s Safe Families program to come alongside vulnerable families prior to the point of separation. This preventative program equips a team from Bethany to provide temporary (1-3 weeks at a time) respite for children while their parents receive the help they need to restore stability and maintain guardianship over their kids. Bethany congregants are trained to provide key roles including being a temporary host home, family coach, or host support person. For more information, contact Kalyn Gustafson.

To learn more about how to get involved with Bethany's Adoption and Foster Care Ministry, contact Nathan Nelson.