As we write this, we find ourselves blown away that the Lenten season has wrapped up and we are entering into Holy Week and Easter. Some of you are reading this and we have already celebrated Easter. Yet probably all of us are thinking, where has time gone? How are we already here? This may cause some anxiety for us because we are not ready for what lies ahead of us, simply because we have not had enough time to just stop and think about what the next few months will bring. We know that is true here in the church. Lent and Holy Week are very busy times for the staff and pastors, and we all know that just because we have made it through a wonderful Lenten Season, Holy Week, and Easter (thanks to all of you) we still have a very busy spring with Wednesday Night Programming starting back up, the Women’s Retreat, and planning for all the great things summer has in store for the church!

So, with all this written, we have to ask ourselves… “Are We Ready?” Are We Ready, for everything, known and unknown, that lies before us both in our own personal lives and the life of the church? Are We Ready for the excitements and the disappointments? Are We Ready for the obstacles and the opportunities? Are We Ready?

To answer this question, we have to ask an even more important question, “Where do we even begin?” Do we pull out our calendar and start scratching down all that is to come? Do we start by planning both family meetings and work meetings to talk about what is on everyone else’s calendar and then try to figure out how we mesh them together, hoping and praying we don’t miss anything?

To be honest, we have learned in our own lives and in the life of the church that the best thing to do is to set aside our calendars and our to-do lists. It is only then we can truly stop and get aligned with God, so we can get everything else in line. It is easy to look at our calendars and to do lists and get overwhelmed. It is easy to want to hide when looking at all the things, we aren’t sure how they will turn out. It is for this reason we need to start by first focusing on God and remembering His words in Matthew 28:20, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” These are the words Jesus spoke to His disciples who just experienced Jesus’ death and resurrection. These are the words He spoke to calm their fears and anxieties of what has been and what is about to come. Just as the disciples did not know what was next for Jesus or them, they were reminded that, no matter what, Jesus was and will be with them. In short, Jesus was telling His disciples (as well as us) that even though you don’t know what tomorrow will bring, regardless of how well you plan, He will be with you, and wherever He is, there is life, there is hope, there is something good.

As we, individually and as a church, look towards what is next, not just with worship, or programming, but the calling of a new lead pastor, we like the disciples are reminded that we don’t have to fear, but instead we can be excited, because God is with us and is going to do some amazing things. Just as He did after Jesus died, so too He will take our tomorrows and do something amazing. The question we need to ask now is “Are We Ready” to turn our eyes to God and see what amazing things He is about to do in our lives, because He is with us, and Bethel, until the end of time?

We pray that as you have said, “yes” for the past years to this question, you will continue to, along with the pastors and staff here at Bethel, say, “YES, “We Are Ready,” because God is with us and for us!

Pastor Ladd Sonnenberg and Pastor Kris Kurzejeski