By now when you hear “Next Chapter” you are probably thinking of our group of adults who gather together for social events outside the church. As amazing as this group is, the “Next Chapter” that I am referring to is our next chapter here at Bethel. As many of you know, on Sunday, April 28th following the 9:00am worship service, the congregation voted to call me as the new Lead Pastor. I want to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of this process, the Call Committee, the Synod, the Staff, the Congregation, and my family and friends. There are so many amazing things happening at Bethel already. By each of us living out Bethel’s mission statement, we are changing lives for Christ both near and far. At the same time we celebrate all we have done and are doing, Pastor Kris and I would like to share with you that we are looking to the next chapter in the life of Bethel.Just this past month, Pastor Kris and I met with the council to propose a “First 90-days” plan. To be clear this plan is not one that Pastor Kris and I have come up with (though we have ideas). This is one that we are inviting the staff, council, and you the congregation, as our theme states to, “Walk With Us” in developing with us.

In my first 90 days, Pastor Kris and I want to hear from you considering what you believe are the most important things the church is doing and what we need to be focusing on. We believe moving forward as Bethel (church and preschool) we want to make sure we have a strong foundation to be able to stand on. Much like our Downtown Campus neighbor (the Phipps’s house) before they began to expand the house, they first attended to the foundation of the house so that it can be strong and ready to handle whatever lies ahead of it. Here at Bethel Pastor Kris, the Church Council, and myself feel this is equally important. What are the things we need to address today, so we can be ready for whatever God has prepared for us tomorrow? Over the next 90-days we will be meeting with the Staff, Council, and the Congregation to learn what your thoughts are. You are invited to attend a listening session in May where you will have a chance to share your thoughts as well as your questions. Once we collect these thoughts, we will begin to categorize them along with the Executive Committee and Council in order to create committees and action teams which will then create an action plan on how we move forward on accomplishing them. It is our hope that in these “First 90-days” these committees and action teams will be up and running. Throughout this process we will continue to keep you informed and a part of the conversation.

We are so excited to see what God has in store for us in the future, and we are also excited to see how God is going to work through Bethel in the next 90-days to begin to solidify our foundation, so that we can continue to be a united front living out our mission of connecting, growing, and serving.

Thank you again for believing in me. I am excited to continue to partner with Pastor Kris as we look to our “Next Chapter” here at Bethel.

All God’s Blessings,
Pastor Ladd Sonnenberg