Each of our programs is indigenous and has a goal of being self-supporting through business enterprises that serve jointly as on-the-job training for the residents and workers in training and as a way of providing finances for the program.

Mission Statement

• Our mission is to obey the Great Commission of Jesus Christ by investing our lives, gifts, resources, education and vocational skills in God's work throughout the world. Our current emphasis is in the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean.
• We commit ourselves personally and corporately to the Word of God, to prayer, and to worship. We seek to model Christ in all of life's situations so that the people of the world will come to glorify God.
• We believe that Christian ministry goes beyond preaching. It is all the activities performed in everyday life, accomplished according to the will of God, that are required in reaching people for Christ.
• We use a variety of strategies when ministering. They include domestic, vocational, academic, social and spiritual training, as well as providing basic needs in the residential setting.
• We understand the vital importance of the residential setting as a training ground for workers and potential missionaries.

History

• Bethesda Missionary Society was founded in conjunction with Bethesda Boys Ranch by Ben and Margie Toops on October 2, 1966. The work with needy boys not only was the focus of the ministry, but also gave a training ground for workers and potential missionaries. Ben established Bethesda Bible School and started classes in September of 1967. At that time, he began training workers for the mission program that he had previously established in Jamaica.
• In 1977 Bethesda Boys Ranch became fully self-supporting through its business operations, a mile-stone for all of our mission programs. By using Bethesda Boys Ranch as a model, Bethesda Missionary Society has been able to not only press the goal of self-support to our mission programs, but has also been sensitive to the problems they face.
• Today, Bethesda Missionary Society has programs in Jamaica, Belize, Guatemala, and Curacao.

Foundation Values

• We rely on the authority of the Word of God as the standard for life and ministry.
• We are called to participate actively in fulfilling the Great Commission through communicating the Gospel and teach all nations through both deed and word.
• We are committed to cooperation with like-minded believers throughout the world.
• We are proactive. We look for God's open doors for holistic ministry and then respond as God enables.
• We are called to champion the potential of lay people and create a channel for their ministry. We encourage them to commit their lives to ministry.
• We are called to honor all ministries and functions equally. We do not recognize a dichotomy between sacred and secular. No roles or functions in the body of Christ are more "spiritual" than others, but everything done in obedience to God is spiritual.
• We are called to function in teams. We believe that planning and decision making are not to be exercised exclusively by the leader in isolation, but rather they involve many participants working through the process in collaboration and unity.
• We are international, non-denominational, and evangelical in our scope and composition.
• We are called to practice a dependence on God for financial provision both individually and corporately. We recognize the God provides the business opportunities that create the income required to operate the programs and provide for the workers.
• We are called to prayer as a lifestyle. We rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide us in the dynamic process of growing and working together.
• We are committed to community development in order to relieve the burdens of poverty and to enable needy people to make spiritually, culturally, and environmentally appropriate choices in response to God's Word.
• We are called to value each individual, all races, male, and female. We believe every person has unique gifts, talents, and callings. Variety and diversity are positive factors in ministry.
• We are called to model multi-cultural diversity and interdependence within the Body of Christ by developing international teams with Biblical, instead of western values.

Statement of Faith

• We believe that Bible is the inspired Word of God and is authoritative and infallible in the original writings.
• We believe in one God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious death and atonement through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of God th Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
• We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and regeneration by the Holy Spirit are essential.
• We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
• We believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life eternal.
• We believe in the spiritual unity of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, composed of all who are regenerated through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Return to Bethesda Missionary Society
• Also see Bethesda Adult Life Training Center
• Also see Bethesda Association, Ltd. (Jamaica)
• Also see Bethesda Bible & Trade School (Belize)
• Also see K-Center (Curacao)
• Also see Fundacion La Vina (Guatemala)

Web Page designed by Singleton & Associates.
Click here to contact Don Singleton.