Vision Statement
Our mission for 2011 is to empower the ladies of Bethel Temple of Praise to be all that God wants them to be as well as for them to become mentors for the young ladies in our church, in order to advance the Kingdom of God and eventually reach out to other families in our community which will lead to spiritual and physical growth in the Church.
Goals
It is the aim of Bethel Women’s Fellowship to support, encourage, and display love to our congregation and surrounding community by providing a holistic atmosphere where persons will feel comfortable to worship. As a body we would like to become a vibrant group in the Church that will be able to bring and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world by encouraging each member to take one visitor to church each month. Finally as women in the Church we will seek to make a difference in our general interaction with members and more so visitors to Bethel Temple of Praise.
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I recommitted my life to the Lord in 2003, I was baptized November of the same year. When I arrived from Florida in 2003 I was living with my cousin in the Bronx. I was invited to church by my aunt-in-law but I really did not want to go, fearing I would give my life to God again, so I tried to find excuses not to go, because I sensed the Lord speaking to my heart and I tried to ignore it.
I was invited to my uncle’s house for dinner and they had devotion in the evening. I asked myself whether I should go or should I stay for a while. However, little did I know that this was the moment that the Lord was going to use to work on my heart. I tried to leave but I couldn’t go and Derron started praying for me. I broke down and started to cry. It was at that moment that I let go and allowed God.
Prior to 2003, I just wanted to see what it felt like to do worldly stuff seeing that I was brought up in the church for all my life. Now I knew that it would not work as there are certain things that I could not do no matter how hard I tried as there was always an inner voice that was speaking to me. One experience was when I followed my friends to a night club for the first time in my life and I felt so out of place and uncomfortable to the point that I left and went home. I have always known that God had a plan for my life but was very stubborn and fearful.
After my baptism I decided that I would follow the Lord until he called me home. My journey was not an easy one. I had many trials and obstacles and disappointments. I thank God for praying parents as they never gave up on me; they were always praying for me and encouraging me. God is faithful, and I can say that now with confidence and assurance, no doubt in my heart. Right now I really think I am where God wants me to be and I thank God for my Pastor. I can remember that first time he asked me to speak at a Sunday night service for ten minutes, I had a strong urge to say no, but I did not want to be seen as being disobedient so I took the assignment. Then came Ladies Convention and I was asked to speak for the Sunday night, and oh how I was shaking when I arrived and saw the church full of people. I wanted to turn and run, and I remember asking Pastor if he could do it instead of me, but his response to me was “if I didn’t think you were capable I would not have asked you. You will be fine, I have confidence in you and you must now trust God and lean on Him.”
I took his words and I promised myself it would never happen again, until Pastor gave me a book on Expository Preaching. I took the book and bought it home and I told my aunt if Pastor believed that I was going to be preaching again he was wrong, and I don’t know why he was giving me this book to read on how to prepare a sermon.
My aunt-in-law then told me that I can’t hide from the call of God on my life. However, I struggled with this for a while and did not read the book for a month until I was having my devotion and I read Jeremiah 1 and it was as if the words jumped out of the page right into my heart. I then decided to be obedient to God totally. I am glad for my Pastor as he always encourages and challenges me. He has been a tower of strength to me, I have learned so much from him. Right now I am far better than I was before I had developed and grown a great deal especially during this period of mentoring.
I find this challenge to be rather great and now find myself praying more and listening for the voice of God to speak and to hear what he is saying. God has to be at the centre of everything that I do as this means that I have to submit to him totally. Submission is never easy, but I realize that if God is going to use me effectively I have to submit to him. There are times when I feel to call my Pastor and tell him to find someone else but the Lord always reminds me that He is the who has called me and all I need to do is to trust him completely. This journey will never end until the Lord comes for his bride. My Pastor and Minister Godfrey have done an awesome job of bringing out the best potential in me. They are truly good shepherds. They have been constantly mentoring us and doing what God has commissioned them to do. This is the time, this is the hour that God has planned for us. I will continue to fast and pray and seek God’s face as well as to lean on Him and I know that with God’s help I will be all that He wants me to be. Again I am glad for this opportunity and it’s my desire to be what God wants me to be and to do what He wants me to do. I will serve God with all my heart and trust Him completely. With Christ by my side all is well and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
–Valerie Malcolm