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about
Meet the staff
our history

our history

Bethlehem Baptist Church started in The Bethlehem Hall in 1988 under the leadership of evangelist Tom Frew and his wife Aileen. This small group of people spent a number of years meeting in the Te Puna hall before making the change to Bethlehem.

The church grew and developed networks into the local community and established a very confident overseas ministry partnership with YWAM Marine Reach. These early days were exciting as God began to fill the noisy old hall with new believers.

In 1995, Craig & Michaela Vernall came from Carey Baptist College upon Tom Frews retirement. (Tom in fact spent another 15 years in full time ministry and is now retired and in his 80’s)

The church continued to grow in size. In 2000, a church building was first built on Bethlehem Rd – and when completed, the 366 people who were part of the church moved into the new premises. Over the years the church continued to grow with different building projects being entered into as the need arose.

Bethlehem Baptist has always been blessed with passionate people who want to spend their lives in valuable service for Jesus. Over the years we have had hundreds of people enjoy seeing Jesus touch people’s lives through the different ministries.

Bethlehem Baptist has always had a high focus upon families and children. The commitment made to young people has always been a priority with our weekend and mid week programs.

And as the church has grown, there’s been the ability to identify and serve different needs and ministry opportunities both locally and overseas. This website will show you more about these ministries.

Some of the larger events on our calendar have been the Night Before Christmas and the Easter Journey which have introduced thousands of people to the message of Jesus.

We at BBC know we are a blessed people. As the Lord told Abraham in Genesis 12. “We are blessed to be a blessing.” We hope our church community will be a blessing to you.

our mission

our mission

Partnering with God to generously transform lives and society into the likeness of Christ in Tauranga, New Zealand and the world

our vision

our vision

We exist to be a community of all ages, a leading light for Jesus, reaching out to grow the Kingdom. In this, we will be known for:

  • Spiritual maturity: grounded in Biblical knowledge, active in our spiritual gifts, prayer and evangelism, and focused on local and global initiatives
  • Growing young leaders who will lead and transition the church into the hands of their own generation and beyond
  • Effective outreach through savvy media, memorable events and community engagement
  • A church community where all peoples feel at home
  • Training leaders to serve the body of Christ
  • Enabling, resourcing and planting other churches throughout New Zealand
  • The best place for staff to work and volunteers to serve in Tauranga
our values

our values

Christ-Centred

We look to Jesus as the example for all things we do and say

Prayerful

We start and we finish with prayer, giving thanks to God for all things

Permission-Giving

We encourage each other to create, innovate, and be courageous for the sake of the Kingdom

Servant Leadership

We empower and equip people as they grow and develop others and teams

Encounter

We experience Christ in the Spirit of God who lives in us

Passionate

We are inspired to express our spiritual gifts

Humility

We grow with selflessness and dignity, recognising ourselves in relation to God

Excellence

We always bring our best – to honour God and inspire people

Integrity

We speak truth and sincerity, acting with love and fairness

Generous

We give away freely and abundantly. As is God’s grace

Relational

We love each other sharing thoughts, feelings and needs as we do life together

Bible-Based

We hold to Scripture as God-breathed; useful for teaching, correcting and training

our beliefs

our beliefs

As a church, we believe in:

  • God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit – one God in three persons.
  • The true deity and humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ – Jesus is fully God and fully human.
  • The atonement made on the Cross by our Lord for the sin of the world.
  • The person of the Holy Spirit as one who sanctifies and who sets apart, empowers and imparts spiritual gifts to the church.
  • The Bible is the inspired Word of God and is authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.
  • That salvation comes only through repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ.
  • The immersion of believers as the only scriptural form of baptism.

As a church, our primary aims and functions are:

  • To glorify God and be an expression of His character and Kingdom in the world.
  • To meet regularly for worship, prayer, biblical teaching, encouragement and fellowship.
  • To encourage congregational partnership in the mutual care of each other’s spiritual and physical well-being.
  • To engage in the task of mission to the local community, the nation and the world (Matthew 28:19-20)
  • In every possible way, to seek to make disciples of Jesus Christ and bring them into His church.

church center app

Stay connected and up to date, in real time, with what is happening at Bethlehem Baptist Church. This app will give you access to recent audio and video sermons, along with our weekly bulletins, church calendar, built-in Bible and more. Stay plugged in by downloading our app today!

or signup via email to receive our weekly bulletin. Click here

contact us

P | 07 576 2344
E | bbc@bethlehem.org.nz
A | 90 Bethlehem Rd, Bethlehem, Tauranga

Office Hours | 9:00am-5:00pm Monday-Thursday

www.bethlehem.org.nz
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