About Bethel Congregational Church

Bethel Congregational Church UCC

 is a dynamic church located in Ontario, CA. We are a body of believers made up of people from different backgrounds and stories joined together because of the gospel of Christ. Bethel is a church that does God’s work in the world, nurtures spiritual growth, and helps to build a loving community. We’re not about a building or some complicated religious system, but about helping people from all backgrounds discover the joy that comes from knowing God's love. At Bethel, we believe that religion doesn't have to be opposed to intellect. We are a church that encourages you to engage your mind as well as your faith.

No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here. 

Jesus didn't turn away people, neither do we. We are a progressive church open to new ideas. If you have been looking for a church and have not found the perfect one, come help us turn Bethel into that church you have been looking for.

We are an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, committed to diversity and social justice.

Our Open and Affirming Statement is :

"We declare ourselves to be open and affirming. With God's grace, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, or social-economic background. We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation."

Faith

We invite you to come and check us out this weekend at our Sunday worship services. We know that going to a new church can be intimidating, so we try to do things in a way where you’ll feel welcome and not like an outsider. When you come, you can participate or just sit back and observe. You’ll discover a warm atmosphere, and lots of friendly people pursuing God together. You are a valued part of God’s creation and His deep desire is to be in a relationship with you. So come and join us as we pursue God together!

Family

No matter your family dynamics, you're welcome at Bethel Congregational Church UCC and we're excited for you to consider being a part of our church family! Our intent is to serve the whole family. During our worship service we have a special message for children, as well as activities designed especially for them. Our parents and families work together to care for infants and children. Nursery space and changing facilities are available.

The Bible

While we are people grounded in a faith that is 2000 years old, we are always searching for new ways of understanding and interpreting scripture in light of 21st century experience and knowledge. We take the Bible seriously but not necessarily literally. In our tradition, we take it so seriously that we take the time to study the social and historical context in which it was written. So you will hear us talk about the history of the Jewish and Christian people, as well as the work of modern scholars. We believe that God intentionally planted the word in the middle of history and culture, and therefore that background is part of the story we need to learn. We believe that the Bible is God’s own holy word passed down to us through fallible human beings.

We believe in the Bible so much that we think it deserves our best questions. We believe that the Bible is the opening of a conversation in which God is still speaking. We do not think the Bible will shrivel up and die because we dare to question why it says what it does. We believe that the Bible has withstood similar questions for thousands of years and that in asking the questions together, in communities of faith, over time, we are part of a life-changing conversation that will go on forever.

We honor the word so highly that we do not take one phrase out of context and fling it around. We do not use phrases as stand-alone weapons to prove our point or to injure another person. Rather, we read the phrase as it has been nested in the text. We read the story around it.

We are not afraid to notice and point out places where scripture disagrees with itself. We know that we are not the first generation to notice these things. Those who carefully put the Bible together over the early centuries wrestled to decide which books should be included and which left out. In their wisdom, they left us a collection of holy words that offer a rich variety of descriptions of God.

Here's a question we are often asked:

Q: What if I don’t believe in the Trinity?

A: That’s okay. UCC members have varying views of the Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus, the existence of heaven and hell and many other “doctrinal” issues. Bethel is a non-creedal congregation, believing that creeds are “testaments of faith” not “tests of faith. What is important is that we discern how to answer Jesus’ call to “follow me”.