Sabbaths at Bethel Adventist Church, located in Bethel, Alaska, are always lively. Sabbath, May 4, 2024, was no exception. It was the last day of the four-week It is Written Hope for Humanity evangelistic series, hosted by Alaska Conference live in Anchorage and simulcasted to churches around the state.
Bethel Church, located 400 miles from Anchorage via plane, tuned into the meetings each night with local church members, community guests and friends as John Bradshaw, It Is Written president, and Wes Peppers, It Is Written evangelism director, explained how Bible prophecies point toward the hope of Jesus’ Second Coming.
By the end of the series, three attendees had made decisions to dedicate their lives to Jesus through baptism. On May 4, John Wassilie, Brooklynn Paukan-Fisher and Sadie Boyscout accepted their baptismal vows and were warmly welcomed into the Bethel Church family. After the church service, there was a bit of a rush to enjoy the weekly fellowship lunch before carpooling to the community pool.
Bethel Church does not have a baptismal pool and instead uses Yukon Kuskokwim Fitness Center for baptisms. Upon entering the pool, church members used slipcovers to cover their shoes or switched to flip flops before gathering at the bleachers at the back of the pool.
The swimmers stopped at the sides of the pool to watch as the overhead music was temporarily paused so church members could sing “Take Me to the Water.”
Tobin Dodge, Arctic Mission Adventure director, conducted the baptisms, along with Vecous Waite, former AMA leader, and Phillip Tulik, local ordained elder. After the baptisms were completed, the members returned to the church later that evening for a haystack dinner.
Though the evangelistic series and the baptisms have ended, the newest Bethel Church members continue to join for weekly Bible studies on Daniel and Revelation and other church activities. Wassilie said that finding his new church family was a gift of love from our Heavenly Father.
Please pray for Bethel Church as they seek to share God’s love in the Bethel hub community of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. You can connect with them online at bethelaksda.org or on Facebook @BethelAKSDA.
