About Beth-El
LOCATION
4625 Ranch Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80918
Located on the east side of Union Blvd, just south of the Union Blvd & N. Academy Blvd intersection. Feel free to park anywhere in the parking lot.
SUNDAYS
Worship – 9:30am
Congregational worship involves different people and traditions each week. A typical service includes prayer, singing, a brief sermon, an offering, and a time of congregational sharing/reflection. Beth-El enjoys celebrating the different seasons of the church calendar and appreciate practices such as communion and anointing. There is also eating together! On the second Sunday of every month, worship spills over into a potluck meal.
Coffee & Donut Fellowship Time – after worship
This is an unstructured time of intergenerational conversation and fellowship in the foyer. It is a great time to meet new people, to re-connect with people you may already know, and (of course) to eat a donut or two.
Sunday Classes – 10 minutes after worship
From September to May, a number of age-specific classes for children, youth, and adults meet after Coffee & Donuts. The children work through curriculum such as Kids Can!, while adult classes have focused on how to read the Bible, human sexuality, or ways to support refugees. At times, the congregation will go through an intergenerational curriculum like Circle of Grace. Currently, youth and adults are in a 4-week curriculum about the history and meaning of baptism. If you’ve ever been curious to learn more about baptism, Anabaptism/Mennonite history, and/or how baptism connects to practices like the Church Covenant and Communion, then this is the class for you! All people are welcome to attend and to bring their questions and stories.
OUR COVENANT
We are a fellowship of persons who enter into this Covenant:
Together with the Beth-El faith community, I will seek to follow Jesus.
OUR VISION STATEMENT
We are a Mennonite community of faith who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that we are invited to share in Jesus’ resurrection. We seek to follow Jesus together by…
Focusing on the life and teachings of Jesus.
- Our primary loyalty is to the triune God over all other allegiances.
- By the power of the Holy Spirit, we desire to love as Jesus loved–unconditionally and without prejudice, and invite others to know him.
- We seek to follow Jesus’ way of nonviolent peacemaking by practicing God’s reconciling love in conflicts.
Being community, which is essential to our life as members of the family of God.
- We strive to be a welcoming community, promoting open and honest conversations and building nurturing, grace-filled relationships.
- We work to grow connections across generations, cultures, and theological perspectives.
- We encourage all people to actively participate in congregational life and to explore the ways God is calling and equipping them to follow Jesus.
Extending the love of Jesus through service and reconciliation.
- We believe that Christ calls us to care for creation, and to comfort, aid, and assist those in need.
- We work to eliminate barriers to justice, equality, and the reconciliation of all people to God.
- We support, and participate in, a variety of Mennonite and Anabaptist programs working throughout the world.
Learn more about our Vision Process, HERE
Who are Mennonites? about the broader Mennonite church
The short answer is that Mennonites people for whom Jesus is the center of faith, community is the center of life, and reconciliation is the center of work. A few distinctive practices of that shape the community of faith are the priesthood of all believers, believer’s baptism, and a commitment to non-violent active peacemaking.
The longer answer is that Mennonites are a part of Christian tradition called “Anabaptism” (not “Anti-Baptist”). The early Anabaptists emerged from the 16th century European Reformation. As a people who are inside the Mennonite/Anabaptist Christian tradition, Beth-El holds a broad range of relationships. Here are a few of the relationships that help teach us what it means to be Mennonite in the 21st century.
–Our Denomination: Mennonite Church USA
MC USA Renewed Commitments – Journey Forward
–Our Conference: Mountain States Mennonite Conference
–A few distinctively Mennonite ministries we connect with: Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, RAWTools, Mennonite Disaster Service, Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite World Conference
–A few helpful resources: Journey Forward, More-With-Less Cookbook, Anabaptist Essentials, FAQ about Mennonites
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Beth-El moved to a covenant-based approach to membership in 2011. What this means, is that once a year we gather in worship and make a covenant commitment to God and to each other. The commitment is both simple and difficult: Together, with the Beth-El faith community, I will seek to follow Jesus.
People are invited to sign the covenant after they’ve shared in congregational life for 3 months. If they sign the Covenant, then they are a full member for that year. A person’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and citizenship neither prohibit nor limit their full participation in our life together.
-
OUR VISION STATEMENT
We are a Mennonite community of faith who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that we are invited to share in Jesus’ resurrection. We seek to follow Jesus together by…
Focusing on the life and teachings of Jesus.
- Our primary loyalty is to the triune God over all other allegiances.
- By the power of the Holy Spirit, we desire to love as Jesus loved–unconditionally and without prejudice, and invite others to know him.
- We seek to follow Jesus’ way of nonviolent peacemaking by practicing God’s reconciling love in conflicts.
Being community, which is essential to our life as members of the family of God.
- We strive to be a welcoming community, promoting open and honest conversations and building nurturing, grace-filled relationships.
- We work to grow connections across generations, cultures, and theological perspectives.
- We encourage all people to actively participate in congregational life and to explore the ways God is calling and equipping them to follow Jesus.
Extending the love of Jesus through service and reconciliation.
- We believe that Christ calls us to care for creation, and to comfort, aid, and assist those in need.
- We work to eliminate barriers to justice, equality, and the reconciliation of all people to God.
- We support, and participate in, a variety of Mennonite and Anabaptist programs working throughout the world.
-
Beth-El is located at 4625 Ranch Drive, COS, CO 80918 on the east side of Union Blvd, just south of the Union Blvd & N Academy Blvd intersection. Feel free to park anywhere in the parking lot.
-
On Sunday mornings a group of people, young and old, gather as the beloved community of Jesus Christ in order to worship God together. The three primary parts of our time together on Sunday mornings are Congregational Worship, Fellowship Time, and Sunday School.
Congregational Worship goes from about 9:30-10:45-ish. Our congregational worship service involves different people and traditions each week. A typical service includes prayer, singing, a brief sermon, an offering, and a time of congregational sharing/reflection. We enjoy celebrating the different seasons of the church calendar and appreciate practices such as communion and anointing.
Sunday School goes from about 10:45-11:45 am. From September to May, a number of age-specific classes meet for children, youth, and adults. The children work through curriculum like Kids Can! Some previous adult classes have focused on curriculum like Fear Not, human sexuality, understanding the history and meaning of baptism, or Bible studies coordinating with the Sunday sermons. From June-August, we change gears and, instead of having classes, we meet in the foyer for an extended fellowship time.
Fellowship Time (a.k.a. “Coffee & Donut Time”) after worship is a time for nourishing yourself and your soul. This is an unstructured time of intergenerational conversation and fellowship in the foyer. It is a great time to meet new people, to re-connect with people you may already know, and (of course) to eat a donut.
-
Some folks at Beth-El dress casually and others enjoy dressing up for church. Wear clothes that help you feel comfortable and empowered. Bring your whole self, just as you are.
-
Children are a vital part of our congregational life. Kids participate in congregational worship services by playing, singing, reading, and dancing. Nursery is available after the offering portion of service.
Beth-El is committed to being a healthy, supportive, and safe community where kids (of all ages) might experience and know the love of God. One of the ways we seek to embody God’s love is by having a Safe Church policy and by making sure that all of our volunteers who work with children have gone through Safe Church training.
-
This is an active congregation who seeks to follow Jesus together. That “together” happens in a number of different ways, most of which don’t take place on Sunday morning. To learn more about the different ways we follow Jesus together, check out our Service/Outreach and Community Life pages.
History
Beth-El Mennonite Church began with a Sunday morning worship service at the Colorado Springs YMCA on October 7, 1956, formed by a group from First Mennonite Church who believed that “the witness of the church should expand within our city.” The fellowship organized around the purpose of “gospel witness, Christian service, and true discipleship.”
Yuma Street building
In 1959, the church purchased land from a turkey farm on Knob Hill at the corner of Yuma and Uintah. The new building was dedicated on July 7, 1963.
In 1982, with sadness at the loss of half the members and with hope for a new beginning, Beth-El blessed a group to begin Mountain Community Mennonite Church in Palmer Lake.
In the late 1990s, the church outgrew the Yuma Street building and purchased ten acres at Union and Garden Ranch Drive. This land in the middle of the city was a popular walking location, particularly the four-acre hillside. While the property had been zoned for high-density apartment housing, many believed it would become open space. After a period of challenging conversations and negotiations, the city approved a building plan and the new church at Ranch Drive was dedicated in October 2006.
Since that time, Beth-El has become an important part of the neighborhood, hosting a community garden, homeless families for the Family Promise program, Service Adventure (a household of young adults living and serving together for ten months each year), numerous 12-step groups, neighborhood homeowner meetings, restorative justice symposiums, as well as Spanish and Swahili speaking congregations.
During the first two-thirds of its history, Beth-El membership was largely people who grew up in the Mennonite faith tradition and migrated to Colorado for a variety of reasons. Today more than half of the active attendees come from other faith traditions.
Read the in-depth Church History by Decade, HERE
Staff
Jordan Farrell
Pastor
This is a difficult question to answer because there are simply so many things that I value about being part of Beth-El! To name just a few: I value the people who call our faith community their congregational home, the Mennonite identity that shapes the way we organize our life together, and the emphasis on following Jesus in/through our daily lives.
Nathan Gillis
Custodian
Hannah Martin
Associate Pastor
Sarah Ackerman
Administrator
Though messy and unclear, the commitment to being and working together, in the midst of difference. The invitation for all the voices to contribute. The openness to allow for a plurality of thoughts and opinions.
2024 Beth-El Leadership Team
Affiliations
Our congregation is a member of:
Mountain States Mennonite Conference Includes 20 congregations in Colorado and New Mexico
Local and International Affiliations:
Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp Divide, Colorado
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) seeks to demonstrate God’s love by working among people suffering from poverty, conflict, oppression and natural disaster. Our congregation collects and assembles care kits for AIDS, schools, health, disaster relief, newborns and other projects. www.mcc.org/kits/
Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) Walking together in mission, following God’s call to reconciliation. Our ministries stem from partnerships between individuals, international partners, and U.S. congregations.
Colorado MCC Relief Sale is the 3rd Saturday in October. This fundraising event is held in Rocky Ford, CO, and is a joint effort of over 30 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ congregations in the Rocky Mountain region.
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) is a volunteer network through which congregations can respond to those affected by disasters in Canada and the United States.
Ten Thousand Villages works with over 100 artisan groups in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to develop and sell fair trade jewelry, home decor, gifts and more. During the first weekend of November, Beth-El hosts an on-site sale of Ten Thousand Villages international crafts; Friday 3-8PM, Saturday 8AM-3PM.
Third Way Café provides information on Mennonites and current issues. If you have questions about the denomination this is a great place to start asking.
Mennonite Colleges and Seminaries:
Bethel College North Newton, Kansas
Bluffton University Bluffton, Ohio
Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) Harrisonburg, Virginia
Goshen College Goshen, Indiana
Hesston College Hesston, Kansas
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) Elkhart, Indiana
Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) Harrisonburg, Virginia