Founded in 1973 by Dennis and Lois Anderson, Bethel Evangelical Missionary Church has grown into a church of leaders and lay people who have come together with like values in hopes of fulfilling a vision to see individual lives experience transformation through a revelation of God's love.

Situated in the heart of the City of Kawartha Lakes - Lindsay, Ontario, Bethel reaches people from all walks of life and many who travel from various points across the beautiful cottage country landscape of the Kawarthas to worship with us each week. Known for its vibrant worship, relevant messages of hope and compassionate commitment to missions, Bethel has had an impact in this community for quite some time.

Bethel is part of a growing missional movement called the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada (EMCC).

The Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada (EMCC) is a family of 130+ churches across Canada organized to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. The EMCC maintains offices in Kitchener, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta.

When the Evangelical Church in Canada and the Missionary Church of Canada merged in 1993 each brought to the union its special emphases and strengths.

The ECC contributed their evangelistic fervour and emphasis on the Spirit's sanctifying power that characterized John Wesley's Methodist teaching. The Missionary Church, which originated in the revival movements that swept North America in the latter half for the 19th century, brought to the union its missionary zeal as well as the Anabaptist concepts of community, brotherhood and believer's baptism which were distinguishing marks of the M.C.'s Mennonite background. The merged denomination remains committed to the Scriptures as the source of Christian doctrine and standards of holy living.

The EMCC administers two Bible colleges--Rocky Mountain College in Calgary, Alberta, and Emmanuel Bible College in Kitchener, Ontario. These institutions have trained hundreds of students to become pastors, church leaders and missionaries as well as witnessing Christians in the marketplace and community. Fourteen years after merger, this new denomination helps support 153 missionaries in 27 countries (including First Nations people in Canada) under both its own program (World Partners of Canada) and other mission agencies of similar evangelical persuasion.

It is the passion of EMCC leaders to develop disciples of Christ who in turn will produce other disciples who will continue the process until revival comes to Canada and together they may form churches all across our dominion and even throughout the world.

For more information visit www.emcc.ca

Rev. Ralph Van Oostveen. B.Th. M.Min.

Born in Stratford and raised in Listowel, I have been a southern Ontario resident most of my life. I grew up on a dairy farm and learned the value of hard work. Following high school I auditioned for and accepted to join a traveling Gospel singing group based out of Colorado Springs Colorado. During that year of ministry in many types of settings, I sensed a clear call from God to prepare for and enter full time ministry in a pastoral role.

I attended Bible college and in 1989 upon graduating, I entered the full- time ministry. I am an ordained minister with the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada.

During my bible school years, I met and fell in love with my soon to be wife Kim. In August of 1990 we married. We have three Children. Michael (1992), Alyssa (1997), Ava (2006). My first church was at the Palmerston Missionary Church. (1989-1993). Following Palmerston, I accepted a call from Elgin Missionary Church in Stratford. (1993-2002). In each of those previous churches I had a ministry position of Associate Pastor. However, in 2002 with the blessing of the Mother congregation in Stratford, I answered the call of God to lead a group of dynamic believers into a church plant in Mitchell. Upper Thames Missionary Church was birthed on September 1, 2002.

During the years I continued to pursue higher education and in July of 2017, I graduated from Covington Theological Seminary with a Masters degree in Ministry. (A degree completed entirely remotely while still leading a church).

In January 2020, God the Holy Spirit began to stir within my heart preparing me to move on. The doors began to open for ministry here in Lindsay. I am so thrilled that God has led me to this church and to this region. I look forward to many years of fruitful ministry among you. I pray that God will continue to “act strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9a)

Glad that I’m HIS

Ralph

• We believe that the Bible is God's Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our every day lives.

• We believe in one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy.

• We believe that sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives.

• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ as both God and man is the only One who can reconcile us to God. He lived a sinless and exemplary life, died on the cross in our place, and rose again to prove His victory and empower us for life.

• We believe that in order to receive forgiveness and the 'new birth' we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to His will for our lives.

• We believe that in order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us, we need to be baptised in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to use spiritual gifts.

• We believe that God has individually equipped us so that we can successfully achieve His purpose for our lives which is to worship God, fulfil our role in the Church and serve the community in which we live.

• We believe that God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and blessed lives in order to help others more effectively.

We believe that our eternal destination of either Heaven or hell is determined by our response to the Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again as He promised.

Bethel Church is located in the Kawartha Lakes town of Lindsay, Ontario. Our mission is 'To lead people into a genuine and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.' Our desire is that you would connect and grow with our multi-generational church family. A place to belong, believe and become all that God intended.

Intimacy

Daniel 11:32b says “Those who intimately know their God will be strong and do great exploits.” Having a close personal relationship with God is a priority. Everything we do comes out of the overflow of this intimate relationship with our heavenly father. You and I were wired to enjoy God’s presence. We were created to know God authentically. The church should be a place where we can express our gratitude toward God. Church should be a place of celebration where we can worship God joyfully. We also desire to cultivate a growing daily relationship with Jesus. To closely follow Jesus in all things by spending time in prayer and God’s Word and learning to live out His will for our lives. In Acts 2, Peter quotes David saying: “I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope” - Acts 2:25-26

Community

The Bible says a Christian without a church home is like an organ without a body, a sheep without a flock, or a child without a family. It is an unnatural state. Ephesians 2:19 says, “You belong in God’s household with every other Christian”. Today’s culture of independent individualism has created many spiritual orphans — who believe it is possible to be a “good Christian” without joining (or even attending) a local church, but God would strongly disagree. The church is so significant that Jesus died on the cross for it: “Christ loved the church and gave his life for it” (Ephesians 5:25 GW). A church family identifies you as a genuine believer. When we come together in a loving community as a church family from different backgrounds, races, and social statuses, it is also a witness to the world. Jesus said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” - John 13:35

Missional

The God of the universe created you uniquely to make a contribution in this world. You were made for mission. Your ministry is where God has gifted you for His assignment. You will share in Christ’s mission in the world. When Jesus walked the earth, God worked through the physical body of Christ; today he uses his spiritual body. The church is God’s instrument on Earth. As members of Christ’s body, we are his hands, his feet, his eyes, and his heart. He works through us in the world. We each have a contribution to make. We are on mission with God to make disciples. “He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing” - Ephesians 2:10 (MSG)

Faithfulness

Life on Earth is a Trust. The value of faithfulness begins with the recognition that God is the owner of everything and everyone on earth. The Bible says, "The world and all that is in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are his." (Psalm 24:1 TEV) The first job God gave humans was to manage and take care of God's "stuff" on earth. This role has never been rescinded. It is a part of our purpose today. At the end of your life on earth you will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you. That means everything you do, even simple daily chores, family relationships and our jobs all have eternal implications. Jesus often referred to life as a trust. In the story of the talents, a businessman entrusts his wealth to the care of his servants while he's away. When he returns, he evaluates each servant's responsibility and rewards them accordingly. The owner says, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness." - Matthew 25:21

Hospitality

Living a big hearted life leads to opportunities to receive others, minister to, encourage and love others at every opportunity. Hospitality is about creating an environment that feels like home! A place of belonging and a safe place for others! The Bible is very clear that this is a dynamic and relevant expression of God's heart to minister to his people, his family and to others not yet in His family! The Bible describes hospitality as a required quality for leaders in the church. The heart of hospitality is service. Hospitality desires to help make opportunity for community and growth in Christ. In the New Testament, hospitality was primarily about opening ones home to people who needed a place to stay and food to eat. Hospitality was also demonstrated by opening ones home for small community group gatherings. The scriptures also admonish all Christians to practice hospitality, “Share with others who are in need. Practice hospitality.” - Romans 12:13

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