Mission and Vision

Under the authority of God’s inerrant Word, we exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ by equipping men and women to treasure Christ above all things, to grow in wisdom and knowledge over a lifetime, and to glorify God in every sphere of life.

The ultimate goal of all that God does in history is to display his glory for the eternal enjoyment of his people. Both creation (Isaiah 43:7) and redemption (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14) have this ultimate aim in view. Our enjoyment of him above all that he has made is essential to glorifying him for all that he is. Therefore, we are called to join God in gladly glorifying God in all we do (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The glory of God shines most brightly in the glory of his Son, Jesus Christ. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Paul describes the heart of his message as “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Therefore, our passion for the glory of God makes us a gospel-permeated and cross-centered ministry. When we speak of the glory or the supremacy of God we mean the glory and the supremacy that are revealed supremely in Jesus Christ, shining most brightly through the gospel of his redeeming death and resurrection.

There are no bounds to this supremacy. Therefore, the centrality and supremacy of God in all things is the defining reality for us at Bethlehem and shapes the ethos of our life together. This vision of God and ministry and life is rooted in Scripture, and the preservation of the vision depends on our allegiance to the Bible and its preeminence in all our thinking. Therefore, we believe that all theological and ministerial education should be radically God-centered, Christ-exalting, and Bible-saturated. It should be truth-driven rather than audience-driven. It should approach every intellectual and practical issue with the primary questions: What does this have to do with God? What does the Bible have to say about this? How can Christ be magnified in this? And how does the Gospel bear on this?

Over the past 28 years we have come to cherish the practical outworking of this God-centered approach to learning in the context of a community of believers. Our hearts’ desire is to immerse emerging leaders—no matter their age, race, social standing, or educational background—into this thoughtful community of love and truth as the context for equipping them for whatever vocation God calls them to. Our aim is to give students an intense immersion in a God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated local church that combines rigorous study with church-based application, all to the end that they might joyfully magnify the infinite worth of Jesus Christ, and live for the praise of God’s glory in affection, thought, word, and deed.