Category: 'Recreation'
Mt. Bethel Recreational Ministries has just completed 2 sessions of our ever popular Sports Camp. Sports Camp is a non-stop, 5 day, all day camp with activities that include a private tour of Turner Stadium, Mountasia and lunch at the Varsity, Bowling, Pump-It-Up, swimming, a cookout and hike at Red Top Mountain and lots of fun games at the CAC. And there was no shortage of ice cream, snacks and popsicles. Each camper was given a video of the weeks activities. It was a great time.
We’ve added more than 200 pictures from sports camp to our gallery — check ‘em out!
Susanna
Mt. Bethel Recreational Ministry is busy this summer offering lots of camps. Last week we offered a Soccer Camp presented by the Atlanta Silverback organization. 120 campers braved the heat and hit the fields to improve their fundamental skills of dribbling, passing, and shooting while having lots of fun. In addition to the Soccer Camp, a Baseball Camp presented by Sports-A-Rama was held on the fields in the afternoon. There was running, hitting, catching, throwing and laughing. We hope everyone had a great time and polished their skills.
We will also offer two sessions of Sports Camp where we will to go Bowling, putt putt golf, Red Top Mountain for hiking and a cookout, Turner Field for a tour just to name a few things. Other camps presented are four Hoops Camps (1,2,3,4) and Volleyball Camp.
Pam
We have a great night for the campout! Over 170 campers enjoyed fishing, eating at the cookout, cooking S’mores over the campfire, and playing on the Field of Dreams. The kids had a blast playing with each other and their dads / grand fathers. I heard from several fathers who stated that their child had been asking about the next campout already. After lights out, the dads got to enjoy a relaxing time sitting around and swatting mosquitoes. Look for the next campout this fall.
Brad Gorski
On a cold, blustery night, more than 1200 “brave” souls from Mt Bethel “braved” the icicles and frigid temperatures of the nose bleed section in Turner Field to watch the Braves bunch their hits in a timely manner to beat the Oakland A’s 3-2 on Friday night, May 16th. This annual event organized by the Recreation Ministry once again kicked off with the parade of Mt Bethel athletes and parents around the warning track and some crowd pleasing t-ball play on the outfield grass. All of this was viewed with great interest by more than 30,000 fans in the stands on the Big Screen behind center field.
Chipper raised his .418 batting average with a 2 for 3 night and Brian McCann continues to demonstrate that he, not Frenchy, should have been on the cover of Time magazine in 2006 with 3 timely hits. This is definitely not the Braves of 2007 as the bullpen held the lead for the win. Also the game clearly proved that Tom Glavine will get into the Hall of Fame because of his pitching skills, not his bunting efforts.
Almost as much fun was watching all the fans in shorts and t-shirts suddenly realize around the 3d inning that summer has not arrived in Atlanta. They flocked to the stores to buy “bargain” Braves sweat shirts or sneaked down to the lower levels seeking defilade and protection against the arctic blast that kept our drinks cold for the evening. Atlanta was confirmed that night as the prostate capital of south; I have never seen so many men make so many bathroom trips in the course of a 3 hour game. I’m sure that the fact that the wash rooms were heated was strictly a coincidence.
Those hardy souls who stuck it out were rewarded with an incredible fireworks show sponsored by Publix. Of course those who rode the bus were forced into staying for the show because the director of Men’s Ministry didn’t answer his cell phone (yes you can queue 48 voice mail messages) from whiners who wanted to leave after the 4th inning. His very credible defense was that he couldn’t hear the phone ring over the howling of the wind.
A tip of the hat to Pam “White Shoes” Skelton and the Rec Staff for again organizing this wonderful event.
Blessings
Mike
Let me start off by saying the Thompson Fellowship Softball Tournament was a great success. Seeing people of all different ages playing together was a great reminder that we can all have a good time together in God’s glory. The morning started off early with people slowly rolling in, lacing up their cleats, and putting on their designated team color. Everyone started to warm up by stretching and throwing a few softballs with each other. We then all gathered to officially start off the day with the national anthem, sung by Shannon Herring and Cheryl Mosley, and a prayer by our own Jon Ponders.
The first round of games started early with feet getting wet from the dew covered fields. Not all games were back to back though, giving teams a chance to recover and rest up for the next game. Everybody got a chance to play at least three games. Teams closely followed the bracket mounted on the vending machines to see how they stood in race for the championship. The Recreation Department Team proudly went undefeated the entire tournament, with two games back to back to enter into the playoffs. We defeated the Belmont Bombers by a score of 4-1 in the final game to win it all.
The only downfall through the entire day was the heat, although it wasn’t too bad. There had been threats of tornado warnings rumored around, but the weather held and the tournament ended successfully and as scheduled. The tournament was an overall success with many sponsors supporting the Rec Department. As a combined effort, the tournament raised in upwards of $11,000 towards the maintaining and upgrading of the CAC and Fields of Dreams.
Jeff McKay
Every season we start our recreation program with a mission project. We ask our players to bring an item that will help local children. We have several children’s homes that we support on a regular basis. They are Devereux/Project Plus, The Center for Children and Young Adults, Haven Hearts and the Boys and Girls Club. We also help MUST, St. Philip UMC and others.
This season we asked every child to bring a toothbrush and underwear or socks on Opening Day. Children show up at these homes with little or nothing but the clothes on their backs, so these items are in great demand. We collected over 500 toothbrushes, and hundreds of pairs of socks and underwear. We will be delivering these items before Spring Break.
In the past, with our players’ generosity, we have provided coats in the winter. We gave basketball goals, soccer goals and other sports equipment to Project Plus and the Boys and Girls Home in Marietta.
With the help of our sports participants, we hope to continue and to grow our “Children Helping Children” mission in the seasons to come.
In Jesus’ Name We Play
Mt. Bethel Recreational Ministries began its 2008 Spring Season with 1,001 children participating, making up 17 leagues and 106 teams. This is a record breaking number for this ministry and we couldn’t be more excited. In addition to the 1,000+ players we have 210 amazing coaches who volunteer their time so that our program can thrive in the community. We also have 80 team coordinators who help keep their teams organized. The sports that these children are playing include baseball, softball, soccer, flag football and volleyball.
We never start a season without a mission’s project to help local children’s homes. Our theme is “Children Helping Children”. This season we are asking every child to bring a toothbrush and underwear or socks on Opening Day. The local homes that we support are Devereux, The Center for Children and Young Adults, Haven Hearts and Project Plus. These homes have expressed a need for the above items and with 1,001 children we are hoping for 100% participation.
Also, we don’t leave the adults out. Each spring we offer men’s softball and basketball leagues and a women’s basketball league.
Wonderful things are happening in the recreation department. We are continually making improvements to the fields and surrounding areas. With the generosity of some of our participants we added a beautiful playground to the soccer area. We will soon be starting a recreation program at St. Philip UMC, beginning with soccer and flag football hopefully growing from there. We look forward to even more great things happening at Mt. Bethel.
In Jesus’ Name We Play!
We have a ton of camps and trips scheduled for this summer, so we thought it would be useful to put them all in one place for you. Here you go!
Preschool Summer Camps
Vacation Bible School
- Beach Party | June 9-13 | 4 years - rising 6th grade
- Power Lab | July 7-11 | 4 years - rising 6th grade
Students
Music & Dance
Recreation
Education Ministries — $ 144,200
Worship Ministries — 346,600
Pastoral Ministries — 116,300
Missions & Apportionments — 1,060,140
Evangelism — 1,287,000
Children’s Ministries — 750,000
Adult Ministries — 71,300
Youth Ministries — 753,000
House, Grounds, Upkeep & Utilities — 1,544,000
Debt Service — 1,600,000
Administrative — 1,570,000
(All are approximate)
Total Operating Budget — $10,000,000
How many lives and souls does it affect?
Are we making a difference?
Are we growing the Kingdom of God?
Mt. Bethel is making a difference and, yes, we are growing God’s Kingdom! 2007 was an excellent year! And it’s all because of you, the members of Mt. Bethel and your faithful commitment to the Cause of Christ. And today, we are eagerly anticipating what we can do for Christ in 2008. We are almost there, folks – the goal to fund the needs of the new year is within reach. The Budget is based on the pledges received. The list of the names of those who have pledged has been published . . . and sent to heaven. God knows the hearts and names of each one. Now, does that fact cause your heart to leap for joy . . . or not? Would more folks pledge if we printed the names of the non-pledgers?! We are a church, not a civic club, and our needs are great if we are to carry out His ministries. We are all in this together, and together, we can make a difference for Christ. Pledge because it’s the right thing to do. There will be no lists, other than the one in heaven, pending the approval of our Administrative Council.
For the Cause of Christ,
Randy Mickler, D.Min.
Senior Pastor
No doubt, there are many ways to answer that question. Some people ask that question wanting to know the physical features of Mt. Bethel.
- How many acres? 46.
- How many square feet? 235,000.
- How many employees? 172 full-time, 202 part-time.
- How many members? 8,600.
- What’s the budget? Operating budget is $10 million, debt from buildings is $11 million.
- How is the budget spent? 16% debt service; missions & local ministries 34%; staffing 50%.
- How is the budget funded? Individuals tithing or giving (they aren’t the same thing).
- How many people give? Out of 2,557 giving units, 2,339 give.
Mt. Bethel is all of that, but so much more! We are an outwardly-focused church and that is a big reason Mt. Bethel is effective. This outward focus has produced a caring church that reaches out for children through a Day Care Ministry, Preschool Ministry, Elementary and Middle High Ministry through the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy. The Older Adult Center cares for the parents and grandparents in the community. Our Recreation Ministry cares for the children, youth and adults, members and non-members of the community. It’s the same with our Missions Ministry - caring for the least, last and lost around the world and across the street. Our Special Needs House houses three of God’s special young men. Our efforts through our sister church, St. Philip, near Osborne High School will soon be providing day care for single moms and a Recreational Ministry, plus many other outreaches to the Latino community.
Mt. Bethel is an “outwardly focused” church. Why is it important to claim that distinction? Because inwardly focused churches care for only their own members and abandon their mission to the world. A church for others is willing to do whatever it takes to reach unchurches people with the Gospel of Christ.
That’s what Mt. Bethel is all about, a place where the Word of God is preached every Sunday. A place where Christians are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mt. Bethel is a launching pad for Christ-centered people wanting to serve Jesus Christ. A place and a people willing to reflect God’s love through sacrifice and service, in the name of Jesus Christ.
What are you all about?
If you desire to make a difference in the world . . . we have a place for you!
Randy Mickler
Senior Pastor
