Sunday, October 30, 2011

Bethel Days 2011

Let's take a peek into a special day that happens only once a year: 
BETHEL DAY


The great Tug of War was a great event to end the day at Bethel Days 2011. The men faced their rivals, the ladies, and were put to the test. I'm sure the men were thinking, "We got this", going into the challenge, but the ladies pulled through with an astounding win. As you can see in the background Agent Catherine Ross working in the K-9 unit distracts the men by targeting them with silly string. Now let's rewind a bit..

The kids had a blast participating in the booths that were set up by numerous Bethel Day Volunteers. The work that went into each of these booths must have been time-consuming because each one looked amazing!

Heroes in Action! Yes, heroes they are indeed. The object of this game was to target the bandit and hit him in the face with a large sponge. Pictured here is your Heroes in Action hostess Breanna Frost and Todd Hall as your bandit. Krissa scores one big here when she smacks Todd right in the nose. Nice one!

This was a pretty cool idea for a Bethel Day Booth. Sis Denise came up with the theme Bubble War Heroes through her fantastic research. Apparently, in World War II there was a soldier that blew a bubble gum bubble the size of one and a half large pizzas! Now, I could only blow a 5-inch bubble and once I did so, it popped and stuck to my face not wanting to come off, however Todd Hall and David deserve credit for the largest bubbles of the day at a whopping 9 inches in diameter for each. 


We can assure you that the kids took a step back in time to the days of our 16th President Abraham Lincoln. Jesse Suits is pictured here, Honest Abe himself, giving the kids a taste of what the days were like when Lincoln lived in a log cabin and read stories around the campfire.
 And of course, the K-9 demonstration was a popular hit with the whole family. The officer on the left is pictured wearing the K-9's favorite toy, the arm glove. Now this dog wasn't messing around, he really wanted that toy, and when he was let loose he nearly tore the officers arm off. "Good boy, good boy", was the officers response. 

Now this is only half of the revered Bethel Day, the real fun happens at the park where the Bethel Boys and the Oats duke it out in an annual football game. Let's see how they did shall we...

Here, Referee Rick Young is pictured at the bottom left, ready to throw his yellow flag down whenever he sees a violation. Center for the Oats is Darin, here he is getting ready to hike to Chad Condren the infamous Oats quarterback. The Oats are pictured in the red jersey's, and the Bethel Boys are wearing their custom made black football jersey's. Also, at the top right of the picture is one of the mic stands on the announcing table. This game was thoroughly entertaining with your BETHEL announcers: Chad Bradley and Laren Kaufman. The sound effects were spot on, every time the Oats would huddle, jeopardy music would come on, and Chad and Laren would say,"Is that your final answer?" 


Bethel Day 2011 ending on a solemn note with some and an extremely happy note with others. Notably, the Oats were ecstatic that they won the game against the Bethel Boys of 2011 for the second year in a row with a score of 21 to 42. The boys did a great job in the game regardless of who won or lost.  This just goes to show that the Oats still have some steam left in the tank in their post-Bethel Boys adventure. A big thanks from all the football players goes to Bro Gary Newton and those who helped him lay dirt on the field to prep it for the game and to Bro Jeremy Brock for using his GPS techniques to accurately line the field. Great job guys!

This event is very special to all of us, in that it brings us all together for some great family fun. To all the volunteers: booth volunteers, cooks, Snack Shack, clean-up crew, the excellent corn-n-the-cob cooks, the field work and lining put down for the football field, and all the behind the scenes work that was put into this event, a great big Thank You to all that helped out in any way possible. This event would not be possible without you. And if you missed out this year, be sure to make BETHEL DAY 2012, its going to be awesome!


Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Marriage Enrichment Seminar


We are very excited to have Bro. and Sis. Carr as our speakers for an evening and afternoon of focus on strengthening marriage. Don't miss it!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Come Join Us Sept. 25th for "Church Faire"

September 25th we will be having morning worship with friends, and an evening of Praise & Worship.  The morning service is geared toward introducing ourselves to our guests.  Each ministry of the church will create a display communicating what is offered in their field of labor.  This will be a great opportunity to meet and greet, ask questions, create contacts, and in general, find out "who's in charge of?...."

The night service will be another opportunity to find out about church information, and the service will be an evening of Praise & Worship.  The adult and youth choirs will be singing, along with the Praise & Worship teams, and we will be highlighting the project "Roots of 65."

This will be a great day and we invite you to attend both services.  Blessings.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mother's Day Luncheon

The GBFPC ladies were honored Mother's Day weekend at a luncheon and the "fellas" were so kind to prepare and serve the meal.  The speaker this year was Sis. Penny Watkins and the ladies all had a wonderful time.  Can't do it without Mom!




Thursday, January 6, 2011

GBFPC Men Showing Support

Here are some additional pictures that were not featured in the newspaper article.






Congregation Shows Solidarity With Pastor Suffering From Cancer


Article courtesy of The Bakersfield Californian
Article originally published on January 5, 2010
By Jason Kotowski, Californian Staff Writer
Photos by Michael Fagans, Californian Photographer

The doors to Greater Bakersfield's First Pentecostal Church opened Tuesday evening and a stream of men, all with little or no hair, made their way down the aisle and lined up in rows.

Pastor Kevin Bradford watched for a moment, and then his smile grew wider as he realized what was happening. This wasn't going to be a typical prayer service.

The men and boys, about 80 in all, had shaved their heads in a show of support for Bradford, who was diagnosed in early December with cancer. He announced his illness to the congregation on Sunday, told them he was shaving his head in preparation for chemotherapy, and afterwards groups of churchgoers talked it over and decided to break out the razors.

They kept their decision a secret until the prayer service.

Bradford, 40, was stunned.

"I am so very grateful and thankful," he said. "I do want to apologize to all the wives."

The men then joined him in singing, followed by prayers.

Raymond Andreas, who attends the church, said this is the shortest his hair has been in 11 years. He said it was moving to see so many people participate.

"This shows solidarity for them to set their pride aside to support the pastor," Andreas said.

Laren Kaufman said he usually has a thick head of hair, and he went about cutting it Sunday in three stages.

He chose to go completely bald and he, like many others, brought knit caps to help protect against the chilly night air.

He didn't mind the slight discomfort the cold caused.

"We're just blessed to have the pastor we have," Kaufman said.

Others said they felt the same way.

"He's not only our pastor, but like a best friend," said churchgoer Randy Newton. "We cherish and love this man."

Colby Condren described Bradford as generous and outgoing. And very healthy. Condren said it was a shock to hear Bradford had cancer because he keeps himself in great shape.

"He's the healthiest guy I've ever known," Condren said.

Bradford, who's married with two children, said he was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He underwent surgery to have an axillary lymph node removed, and he had his first chemotherapy treatment Monday.

He said that, in talking with doctors, he's learned that many people who recover from illness often have large support groups. Bradford's congregation let him know Tuesday that he's got plenty of people pulling for him.

"I'm just completely overwhelmed by the support of the church and I'm glad to be a part of these great people," he said.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Missions Conference 2010

… I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. John 4:35

We were blessed to have five foreign countries represented at the GBFPC Missions Conference this year.  Bro. Shreckhise (Honduras) and Bro. Debrun (Marshall Islands) both preached tremendous messages on Thursday and Friday nights.  Bro. Wheeler (Philippines) and Bro. Keith Nix concluded on Sunday and we had wonderful time in the Holy Ghost. 
From left to right: Bro. Lawrence, Bro. Eckels, Bro. Solomon, Bro. Debrun, Bro Shreckhise, Bro. McMillan  and Pastor Bradford
Bro. Shreckhise
Bro. Keith Nix
Bro. Wheeler
The Around the World Dinner is always a great time of food and fellowship. It gives us a chance to meet each missionary family and learn more about each country.  There were eight different food booths each representing a different country or region and an international bakery. From Chow Mein to Fried chicken and from Lasagna to Pickled Tongue, we had it all. There was something there for every palate. I think it’s safe to say that no one left hungry.

The Southern Booth with Sis. Denise, Sis. Genie, and Sis. Michele
Scotland with Sis. Jamie, Sis. Sherrie, Sis. Tammy and Sis. Teresa
China with Sis. Mona, Sis. Shandi, and Sis. Kaufman
The International Bakery with Sis. Bradford, Sis. Gregg, Sis. Stacy and a few admirers
Sis. Solomon and Sis. Wheeler
Bro. Keith Nix