The only Adventist church in Bethel, Alaska, serves its village but also 55 smaller villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Regardless of this challenge, they find ways to make a difference through serving the homeless, hosting potlucks, leading Bible classes, and much more.
Alaska has earned the nickname “The Last Frontier” because of its extreme weather, landscapes, and isolation. Most villages throughout the state are only accessible by plane.
One such village is Bethel. Bethel is a hub that provides food and other resources to 55 smaller villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta [kus-ko-kwim]. These villages are only accessible by car when the river freezes thick enough to create a network of ice highways.
The only Seventh-day Adventist church in this huge area is located in Bethel. Despite the challenges of weather and transportation, church members find ways to impact their community.
“So the homeless come here. Sometimes locally we're known around town as the homeless church.”
“We have potlucks every single Sabbath. They don't have a place to sleep at night and we are a warm place. We are a place where they can hear a message and get a warm meal at least once a week.”
“We've had some baptisms as a result of this ministry.”
The Bethel church has started a Pathfinder group for the youth as well as Bible classes for adults. Phillip and Darlene are a Native Alaskan couple who visited the church after seeing a sign about the Bible classes.
“You know, there's the sign that said Angel Seminar and I told myself, I'm going to go check that out.”
“During that seminar, boy, did my heart melt. When he told me, As soon as you repent and when you say you're sorry, you're right there with Jesus. I was like, Wow, that's really different.”
“So on that final day we got baptized.”
Because of the growing congregation, the Bethel church is running out of room. But it’s also falling apart.
“So here in Bethel, we have what's called warm permafrost. And the permafrost is only a few feet thick in some places.”
Permafrost is a layer of earth that has been frozen for many years. When the permafrost thaws, it can cause buildings on top of it to collapse. The Bethel church is in need of repairs because of the uneven ground below.
“We've done some mission work out in the villages, but we can't really do what we want to do when our building is falling down. We're the only outreach here in the YK Delta. It's a massive, massive part of Alaska. And if we are able to be a base, a hub, we can get support for the local community and send more people out into the delta.”
A portion of your 13th Sabbath offering will help construct a larger and more secure building. Your financial gifts and prayers will help the Bethel Seventh-day Adventist Church, the hub of this vastly unreached area, to accomplish important work for God's Kingdom. Thank you for giving to projects like this!
