Over the years, Bethel Church has shown a great deal of care for me and my family in a number of different ways:

• After threats to give us a weekend on Mille Lacs in an ice house, you gave us instead a gift certificate to the Mall of America.
• Following in that tradition, you’ve blessed us with time together as a family by giving gift certificates to the waterpark in Otsego
• Last year, it was a coupon book with pictures, coupons and hand-written notes. While we haven’t taken advantage of all of the coupons and the offers there, we do appreciate your desire to show your love to us.
• We now have a calendar that we have begun to flip through on a daily basis. It’s fun to see your notes of encouragement and to think about the people behind them.

As thankful as I am for your gifts, I am even more thankful for how you have embraced my family.

• You don’t treat us as “the pastor’s family” nearly as much as you do “brothers and sisters in Christ.”
• You love my children and help Brenda and I as we raise them to love the Lord Jesus.
• You offer expressions of love and concern to Brenda and myself.
• You offer me your respect and honor without putting me on a pedestal or holding me at a distance.

In these and many other ways, you have loved me and my family. Thank you.