"THE REASON"
OUR VISION:
AT BETHLEHEM OF BONHAM WE ARE COMMITTED TO BEING A CHURCH WHERE FAITH AND FAMILY ARE FIRST. WHERE WE ARE COMMITTED TO FAITH, FELLOWSHIP AND FUN IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
OUR MISSION:
BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH IS A CHURCH COMMITTED TO STANDING, STRIVING WITH ONE MIND, ONE SPIRIT, UNITED FOR THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL. WE ARE COMMITTED TO PUBLIC WORSHIP, TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST AND TO USE OUR MINISTRIES TO INFLUENCE AND IMPACT CHURCH MEMBERSHIP, THE COMMUNITY OF BONHAM, FANNIN COUNTY AND THE WORLD.
OUR MOTTO:
"AT BETHLEHEM WE ARE COMMITTED TO DOING ALL THINGS WELL"
OUR PURPOSE:
THE PURPOSE OF BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH IS TO REACH UP TO GOD THROUGH WORSHIP, TO REACH IN THROUGH CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND NURTURE, AND TO REACH OUT THROUGH EVANGELICAL MINISTRY
WHO WE ARE:
Who is BETHLEHEM? BETHLEHEM is the community of those who are being crucified with Christ. Who is BETHLEHEM? BETHLEHEM is the community of those who are being resurrected to newness of life, hope for the community, rays of light as the sun rises anew from behind dark mountains over against a blue sky, a sky that symbolized God’s favor and God’s approval. BETHLEHEM is God’s working, God’s gift of love and fellowship, the freedom to respond to God’s call, to exercise our spiritual gifts, and to worship God freely.
MEANING OF "HOUSE OF BREAD"
Q: What is the meaning of the name Bethlehem, why?
A: In Hebrew, it means 'House of bread'. In his Notes on Malachi 5:2
'The town south of Jerusalem which was the birthplace of David and later of Jesus (1Sam 16:1, Matt 2:5, Lu 2:4-7). The name Bethlehem means "house of bread" because the area was a grain-producing area in Old Testament times. The name 'Ephratah' ("fruitful") differentiates it from the Galilean town by the same name.'
A: In Hebrew, it means 'House of bread'. In his Notes on Malachi 5:2
'The town south of Jerusalem which was the birthplace of David and later of Jesus (1Sam 16:1, Matt 2:5, Lu 2:4-7). The name Bethlehem means "house of bread" because the area was a grain-producing area in Old Testament times. The name 'Ephratah' ("fruitful") differentiates it from the Galilean town by the same name.'
Bethlehem meant "house of bread" and was:
Bethlehem ("House of Bread")
(1.) A city in the "hill country" of Judah. It was originally called Ephrath (Gen_35:16, Gen_35:19; Gen_48:7; Rth_4:11). It was also calledBeth-lehem Ephratah (Mic_5:2), Beth-lehem-judah (1Sa_17:12), and "the city of David" (Luk_2:4). It is first noticed in Scripture as the place where Rachel died and was buried "by the wayside," directly to the north of the city (Gen_48:7). The valley to the east was the scene of the story of Ruth the Moabitess. There are the fields in which she gleaned, and the path by which she and Naomi returned to the town. Here was David's birth-place, and here also, in after years, he was anointed as king by Samuel (1Sa_16:4-13); and it was from the well of Bethlehem that three of his heroes brought water for him at the risk of their lives when he was in the cave of Adullam (2Sa_23:13-17). But it was distinguished above every other city as the birth-place of "Him whose goings forth have been of old" (Mat_2:6; compare Mic_5:2). Afterwards Herod, "when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men," sent and slew "all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under" (Mat_2:16, Mat_2:18; Jer_31:15).
Bethlehem ... is about 5 miles south of Jerusalem, standing at an elevation of about 2,550 feet above the sea, thus 100 feet higher than Jerusalem....
(2) A town 6 miles WNW of Nazareth in the land allocated to the tribe of Zebulun
This other Bethlehem is now known as 'Beit-Lahm" near modern-day Haifa, and Nazareth is 26 miles North of Jerusalem as high as the Lake of Galilee, making this Bethlehem 30 miles NNW of Jerusalem almost on the coast near Mt Carmel.
Both Bethlehems are widely separated geographically, and Easton (op. cit) says it is only mentioned once in the Bible in Joshua 19:15. With this one exception, every time "Bethlehem" is mentioned it always refers to Bethlehem Ephratah in the south of the country below Jerusalem.
Both Bethlehems are widely separated geographically, and Easton (op. cit) says it is only mentioned once in the Bible in Joshua 19:15. With this one exception, every time "Bethlehem" is mentioned it always refers to Bethlehem Ephratah in the south of the country below Jerusalem.