About Us

ABOUT US

FIRST THINGS FIRST - WHAT'S WITH THE NAME?

The word Berachah comes from 2 Chronicles 20 and means a place of blessing. If you really want to hear more about the name Berachah, CLICK HERE to hear a message about it from Pastor Jonathan.

Together we are a community of believers.

What does that mean, the word community? We believe that together in fellowship we grow closer to God and one another. The bible speaks about iron sharpening iron. We believe that together we grow stronger. We are a community of believers.

We strive to be a church without walls. Jesus calls for us to go outside the walls to reach the lost and the broken. It is there that the lost will be found. Most churches find it is comfortable to stay within the walls, but we make it an effort to be like the church from the book of Acts, to see our city changed.

We highly value our relationships with one another. We look to grow through fellowship, and ultimately growing closer to God. We value the word of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We look to extend grace to all of the lost and broken and lead those with no hope to the hope of Jesus Christ.

WHO WE ARE

OUR MISSION

To make followers of Jesus who unleash into our community and world for the Glory of God.

OUR VISION

Found People Find People
Saved People Serve People
Growing People Change
I Can't Do Life Alone
I Can't Out Give God

OUR VALUES

Commitment to Excellence
High Impact Worship
Relational Evangelism & Discipleship
Intercessory Prayer
Selfless Service
Teaching the Authoritative Word of God

OUR HISTORY

SMALL BEGINNINGS ON A PORCH

Founded in the Fall of 2008 by Pastor Jonathan and Denyse Smith, with a small group of family and friends in a Bible Study on the back porch.
In 2009 and as our growing needs changed, we gathered around town at community rooms, a funeral home, and other church buildings
Purchased 5 acres with an old run-down restaurant in 2014; however, with the condition it was in it would be a while before we would be able to use the property.
Due to the need for a larger space, we began meeting at the city's Recreational Center at Mingo park in 2015.
In January 2018 renovation of the new property was started
Moved into the renovated building in the Fall of 2018
NextGen Building project is currently underway with plans to build and expand our current facility

Porch where Berachah began

Rec Center at Mingo

OUR STAFF

Jonathan Smith

Lead Pastor

Pastor Jonathan and his wife founded our church. He has a genuine heart to reach those far from God in our community and around the world. He wants to see true change in this area and in every person's life. Jonathan is a passionate teacher and leader. He also enjoys golf. They have two adult children, Alexis and Mitchell.

Joseph Riley

Tech Director

Joe came to us in 2015 and is our Tech Director at Berachah Church, overseeing our AVL and Online ministries. He has a passion for seeing broken lives restored and for others to experience their full potential in Christ. He is learning to play the drums and has two children.

Angel Matson

Worship Leader & Creative Arts Director

Angel and her family have been attending Berachah since 2011. She is the Creative Arts Director, Worship Coordinator and faithfully leads one of our worship teams. Her life verse is Proverbs 3:5-6 and is a master board game competitor. Angel and Freddie have three daughters.

Randall Downey

Worship Leader

Randall began attending Beracah at the end of 2015 and began serving about 7 months later. He leads the worship bands and one of Berachah's Worship teams. In addition, Randy is involved in many other areas of the church. He is an avid hot pepper connoisseur. Randy's wife, Jenny, leads the Hospitality Team at Berachah. They have one daughter.

OUR BELIEFS

Jesus is the head of our church, and His Word is the standard for how we live — as individuals and as God’s family — for the glory of God. Below are brief statements for each of the essential Christian beliefs that we hold as a church and that are foundational to following Jesus in loving, faith-filled obedience.

MISSIONS

We believe in missions. We believe God is a missionary God. We believe the Bible is a missionary book. We believe our primary efforts must be missionary, church planting, and evangelistic efforts!

THE BIBLE

We believe all 66 books of the Bible originated from God. He revealed His words to mankind through human authors, using their unique personalities to express exactly what He desired to tell mankind. As a result, the Bible is God’s absolute, timeless truth about who God is and how we ought to view and live life. There are no other words or writings inspired by God in this way.

GOD

We believe there is only one living and true God, who has always existed as the just and loving Creator, Sustainer and Ruler over all that exist. He has the power and authority to accomplish His purposes and will. He is one God who exists as three distinct persons, Father, Jesus the Son, and Holy Spirit, functioning relationally in absolute oneness, humility, and harmony.

MAN'S DILEMMA

As the just and loving Creator, one of God’s designs was to have a personal relationship with the people He created. Unfortunately, at the beginning of human history, mankind chose to rebel against God and His design for a personal relationship. This “sin” has caused all mankind to experience the “fall”…the natural consequences of living life independently and separated from God.

God knew that because of mankind’s rebellion, mankind on his own could never earn the right or rescue himself from the certain judgment of being separated from a relationship with Him forever. But God, because of His great love for mankind, made it possible for a personal relationship to be restored while at the same time meeting the just penalty each person owed for their rebellion.

JESUS AND SALVATION

Jesus Christ as God came to live among mankind. He was miraculously born through the Virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully human. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father. Jesus voluntarily died on the cross to pay the penalty all men owe for their sin…death, even though He had no personal sin to die for Himself. Jesus was mankind’s sacrificial substitute, paying the penalty for our sin. Therefore, God can and does offer complete forgiveness to all who trust Jesus as God’s loving provision for the penalty of their sin.

After Jesus’ death, He physically rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven to rule with God the Father. As a result of what He accomplished and who He is, Jesus is the only One through whom mankind has direct access to God. All creation eagerly anticipates Jesus’ promised return to earth where He will rule with justice and compassion and restore peace to all His creation. (click here to learn more)

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND CHRISTIAN LIVING

God works through the Holy Spirit to limit the power of evil in the world and to help all people realize inwardly their need for the forgiveness and new life that Jesus has made possible. The Holy Spirit comes to personally reside within every believer at the moment they put their trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives each believer abilities (gifts) to help them accomplish His purpose through them in the church and in the world. The Holy Spirit makes the Bible more understandable and applicable to the life of the believer. Under the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit, a believer progressively learns to trust God with more and more of their life. Their perspectives, character, and choices will increasingly be like those of Jesus. God uses many varied means, including suffering, to accomplish this progressive life-change in a believer’s life.

HUMAN DESTINY

All humans begin life at conception but will live from that point onward eternally. Believers, at death, will be received into the presence of God to live out that perfect relationship with God they were designed to enjoy. All who have rejected God, by rejecting His provision for their sin through Jesus, will suffer eternal separation from God in hell and the life He designed for them originally.

THE CHURCH

By putting their trust in Jesus, all Christians become members of His earthly family, the Church. The Bible tells all believers, as part of His church, to come together in local groups (congregations)…

to focus on and honor God (worship),
to call upon God directly, by faith, to make a difference in and through them (prayer),
to spend time together helping and encouraging each other in their faith (fellowship),
to be taught in a way that helps them understand what God has said in the Bible (teaching).
to make a public declaration of their faith in Jesus by being Baptized,
to remember what Jesus has done for them on the cross through Communion,
to serve other believers in the church by using their gifts
to be sacrificially generous to accomplish God’s work in and through the church, and
to reach out with words and actions of love to all who have not yet put their trust in Jesus.

FAITH AND PRACTICE

We believe the Bible is the source of ultimate truth and the final authority in all matters that pertain to what Christians should believe and how they should live. In matters where the Bible is silent or not specific, Christians should seek timeless principles found in the Bible for their guidance, resisting the temptation to make the Bible say what they want it to say.

This is a place where God meets people who aren't perfect, and no matter where you are on your personal spiritual journey, you are absolutely welcome here.