If you think you might be interested in joining Bethany, you will be asked to attend a special course for guests who are interested in becoming members of our church. The Bethany Basics course is a series of classes held during the Sunday School hour (10 to 11 a.m.) on four consecutive Sundays. Offered six times per year, Bethany Basics is held in room 124. The classes are full of useful information about the Methodist tradition and Bethany UMC. When you attend Bethany Basics, you will learn what to expect from our church, as well as what the church will expect from you as a member. You will tour the church facilities and meet some staff members, clergy and lay leaders who will explain the ministries with which they are involved. You will also meet your Fellowship Friend, who will assist you in finding the right School class and help you become involved in the life of the church.

Bethany holds a special ceremony during the 11:15 a.m. Sunday worship service for new members who have completed the Bethany Basics course. Your Fellowship Friend will sit with you on New Member Sunday to ensure that you receive a warm welcome on your first day as a Bethany member. After worship, your Fellowship Friend will accompany you to a New Member Brunch, held in our Large Fellowship Hall in honor of our new members and their families.

If you would like more information about Bethany, becoming a member of our church family or the Bethany Basics course, please contact Membership Director Jerry Wallace at (843) 873-1230 or by e-mail.

Thirty percent of the people in the Summerville area are un-churched, and half of those people have never received an invitation to an area church. Knowing those statistics, Bethany has adopted the goal of becoming a “welcoming church”. We believe that at least some of those people without a church home are just waiting to be invited. Since we also believe that Bethany has a responsibility to bring as many of those people as possible into the Christian community, it is our goal to issue that invitation to them.

About 70 percent of the people who visit our church come because a Bethany church member has invited them to attend.

In conjunction with our First Time Visitors Program, Bethany has a ministry, called People Invite People, which encourages church members to invite their friends, families, coworkers and acquaintances. This ministry is really a simple series of reminders. The People Invite People ribbon logo is posted around the church and printed in Bethany publications as a reminder that God is counting on Bethany members to share the good news of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, which washes away our sins. When our members see the People Invite People, they are reminded that He wants us to be “fishers of men.” They are reminded that Bethany Church can share God’s word more effectively when People Invite People.

We are blessed each Sunday morning with visitors and guests who have come to worship with us at Bethany United Methodist Church. We appreciate and welcome each of you and hope that, if you are looking for a church home, you will find that home with us here.

Bethany has instituted the First Time Visitor Program to extend the loving and caring atmosphere of our church to each person who visits with us for the first time.

On the afternoon of the first Sunday you worship with us, one or two members of a Bethany Welcome Team will stop by your home to personally welcome you to our church and invite you to become part of the Christian community at Bethany. The Welcome Team representatives will give you a small gift and visit briefly (five to 15 minutes) with you, to welcome you and answer any questions you may have about Bethany Church.

If you’re not at home when the Welcome Team stops by, a team member will leave your gift at your door, along with the name and phone number of the Welcome Team member who made the visit. Then, if you have questions about Bethany Church, you will have a point of contact to call for answers.

You are also welcome to contact Bethany’s Director of Membership Jerry Wallace at the church on weekdays (843-873-1230) or by e-mail.

If you decide to join the Christian community at Bethany Church, you will be assigned a Fellowship Friend, who will help you find your place in the life of our church. Fellowship Friends make the process of joining Bethany a little more special for new members. Fellowship Friends are volunteers who help the new members feel at home and find the answers to their questions about Bethany Church. Fellowship Friends believe in Bethany’s purpose statement, “We are called to care”.

A Fellowship Friend sits with each new member during the Sunday morning worship when the new member joins the church. After worship, Fellowship Friends help host the New Member Brunch for new members, their families and Bethany staff.