HERB SAWATZKY - LEAD PASTOR

I Love Jesus, now more than I ever have.

I grew up in a Mennonite home and a Mennonite community and always loved both my cultural heritage and the faith in Jesus that it taught and showed me, but I also often wondered if I would have chosen this belief in Christ if I hadn’t been born into it.

Now I am convinced that if I had not been raised in this faith in Christ, that if someone told me about a prophet and saviour who showed us how to live well in this angry and strife-filled (sin-filled) world, I would go running to it. I would not stop searching for it until I found it.

I believe that Jesus saves us by inviting us to live life with him every single day. Jesus invites us into eternal life and to live out that eternal life every day, beginning today.

In a world in which we are constantly tempted to be our worst, angriest, most depressed, and anxious selves, Jesus redeems us, invites us, empowers, us, teaches us, and shows us how to be who we truly are, who he created us to be, our very best self, the image of God in us.

Jesus calls us to love our God and to love our neighbour as we love ourselves, and I know that I need to hear this call every day. I need to hear it every day because it is so much harder to do than one would think. I need to hear it every day because it is only by his strength and mercy and grace that I can live this way. I need to hear it every day because when I live this way, I am the person that Jesus has created me to be.

I also find that I need to be on this journey of faith with other believers. I can’t follow Jesus entirely on my own; I need to do so with the support and encouragement of others as well. If you would like to walk with us on this journey of faith together, I’d love to see you at Bethany Mennonite Church.