Bethel Church

[[File:Bethel Church - Redding, California.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Looks like a supermarket. Has the exact same intention.]]
{{Christianity}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with the [[Jehovah's Witnesses glossary#Bethel|Bethel]] compound in Brooklyn, New York, from which the [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]' publishing arm is based. Also not to be confused with the many other churches with Bethel in the name.}}
'''Bethel Church''' is a [[megachurch]] based in Redding, [[California]], led primarily by Bill Johnson {{lived|1951}} and his family. Outsiders, especially other Christians, see it as a [[heresy|heretic]] [[cult]] influenced by [[new age]] [[bullshit]].<ref>Caden Strause, [https://medium.com/fighting-for-the-faith/the-bethel-church-cult-e5f5ff2231ac The Bethel Church Cult]. Medium, 22 November 2020.</ref><ref name=carter>Joe Carter, [https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-the-bethel-church-movement/ 9 Things You Should Know About the Bethel Church Movement]. thegospelcoalition.org, 29 September 2018.</ref><ref>[https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2021/02/04/guest-post-losing-a-family-member-to-the-bethel-cult/comment-page-1/ Guest Post: Losing a Family Member to the Bethel Cult]. wonderingeagle.wordpress.com, 4 February 2021.</ref><ref>[https://www.kevinhalloran.net/defecting-from-bethel-the-story-of-lindsay-davis-escape-from-a-cult/ Defecting from Bethel: The Story of Lindsay Davis’ Escape]. kevinhalloran.net, 1 January 2019.</ref> They used to be part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God until 2006,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100416003916/http://www.redding.com/news/2010/jan/19/bethels-signs-and-wonders-include-angel-feathers ''Record Searchlight'': "Bethel's 'signs and wonders' include angel feathers, gold dust and diamonds"]</ref> but are currently non-denominational and [[charismatic]], proselytizing primarily through [[music]] and "[[miracles]]". The church runs several ministries with cringeworthy names including "'''Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry'''" and "Jesus Culture".

Bethel Church has an uncomfortable-at-best reputation in Redding. With a member count equivalent to 10% of the town's population and a "[[New Apostolic Reformation#Seven Mountains ideology|Seven Mountains Mandate]]" driving a desire to [[Entryism|influence government, the economy, media, etc.]],<ref name="Buzzfeed">[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/meet-the-young-saints-of-bethel-who-go-to-college-to ''Buzzfeed News'': "Meet The 'Young Saints' Of Bethel Who Go To College To Perform Miracles"]</ref> their influence is hard to miss. The church has donated millions to local projects, and many local businesses are run by Bethel members. However, members have been banned from [[Evangelism|proselytizing]] at numerous locations in Redding, including the {{wpl|Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay||,}} and residents rightfully worry that their "Seven Mountains Mandate" is an attempt to subvert the [[separation of church and state]].<ref name="Buzzfeed" />

Bill Johnson and his wife Beni have publicly supported [[Donald Trump]] since 2016.<ref>[https://www.christiantoday.com/article/bethel-churchs-bill-johnson-why-i-voted-for-trump/100306.htm ''Christian Today'': "Bethel Church's Bill Johnson: Why I Voted for Trump"]</ref> Their son and daughter-in-law, Brian and Jen, as well as Bethel Music musician and failed Republican Congressional candidate Sean Feucht, were three of a gaggle of pastors who joined a "faith briefing" and photo op at the White House to pray for Trump not to get impeached the first time around.<ref>[https://archive.is/Ny44d ''Fox News'' (archived): "Pastors, worship leaders pray for Trump in Oval Office amid impeachment fight"]</ref>

==Magic tricks==
In keeping with charismatic tradition, Bethel services often feature "holy rolling," that is, extravagant behavior from congregants such as falling to the floor, [[speaking in tongues]], laughing, crying, and dancing, which is attributed to possession by the [[Holy Spirit]].<ref name="Buzzfeed" /> Services also feature a "
glow
 glory cloud," which appears to be gold glitter dropped from the ceiling over the congregation.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvJMPccZR2Y A video produced by Bethel Church containing clips of the "glory cloud."]</ref>

Bethel practices [[faith healing]], as is typical for charismatic churches. Unfortunately, they don't keep it confined to staged performances during services; students in their revivalist school are known for going as far as to approach visibly [[disabled]] locals out in public and asking to [[pray]] over them.<ref name="Buzzfeed" /> A man named Jason Michael Carlsen unsuccessfully sued a student at their school for allegedly pushing him off a 200-foot cliff, and instead of calling 911, driving down to the bottom in hopes of getting to pray over him.<ref name="Carlsen suit">[http://archive.redding.com/news/ex-bethel-student-not-at-fault-in-08-fall-judge-says-woman-not-obligated-to-act-ep-375360737-354571811.html ''Record Searchlight'': "Ex-Bethel student not at fault in '08 fall; judge says woman not obligated to act"]</ref> Carlsen was found by first responders and survived, but was in a coma for a month and his injuries rendered him paraplegic.

The main thing that distinguishes Bethel Church from other charismatic/evangelical churches is their belief that, with prayer, [[Resurrection|dead people can be brought back to life]]. This belief is linked to the resurrection of [[Jesus]], faith healing, and being "[[born again]]." One offshoot of the church is the Shelton, [[Washington]]-based "Dead Raising Team," which is primarily dedicated to this particular nonsense. In 2019, the Dead Raising Team [[lie|claimed]] to have "brought about 15 resurrections amidst the 60 teams worldwide."<ref name=jensen>K. Thor Jensen, [https://www.newsweek.com/church-raising-100000-raise-child-dead-1478511 Megachurch Trying to Raise Baby From The Dead Through Prayer And Song While Raising Funds for Her Family]. Newsweek, 20 December 2019.</ref>

Bethel Church and the Dead Raising Team's most infamous and saddest attempt at raising the dead involved Olive Heiligenthal, a two-year-old who died suddenly in December 2019. Bethel's and related congregations sang and prayed for Olive's resurrection for days until Olive's parents moved past the denial stage and announced their plans for a funeral.<ref name=jensen /><ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/21/bethel-church-prayer-hasnt-brought-olive-back-life/2724417001/ ''USA Today'': "Bethel Church says prayer hasn't brought 2-year-old Olive back to life"]</ref><ref name=iati>Marisa Iati, [https://archive.is/XIhW6 After a toddler’s death, a church has tried for days to resurrect her — with prayer]. The Washington Post, 20 December 2019.</ref>

==Front groups and offshoots==
{{main|Front group}}
The Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), nicknamed "Christian Hogwarts,"<ref name="Buzzfeed" /> provides 1-3 year certificate programs for revivalists-in-training. Thanks to a lack of [[accreditation]] or financial aid, the tuition alone is almost $5000 per year. Activities include:
* Faith healing of strangers
* "Treasure hunts" on Thursday nights, in which students gather to "hear God's voice" give them a description of a [[random]] person, whom they then split up to go find and proselytize
* "Tunnels of fire" on Friday nights, consisting of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqGLJ0b5lh4 whatever the fuck this is], sometimes done in public
* "Grave soaking/sucking," a practice that has been nominally banned, in which students lay on top of a dead church member's grave, hoping to absorb their blessing or “soak up” the deceased’s “anointing"<ref name=carter />
* Dead-raising attempts<ref name="Buzzfeed" />
*"Bethel Music" is the church's main record label, headed by Bill Johnson's son Brian. Like the [[Australia]]-based [[Hillsong|Hillsong Music]], Bethel Music is well known for making emotionally charged, repetitive [[Christian rock]], performed live at Bethel Church services.
*"Jesus Culture" is the organization's youth ministry, which itself runs the Jesus Culture Sacramento church in Folsom, California, and its own record label, ''Jesus Culture Music''.
*"CHANGED Movement" is an [[ex-gay]] ministry. They claim not to support [[conversion therapy]] or insist that all [[queer]] people must become ex-gay, but with their whole message being "God can radically transform their [[sexual orientation]],"<ref>[https://religionnews.com/2019/09/12/even-as-conversion-therapy-is-widely-discredited-a-new-oncegay-movement-makes-a-comeback/ ''Religion News Service'': "In some Christian circles, a new #oncegay movement makes a comeback"]</ref> the [[homophobia]] is not at all subtle.

The church has several other lesser-known front groups and offshoots, including:

*Bethel Christian School, a Pre-K-8th grade private school
*WorshipU, a training ground for aspiring Bethel Music signees
*Bethel Conservatory of the Arts, an ''accredited'' training ground for aspiring Bethel Music signees
*Bethel Leaders Network, the church's way of expanding its influence beyond the Johnson family and Redding
*Bethel School of Technology, a coding bootcamp
*Mission Intensive Training School, a training ground for aspiring 
colonizers
 
missionaries
 colonizers
*One Glance Ministries, a missionary group that also runs the Dead Raising Team.<ref group="note">The Dead Raising Team's contact form is just the contact form for One Glance.</ref>

==External links==
* [https://www.bethel.com/ Bethel Church]
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXeH0YaG1FgC5a3Ueie-EA Bethel's YouTube channel], with wackiness and wingnuttery abound.
* [https://bssm.net/ BSSM]
* [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClY2pCQLyy9s678tf4dqWLQ Jesus Culture's YouTube channel], a one-stop-shop for Jesus-y millennial caterwauling.
* [http://deadraisingteam.com/ The Dead Raising Team's website], embarrassingly less slickly designed than Bethel's site.
*[https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/how-bethel-megachurch-conquered-redding-18170873.php How a miracle-obsessed megachurch conquered a California city] by Eric Ting (June 28, 2023) ''SFGate''

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
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[[Category:Christianity]]

Categories: Christianity