We encourage you to give cheerfully, generously, and faithfully to the many ministries and mission of the church. Giving options include ...

Give Online via eCheck, Credit Card, or Text-to-Give

Bethlehem encourages online giving via the “eCheck” payment option from a checking or savings account.  We also allow giving via credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. However, we encourage you not to use credit cards unless you plan to pay off your card in full each month—we are debt-averse at Bethlehem, and do not want to contribute to anyone else going further into debt.

Use the Bethlehem Online Giving page to set up recurring or one-time giving via eCheck or credit card, and (under the “Your Account” tab in the upper right) to view your giving history, your recurring giving schedule, and your Contribution Statement.  

We have enabled a text-to-give option for mobile devices. To participate, text “BBC (amount)” to 612-223-7432. For example, a text of “BBC 100” would send a donation of $100 to our “Fill These Cities: 25 x ’25” general fund. First time users may need to follow prompts to register for text-to-give. Note that your carrier’s message & data rates may apply.

For assistance in setting up automated monthly contribution withdrawals from your checking or savings account ...

• Download, print, and complete Bethlehem’s Automatic Withdrawal Authorization form
• Attach a voided check or savings deposit ticket of the account that will be debited monthly
• Mail both to Bethlehem’s Financial Secretary:
  Steve Walmsley, Financial Secretary
  Bethlehem Baptist Church
  720 13th Ave S
  Minneapolis, MN 55415

Use the Bethlehem App

You can also give to Bethlehem using our mobile App. Simply select “Giving” from the Menu. After entering the amount of your gift, choose where you’d like your contribution to go (e.g., “Fill These Cities: 25 x ’25 Downtown”) and select give. You’ll have the opportunity to review the amount, destination, and source prior to confirming your donation. You can also set-up or manage your recurring giving in the App.

Mail Contributions to the Church Office

If mailing your contribution is more convenient, send it to the Downtown Campus in care of our Financial Secretary:

Steve Walmsley, Financial Secretary
Bethlehem Baptist Church
720 13th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55415

Stock and Asset Donations

Donating stock or other assets that have appreciated in value may provide potential tax benefits.

When you give appreciated assets like stock—rather than just cash—to 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations like Bethlehem, you are generally exempt from paying capital gains tax. It's a good way to store up treasure in heaven, while also maximizing the resources entrusted to us while on the earth. If you’d like to donate stock to Bethlehem, please contact Steve Walmsley (612-338-7653 x463).

Consult with your financial planner or tax adviser before making a stock donation to Bethlehem to determine how/if the potential tax advantages described here apply to your specific situation.

Instructions for Donating Securities

1. Talk to your broker about the securities you’d like to give to the Bethlehem or discuss the value of the securities you’d like to donate. Work with your broker to identify what securities or set of securities that approximates that value.
2. Provide to your broker the following information on transferring securities electronically to Bethlehem’s broker.
   Broker name: Stifel Financial Corp.
   Account registration: Bethlehem Baptist Church
   Account number: 8189-4881
   DTC number: 0793
   Account contact: Joseph Buska (763-542-3733)
3. Alert Bethlehem of your plans to transfer securities by emailing Steve Walmsley and providing the following information:

• Your name and address
• The stock or other securities you plan to transfer and the number of shares
• The approximate value of this gift
• The ministry(s) into which you’d like this gift given. If you don’t indicate a ministry, the gift will be credited toward Bethlehem’s general Fill These Cities: 25 x ’25 (One Fund) account.

If you have additional questions about transferring securities, please contact Steve Walmsley (612-338-7653 x463).

Required Minimum Distribution

Also, if you need to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) or are taking a regular distribution from your IRA, consider using the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) option to give to Bethlehem and not increase your tax liability due to your IRA distribution. Contact Steve Walmsley (612-338-7653 x463) if you have any questions.

Donor Advised Fund

The Bethlehem Baptist Church Donor Advised Fund is a process to help manage large gifts given to BBC that are not immediately designated for use upon receipt. It allows a donor to gain the tax advantages of making a charitable contribution in a particular calendar year, while deferring the decision regarding how best to designate those funds among various Bethlehem or Bethlehem-related ministries to a later date. If you’d like to discuss Bethlehem’s Donor Advised Fund, please contact Steve Walmsley (612-338-7653 x463).

Bethlehem’s Helping Hand Fund is managed by a committee to coordinate financial help to meet the essential needs of every member of our church family.

A Helping Hand Offering is collected on the first Sunday of the month, when we regularly observe the Lord’s Table together in Communion. Occasionally, this monthly offering is designated for local organizations that help support essential needs in our communities.

You can also give toward the Helping Hand Fund at any time through our online giving portal. After logging in, select your campus and then find the Helping Hand Fund sub-fund under your campus designation.

If you are facing financial needs, contact the Helping Hand Fund by leaving a voicemail for the committee at your campus ... 

   612-338-7653 x700 
  612-746-2650 x775

Lead Pastor for Operations: Jon Grano leads the church’s Operations Team, which supports areas of financial administration, properties management, communications, information technologies, media ministries, and human resources. Contact: Jon Grano (612-338-7653 x467)

Our Financial Secretary: Steve Walmsley oversees all giving (“income”) to Bethlehem, and accounts for these contributions according to the purposes for which they were designated. A team of assisting tellers helps him count contributions each week. Contact: Steve Walmsley (612-338-7653 x463)

Our Treasurer: Tim Brinkmann oversees all spending of these funds (“expenses”) in a timely manner, according to guidelines approved in the Annual Budget and our bylaws. Contact: Tim Brinkmann, 612-913-0321

Bethlehem’s Accounting Department: Thayne Rossiter (Director for Finances), with Daewon Kim (Bookkeeper) and Jake Wood (Payroll Assistant), assists the treasurer, and oversees various day-to-day financial processes, practices, and systems. Contact: Thayne Rossiter (612-338-7653 x479)

Financial & Property Administrators

• Tim Brinkmann (Treasurer)
• Dan Lehn (chairman)
• Paul Johnson
• Tom Lehn
• Barry Onufrock
• Scott Rebney
• Bryan Rohde
• Thayne Rossiter (Director for Finances)
• Sharon Rusten
• Steve Walmsley (Financial Secretary)

View the most recent Treasurer’s Report (updated quarterly), as well as an overview of the congregationally-approved Annual Budget.

In all aspects of our church life we strive to operate in a way that honors God as our greatest treasure. This includes keeping the congregation informed about financial matters—to guide both our prayers and our giving. Quarterly and Annual Strategy Meetings are one means of accomplishing this.

As a part of each Quarterly or Annual Meeting, the Treasurer presents an overview of our financial health as an organization. This report includes the following:

• a review of contributions received
• ministry expenses
• financial highlights from the quarter.

If you have additional questions regarding this report, please feel free to contact our Treasurer, Tim Brinkmann, at 612-338-7653.

At Bethlehem’s Winter Quarterly Strategy Meeting held January 30, 2022, the congregation approved an elder-recommended “Fill These Cities: 25 x ’25” budget of $9.45M.

Bethlehem establishes funding for its mission and various ministries through a process that includes proposing and adopting an annual budget that passes through many “sieves.”

• Each Fall, the staff and Financial & Property Administrators draft a preliminary budget.
• This draft budget is presented to the elders for their review, adjustment, and approval.
• Once approved, the elders then present the budget to the congregation at the Annual Meeting in December for recommended adoption.
• The congregation adopts the annual budget at the first Quarterly Strategy Meeting in January.

CONTENT OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET

Bethlehem’s budget is organized in around four broad categories.

1. Upreach (Worship & Vision) includes support for Preaching & Vision, Worship, and Media.
2. Inreach includes support for Family Discipleship (Nursery, Children, Jr & Sr High, Disability) and Adult Discipleship (Small Groups, Women, Men, Seniors).
3. Outreach includes support for Global Outreach, Short Term Ministry Mobilization, Neighborhood Outreach (all campuses), Hispanic Ministry, Church Planting, Outreach Support (Campus Outreach, Bethlehem Urban Initiatives, and Outreach Partners), and Bethlehem College and Seminary.
4. Support includes support for Building & Properties, Finance/Accounting, Communications, Information Technology (IT), and Human Resources/Personnel.

If you have additional questions about the Annual Budget, feel free to contact our Pastor for Operations, Jon Grano (612-338-7653 x467).

Sermons

• Funding the Filling: Amazing Grace
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 8:1–7, November 1, 2014)
• Funding the Filling: The Grace of Christ
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 8:8–9, November 8, 2014)
• Funding the Filling: Finish What You Started
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 8:10–15, November 15, 2014)
• Funding the Filling: Thanks Be To God
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 8:16–24, November 22, 2014)
•  Gospel-Drenched Giving
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 9:1–5, February 7, 2015)
• God Loves A Cheerful Giver
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 9:6–7, February 14, 2015)
• Grace Abounding
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 9:8–11, February 21, 2015)
• Grace Be To God
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 9:12–15, February 28, 2015)
• The Need of the Hour
  (Jason Meyer, 2 Corinthians 9:6–15, October 29, 2016)

Books & Websites

• Compass
• Crown Financial Ministries
• Dave Ramsey
• Desiring God (Chapter 5: “Money: The Currency of Christian Hedonism”) and sermons by John Piper
• Eternal Perspectives Ministry
  
  • Money, Possessions, and Eternity, by Randy Alcorn
  • The Treasure Principle, by Randy Alcorn
    See excerpt of the “Confederate Currency” illustration
• Generous Giving
• National Christian Foundation
• Stewardship Central