Bethel Church of God - Bartow, Florida

05/01/2026

03/26/2026

22:00 - Video of "Time With Jesus"

01/23/2026

Former Bethel COG Pastor Steve Thurmond and his wife, Patricia, are excited to be back ministering at Bethel this Sunday Morning and Evening, January 25. We are looking forward to a great day in the Lord. Hope to see you there!

10/30/2025

Thankful for a good first night of revival with Bro. Rudy Collins. What can God do in the dark? He can move for you! He can speak light in your darkness! Come join us Thursday and Friday night, 7:00 pm.

10/27/2025

It was great having Bro and Sis Thurmond in church yesterday. Thankful for the presence of the Lord that was in the house and the people God touched! We appreciate their ministry and them coming to spend the day with us.

08/16/2025

Wow! What a day we had at Bethel Church of God! It was so bittersweet and at times emotionally overwhelming as we said our goodbyes to them, and they said theirs to us.

Fun times began when we walked into the Fellowship Hall for our Sunday School Class. I did notice the decorated tables were a little unique. They pointed out that they had decorated with all the tablecloths I had kept to reuse (after making them wipe them clean), along with the new ones I would pick up at Dollar Tree when I would find new patterns. They had a mish-mash of 3-4 patterns on each table. They used some centerpieces from all of the seasonal centerpieces I had accumulated throughout the years. Very funny, ladies!!!

Then, we noticed all of the black t-shirts everyone was wearing, with a full front emblem saying “Ain’t no Pastor like the one I got!” Later, we found that about 80% of the whole church had the t-shirts on.

After Sunday School, in the Sanctuary, in walks a Funeral Procession of about 25 people of all ages, in mourning, even with the ladies dressed in black veiled hats. So funny, yet so sweet and sad, too!

During the service we were so touched by all of the kind words and sentiments expressed by several in the congregation. The Youth Drama Team performed a drama they had worked on for a couple of months, without our knowledge, “You’re Holy.” Wow! Perfectly done, and so anointed! We were so very proud of them!
Then, they had my husband and I sit in chairs, back to back. We were wondering what they were going to make us do, when in came teenagers carrying dishpans to wash our feet. I can’t even express how humbling, yet beautiful to experience such a show of love from them all. Praise the Lord for how He touched and blessed us all!

We do so appreciate all of the beautiful cards and gifts, so generous and sacrificial for so many. We will never forget your kindnesses to us, today and throughout the past 18 years.

18 beautiful years brought to a close today in such a beautiful way, shows the depth of love we have all had for one another. We will forever be grateful that God gave us this particular congregation to close out our Pastoral Ministry of 40 years with.

Words of Jesus - “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35

08/10/2025

Bethel Church of God welcomes The Fairbanks Family! We are so excited to have them as our new Pastoral Family. Pastor Daniel will be preaching tomorrow and we are excited to hear him bring the Word as our new Pastor. We are also looking forward to worshipping with their whole family leading us in music.

07/21/2025

Our hearts were overwhelmed with the outpouring of love shown to us today at our 40th Pastoral Anniversery & Retirement Celebration. We were so touched by the huge crowd, and the great sacrifices that were made by so many to come be with us.

We were so blessed to have 12 of our family members come from Pigeon Forge TN, Charlotte NC, Jacksonville, McClenny, St. Petersburg and Bradenton FL. Also, we had our two sons and their families fly in from Austin, TX for a total of 8 more (including ages 4,3,1 and 3 months 😳). Words can’t express our love for them all and our gratitude for the great cost financially, time wise and energy it took for them to make their trips to be with us on this special day.

What a special surprise it was to see so many from our 13 year pastorate at the Samoset COG, traveling from Bradenton and Lake Butler. Thank you so much for taking the time to come be with us, and know that you will always be special in our hearts.

Evangelist/Pastor Richard L. Johnston preached our first revival 39 years ago, and preached our last revival not long before he went to be with the Lord last year. His widow, Brenda Johnston, and her son Russell traveled all the way up from Ft. Myers to make a special presentation of a beautiful framed poem she had written for us. Words cannot express what their friendship has meant to us throughout the years.

Our wonderful congregation here at Bethel COG went way beyond to make the day special for us! From the theme “Building Christians For 40 Years” to the presentations of the Commemorative Mounted Sword Display and Windchimes to us, your love was definitely felt by us. Your kind words, cards and gifts, anointed Singing and Drama, delicious lunch, and all of the long hours you worked to make the day special for us, has touched our hearts deeply. We hope that you all know how much we love you and feel so blessed to have been with you the past 18 years.
Pastor Steve & Patricia Thurmond

My Tribute
How can I say thanks
for the things You have done for me?
Things so undeserved,
yet You gave to prove Your love for me;
the voices of a million angels
could not express my gratitude.
All that I am and ever hope to be,
I owe it all to Thee.
To God be the glory,
to God be the glory,
to God be the glory
for the things He has done.