Sunday Mornings on Ashbourne Road
Berachah Church gathers every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at 400 Ashbourne Road in Cheltenham, just outside Philadelphia. The service runs about an hour and fills the auditorium with music, prayer, and preaching that the congregation describes as gospel-centered. Visitors who walk in for the first time are met at the door by the Welcome Team, handed a connect card and a welcome bag, and pointed to a seat. After the service, Lead Pastor Wilson Bever makes a point of being out in the lobby to greet newcomers personally, and anyone who would like prayer can step to the front of the room where volunteers are standing by.
Dress is what the church calls "casual yet blended." Some come in a suit and tie, others in jeans, and the variety is intentional, because the congregation is multi-generational and multi-cultural. The preaching team is described as passionate about reading the Bible as truth and applying it to everyday life.
A Blended, Multi-Generational House of Worship
Berachah calls itself "blended" on several levels at once. The worship blends traditional ideas with contemporary styles. The pews hold infants and great-grandparents, and the leadership reflects several cultures and generations. The church is non-denominational, rooted in an evangelical reading of Scripture, and preaches with conviction that the Bible is the Word of God.
Services can be watched online, and a library of recorded sermons is kept on the church's sermons page, so the same gospel-centered preaching that fills the auditorium each Sunday reaches the congregation throughout the week.
Know, Love, Go: The Discipleship Path at Berachah
The entire ministry of the church is organized around a simple three-fold rhythm: Know, Love, and Go.
To Know God, the church gathers for corporate worship and corporate prayer on Sundays. Preaching and singing together are how a person begins to know who God is, and from that knowledge flows the ability to represent him. To Love One Another, members join small groups that meet in homes and on Zoom across the region. To Go, members serve inside the church and partner with local and international missions. Berachah tithes ten percent of every dollar given to missions, so that going and giving are linked at the most practical level.
Children's Church from Birth Through Fifth Grade
Families with young children will find a structured children's program waiting for them. Children's Church opens fifteen minutes before the adult service, so parents can check in their child and still make it to a seat in the auditorium. Check-in takes only a few minutes for first-time families, and each parent receives a coded sticker that must be presented again at pickup. The matching code is the only way a child is released, which gives the church one of the most secure children's environments in the area.
Inside Children's Church, children from birth through fifth grade sing gospel-centered songs, learn engaging Bible lessons, and hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in ways that are age-appropriate. The space is supervised by trained staff and volunteers, a trained security member is always present, and the coded system is required for every family. The goal of the ministry is to equip parents to be the primary disciple-makers of their children while reinforcing that work each Sunday morning. Children's Director Jackie Lee Martinez leads this work.
Student Ministry for Middle and High Schoolers
Middle and high school students meet separately on Sunday nights at 4 p.m. Berachah's Student Ministry encourages students in grades six through twelve to apply the truths of God's Word to their everyday lives and equips them to take the gospel into their schools and communities. Each gathering includes games, worship, biblical teaching, and small groups. Student Director Chuck Morris leads the ministry, and families can reach the team at youth@berachahchurch.org.
Small Groups Across Philadelphia and the Region
Small groups are the heart of how Berachah loves one another. Members describe small group as the place where they "do life" together, encouraging each other through God's Word, praying for one another, and making their faith relevant to one another. The small group ministry follows the sermon series at the beginning of fall and again in the new year, with most groups meeting seasonally and a few continuing all year.
Groups meet in homes and on Zoom in Cheltenham, Philadelphia, and Germantown. The Symons group meets on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at Berachah Church and on Zoom. The Towns group meets on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. in Germantown. The Cintron group meets on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. at Berachah Church, and the Hood group meets on Fridays at 6:30 p.m. at the same location. On Sundays, a College and Career group meets at 12:30 p.m. at Berachah Church, the McMenamins group meets in Philadelphia at 12:30 p.m., and the Bever and Schultz group meets at 4:00 p.m. at Berachah. Newcomers can register in advance during a Sunday service, email a leader, or simply show up.
Women of Worth and the Men's Breakfast
Berachah's women's ministry is known as Women of Worth. Open to women ages sixteen and up, Women of Worth hosts monthly events and an annual retreat, with the Women's Winter Retreat at Sandy Cove standing out as a highlight of the year. The men's ministry gathers for a Men's Breakfast on the first Sunday of every month. Both ministries are designed to draw men and women of all ages into deeper relationship with God and with one another.
Tuesday Night Prayer Ministry
Prayer is a standing rhythm at Berachah. Each Tuesday at 7 p.m. the Prayer Ministry meets on Zoom, and anyone in the church or the community can join. The prayer team also receives requests through the church's prayer page and prays for needs in the congregation, the neighborhood, and the nations. The Tuesday night meeting, the prayer request page, and the regular practice of inviting people to the front of the auditorium after Sunday services for prayer make intercession a constant part of the church's life.
The Statement of Faith
Berachah holds to a full statement of faith that runs from Scripture through End Times. The church believes that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are inerrant and verbally inspired by God and are the supreme and final authority for doctrine, faith, and conduct. There is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each fully God and equal in power and holiness.
The church teaches that humanity was created in God's image but fell into sin through Adam, and that all people are born with a sinful nature and are spiritually dead apart from Christ. Salvation from sin and eternal condemnation is by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection; good works are the fruit of salvation, not its cause. The Holy Spirit convicts, regenerates, indwells, seals, and baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ, and continues to conform believers to the image of Christ.
The church practices two ordinances: baptism by immersion in water and the Lord's Supper, or communion. The church also teaches that Jesus will return bodily to usher in the new creation, that Satan is a real personal adversary who will be cast into the Lake of Fire eternally, and that the church is both the invisible Body of Christ and the visible local assembly of redeemed persons.
Leadership
Wilson Bever serves as Lead Pastor. Worship Director Bree Bever leads the music ministry. Jackie Lee Martinez directs Children's Ministry, and Chuck Morris directs Student Ministry. A team of elders - Ed McMenamin, Gerald Smith, Brian Hood, Roberto Cintron, and John Courtney - shares in the spiritual leadership of the church alongside the pastors. Pastor Wilson is regularly out in the lobby after services to greet visitors, and visitors can also contact the office or any leader through office@berachahchurch.org.
Giving, Tithing, and the Mission of the Church
Berachah teaches that giving is an act of worship and trust. The starting point for giving is the tithe, defined as the first ten percent of a believer's income given to the local church. In addition, Berachah tithes ten percent of its own income to missions, both local and global. Online giving is processed through Pushpay, and members can also give in person or mail checks to the church address. Annual giving statements are issued in the first quarter of each year and are available on request, and an annual report is shared with both visitors and members at the end of each year. Give online.
We Are Berachah Membership Class
Anyone interested in formally becoming a member of Berachah Church is invited to attend We Are Berachah, the membership class offered both online and in person. The class covers the history of Berachah, the mission and vision of the church, the statement of faith, the lifestyle statement, the ministry strategy, and the role of spiritual gifts in the life of the local church. Members learn what membership looks like at Berachah and how to take the next step into service. The class is the bridge from visiting to belonging at Berachah, and it leads naturally into a small group, a ministry team, and the wider work of the church.