For 75 years, the congregation at Bethel Church in Owatonna has made it their mission to help people find Jesus. Sometimes, that means showing the religious figure and his message through the acts and service of everyday people, and this weekend the church is hoping to accomplish exactly that.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, Bethel Church will be bringing back the Great Giveaway — a popular event from 2010 that brought 1,000 people to the church in a garage sale style setting where everything is free. All items have been donated by the church body, and anyone and everyone is invited to come and shop.
“We truly just want to bless our community,” said Julie Rethemeier, one of 10 individuals who comprise the volunteer team leading the effort. Co-chairs Jolene Kunkel and Jane Allard have been heading up the group, meeting since January, but Rethemeier and Pastor Micheal Simmerman say it’s truly been a church-wide effort.
In fact, after one day of drop off over the weekend, the church’s empty gymnasium was immediately filled with books, toys, clothes, home decor, kitchen essentials, Christmas items, bicycles and more, with larger furniture pieces spilling into the narthex. There were still four more days left for the congregation, as well as other community members who caught wind of the event and wanted to support the efforts, to drop off donations.
Because of both resource and capacity limitations, Rethemeier said some of the larger items that were donated for the giveaway did come with a “take back” agreement — if they don’t go during the event, the donors agree to come back for them.
With an average of 400 people worshiping inside Bethel Church every Sunday, it is no surprise the congregation has been able to fill the gym with quality donated items on its own. Simmerman said he isn’t surprised, because the members across all demographics seem committed to helping all people understand God’s message.
“God is so relevant to everyday lift stuff, not just the churchy stuff that happens here on Sundays,” Simmerman said. “How do we live that out every day?”
That is the goal of the Great Giveaway. Aside from the large free garage sale happening inside the church, there will be food, live music and supervised kids activities out on the lawn. Additionally, there will be a “tent of encouragement” for people to visit, offering everything from prayers to free bibles.
“Maybe someone wants encouragement, or a warm smile,” Rethemeier said. “We hope they check the tent out.”
Roughly 100 volunteers will be on site to help carry items for people shopping, including out to their vehicles. Beyond wanting to bless the community with free items and a sense of togetherness, Simmerman said it is also about living out God’s own generous and loving message.
“It is in our core conviction that people matter to God, but not everyone is aware of that. There are a number of ways we can live out the Lord’s work and show someone that love who doesn’t know it,” Simmerman said. “We want people to walk away and think ‘God sees me.’”
Converting people to Christianity is far from the mission of the event, though, and Simmerman said it would be just as powerful and profound if those who come out to the church on Saturday walk away thinking “people see me.”
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