Why is the theology of the site influenced by the Anglican tradition?
A good and fair question! For much of my journey of faith, whenever people asked me what denomination I was I felt quite uncomfortable. Surely, all this is important is that you are first and foremost a Christian? As time has passed, I began to feel a deep sense of 'connectedness' with much of the Anglican tradition and theology and a deep draw into ministry within this denomination. God IS a God of surprises, and perhaps no-one has been more surprised than me that I should find myself at this point. I do know that NONE of my experiences outside of this tradition are wasted or invalid, and I also know that God is and will continue to make use of those experiences. But the studies on this site are accessible by all and not aimed at a particular group or denomination.
Can people become contributors to Bethany Hope?
We would be prepared to let other people make contributions to the material available on Bethany Hope, but we would retain full editorial control with respect to final content. Any potential contributors must acknowledge and agree with our doctrinal statement.
What are your plans to develop the site?
Improvements to the site are almost continuous. We hope you like these improvements, but recognise there is much more to do! We have also significantly increased the number of studies that are available for download - we try and strike a balance between studies that can be downloaded immediately, new studies that are added periodically and updating of existing studies. There are also only so many hours in the day!
Why don't you charge for the Bible studies you supply?
At Bethany Hope, part of our vision is to encourage people to study God's Word and grow closer to God and each other (more information about our Vision is on the Web Page). What is important to us is that people who find them helpful have an opportunity to use study aids such as ours, and we believe that these should be available for no charge. If we extend our service to include mailing out copies, we may have to introduce a nominal charge to cover our costs only. If you would like to make a contribution for having used our service, please make a donation to World Vision, GBSS or Men Women and God; links to these charitable organisations are on the Web Page under Links. We also have a recommended reading list - any commission we make from book purchases is given to charity.
Besides the studies that are available for download, what other service do you offer?
We recognise that you may not find the particular study you are interested in. If you are blessed by these studies and would like to see more, we do offer a Bible Study request service. If you submit details of the study you would like to see, we will prepare it for you, again for no charge. Over the years we have also entered into dialogue with our brothers and sisters in Christ and covered a wide range of issues such as prayer needs, sharing testimonies, advice on study etc.
