Our Mission: The Bethlehem Foundation exists to gather, invest, and share financial gifts to strengthen the mission and values of Bethlehem Lutheran Church Twin Cities.
The organizations are intentionally separate legal entities.
They are also very intentionally and closely connected, linked by a broad vision and mission.
The Vision of Bethlehem Lutheran Church Twin Cities
Alive Together: A New Creation in Christ
“When we are alive in Christ, there is a new creation. The past is the past, and everything is becoming new! God has done it all! All of this restoration is from God, who has claimed us in Christ, who has made us ministers of reconciliation.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
At Bethlehem, we celebrate and share in Christ’s gift of salvation. Every time we gather we are a new creation in Christ, starting anew every day, and embracing what God is calling us to do in all of the places we call our community. In Christ’s death and resurrection, God has already accomplished everything. This gift of salvation is at work in the world, setting us free to be God’s people and to become who Christ already made us to be. Come join us and see!
Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts.
-Psalm 145:4
The Message
“We’re not keeping this to ourselves, we’re passing it along to the next generation - God’s fame and fortune, the marvelous things God has done.”
The Bethlehem Lutheran Church Foundation was created in 1957 with little more than $1,000 as seed money for the future. Gifts today are added to many previous gifts, thereby connecting generations, supporting ministries, and carry God’s love into the future. That’s Bridge Building.
In 1979, “Bridge Builders” was established as a means to recognize those who have included the Bethlehem Foundation in their will, trust, as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, or who had elected to make a gift of $1,000 or more.
In 2025, the Bethlehem Foundation board members expanded the definition. One who supports the foundation with a gift today, in any amount including memorials and honorariums, is a Bridge Builder.
Additionally, one who works to build bridges to our community, by sponsoring a grant application that aligns with our mission and connects to the community beyond Bethlehem, is also a Bridge Builder. Grant recipients are also Bridge Builders.
Bridge Builders make it possible to prepare the next generation of pastors, pilot new ministries like Dinner Church, build Habitat Housing, and send youth from a remote northern Minnesota community to experience the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, LA.
While financial distributions are called grants, these are more than grants - they represent lives touched, faith deepened, and futures changed. All gifts build spiritual connections across our congregation, community, and the world, rooted in the promises of Christ.