“Next year, in 2027, Bethel will celebrate its 80th year of service. Because the school has been around for this long, we can see the impact being a Bethel grad has across a whole lifetime.
“A long-time member of the Missionary Church, Miriam (Swank) Wertz ’83 and her husband Denny Wertz ’78, grew up attending Ludlow Falls Camp and hearing about Bethel. Though they had met before, they began their dating relationship while attending Bethel in the 1970’s. Since then they have remained Mishawaka residents, continued serving in the church, and they regularly get together with friends they met at Bethel – 43 years after graduation.
One group, self-titled “the Legacy Group”, meets specifically to pray for their families and children. Several of the children in this group also attended Bethel, including Miriam’s own sons and daughters-in-law. While Miriam herself had a great experience at Bethel, watching her children grow and flourish here was a special blessing.
The Wertz’s also meet regularly with their Life Group, made up of friends from Bethel and their long-time home church, St. Mark Missionary. This group has been meeting for decades, sharing Bible studies, prayers, and even vacations and holidays.
“When people share life with you, they become family.” They have prayed for my children and with me through all kinds of ups and downs,” Miriam says. “They are my Bethel family.”
She believes that her Bethel experience gave her a well-developed Christian faith, a Christ-focused education, and a lifelong community – all of which impacted not only her, but her marriage, her children, and now her grandchildren.
Here at Bethel, we see stories of lifelong impact all the time, and we believe that Bethel is a great place for students to experience real impact and change for Christ!