A 150-Year Witness on 35th Avenue Place
Bethany Baptist Church has gathered on 35th Avenue Place in Moline, Illinois, for a century and a half. What began in 1875 has grown into a multi-generational church family whose weekly rhythms - Sunday school, worship, kids and youth ministry, recovery groups, and a monthly food pantry - shape the week for hundreds of people across the Quad Cities.
The church sits in a quiet residential stretch of east Moline, where the lower-level gym hosts Wednesday night youth group and the building fills twice on Sunday mornings. Tim Clever serves as senior pastor, leading a staff that includes a worship director and a wide circle of volunteer ministry leaders. A council of four elders - Isaac Carr, Johnathan Condit, Charles Haben, and Tim Kammler - shepherds the congregation alongside the pastoral team.
Sundays at Bethany
Sunday School for all ages meets at 9:00 AM. Twenty minutes before worship, at 10:00 AM, a brief prayer gathering in the sanctuary prepares hearts for the service. The main worship service begins at 10:30 AM and is also livestreamed each week on Facebook and YouTube, so anyone who cannot attend in person can still join from home. Visitors are invited to come as they are.
Online forms make it easy to take the first step. A Connect form helps a newcomer get plugged in. A Next Steps form is set up for those considering baptism, joining a group, volunteering, or learning more about Jesus. A Prayer Request form carries personal needs to the staff and prayer team with care and confidentiality.
Bethany Kids, BethanYouth, and Metanoia
Bethany Kids welcomes children from birth through fifth grade at both 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM on Sundays. Teresa Pender leads the team. The ministry runs from nursery care through big-kid Bible adventures, aiming to make church a place where children feel loved and grow in faith alongside their church family.
BethanYouth is for students in sixth through twelfth grade. The youth meet on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:00 PM during the school year in the church gym, where the night is built around games, a Bible message, food, and time together. Students enter through the east driveway at the big garage door on the lower level. The youth pastor position is currently open, with the search underway.
For college-aged young adults and young professionals, the Metanoia group - the name means "a change of mind" - meets on Sunday evenings at 6:30 PM. It is a weekly hangout where, in the leaders' words, "faith gets real, friendships grow deep, and purpose comes into focus." Lyra Linblad and Sam Linblad lead the ministry, with its own Instagram page to keep the community connected.
Walking Through Hard Seasons
Several groups at Bethany exist to walk with people through life's hardest places. Celebrate Recovery meets on Saturday evenings from 4:30 to 6:15 PM and offers a Christ-centered path for anyone dealing with a hurt, habit, or hang-up. Bryan Burney leads this ministry.
Four Corners: Hope for Hurting Parents meets on the second Sunday of each month from 5:30 to 7:00 PM. It is a space for parents of teens or adult children who feel overwhelmed, offering prayer, comfort, and the reminder that they are not alone. Nancy Devinney and Janelle Larson lead this group.
Widow's Might is a newer ministry that connects volunteers to widows in the church family with practical needs - a meal, a ride, or simply company. Marian Erickson coordinates the team, and volunteers can sign up according to their own strengths.
Reaching Out: Food Pantry and Missions
Bethany's food pantry opens on the fourth Wednesday of each month from 10:00 AM to noon, providing free groceries to neighbors in the community. Sharon Collins leads the volunteer team.
The Missions Team, led by Jeff Condit, supports missionaries through prayer, care, and ongoing connection, helping those who serve far from the Quad Cities feel held by a faithful church family.
Prayer Woven Through the Week
Prayer is woven throughout the church's week. In addition to the brief Sunday morning gathering before worship, the Prayer Team hosts prayer meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month from 7:00 to 7:30 PM. Janelle Larson leads this team, which also fields ongoing prayer requests through the church's online form.
Women, Men, Couples, and Hospitality
Bethany Women gathers across the year for Bible studies, book chats, and coffee-and-connection events, led by Jennifer Clever and Holly Miller. Bethany Men follows a similar pattern with Bible studies and brotherhood-focused gatherings led by David Blomquist. Lily Lee leads a group for young married and engaged couples, and the Kitchen Team, led by Louise Gardner, supports the church with food and hospitality.
What Bethany Believes
Bethany's Affirmation of Faith, drawn from Article III of its constitution, reflects historic Baptist convictions. The church holds that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, with supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. Members affirm belief in one God existing eternally in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and in Jesus Christ as God's only begotten Son, whose virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension, and personal return are central to the faith.
Two ordinances are observed: baptism by immersion of believers in the name of the Triune God, and the Lord's Supper, commemorating Christ's death until His return. Bethany practices congregational autonomy, holding that each church is responsible to God alone in matters of faith and free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority, and believing that local churches can best promote the cause of Christ by cooperating voluntarily with a denominational organization.
The Affirmation of Faith includes specific statements that marriage is the spiritual and physical union of one man and one woman, that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and that the church looks for the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom.
Getting Connected
The church office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, and on Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 4:00 PM. The phone number is 309-764-3041 and the main email is bethany@bethanymoline.com. Giving is handled through the church's online portal, and visitors can fill out a connect card to get plugged in. Past worship services are available to watch at any time on the church's watch page.
The First Impressions Team, led by Mel Hewitt, makes sure newcomers feel welcome from the moment they arrive. The Communications Team, led by Alyssa Condit, keeps the wider community informed. Together, staff, elders, and volunteers carry a shared rhythm: faithful presence in Moline, week after week, for the long haul.