Bethlehem Baptist Mobile App Download the Bethlehem Baptist Church Mobile App Available for iOS and Android

Staff/Leadership

Joey Bures

Deacon; Ministry Assistant for Hispanic Ministries

Deacon Candidate Joey Bures

  1. Share your testimony. How did God draw you to faith in Christ? 
    I grew up in a Methodist church-going family in Winona, Minnesota. We went to church, but there weren't many people who loved God and his word there. I thought I was normal, doing good when I could, but not thinking about my sin, about a Holy Judge who was going to judge me, or about God wanting me to know him. Yet, I knew I had a great need to be saved from myself, even by 3rd grade. In 7th grade, I started attending a youth group at anAssembly of God church. There, Pastor Brian Weaver asked me if I wanted to make Jesus my Lord and Savior. At this point in life, I felt I had nothing to lose, so I said yes. I then came to find out that Christ’s lordship meant I needed to repent and follow his ways. I hated reading, but as I started to read the Bible, I really started to love the Bible. It opened my eyes to my Lord. I asked that his Holy Spirit would come to me to dwell in me, and he began to cause me to repent from my sin and follow Jesus—finding his power to defeat sin in my life.

    I bounced between churches in middle school, high school, and college as I got involved in various worship teams and leading in various church groups. The churches and organizations I was a part of included charismatic churches, an Assembly of God church, a house church, Christians in Action, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Campus Crusade (now Cru), Southern Baptists, a Japanese Baptist church, and a charismatic church in the Dominican Republic. After getting married, I took a trip with my wife, Ana, through Central America to see about the possibility of being short-term missionaries. We later moved to Columbia Heights, Minnesota to get involved with the Plymouth Brethren we attended for eight years before coming to Bethlehem in June 2012.

    This world is hard. But God has been faithful and kind toward me. He has given me a wonderful wife and three marvelous kids. He’s allowed me to be a mechanical engineer and serve in the Hispanic Ministry for eight years at Bethlehem. God has shown me how he hates my sin (James 1:5, Psalm 7:3), and he has shown me how he loves me so much. He became my everything. He put his life on the cross for me, and he defeated sin and rose to show his love and power.

    In all of this, God has given me a great love for people to know God. He’s given me a love for his church, the Bride of Christ, to love him and each part of the body. I have learned that God made us in his image, for his glory, and we get to enjoy his goodness. All of this, when done in his Holy Spirit, lifts his Name high in this world.
  2. Why do you want to be a Deacon?
    I want to serve people. I love Latino culture, and my heart is drawn to Hispanic people. God has brought me to Bethlehem, and I want him to get glory in the Latino community through my service. I truly believe we could have an even more thriving Hispanic ministry at Bethlehem. I want to see that.

    A lot of prosperity theology is taught in Latino churches—stealing the glory due to Christ. I believe that Bethlehem could be a great help to many Latino churches in Minneapolis and beyond.
  3. Are you currently serving Bethlehem Baptist in a ministry area?
    Since 2016, I have been leading the Hispanic Ministry at the Downtown Campus. I also lead a small group at my house.