Mission Statement
The mission of Bethel Neighborhood Center is to offer a renewed sense of hope, through the sharing of material, educational, social, and spiritual resources.
History
Bethel Neighborhood Center was founded in 1911 by the Women's American Baptist Home Mission Society. Nathana Lore Clyde was the Center's first Director and Superintendent. Located in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, the Center offered assistance to the poverty filled neighborhood. Bethel offered a daycare, medical services, sewing and cooking classes, and Americanization classes. Bethel also supported their spiritual lives by offering bible studies, a Sunday school and church services.
Following the movement of the people, Bethel moved out of the West Bottoms to a building on Simpson Avenue and then a few months later to 14 South 7th Street in Kansas City, Kansas. This location remains our current location and our current building has been serving us since the 60's.
To learn more please visit our history page.
Affliations
Bethel Neighborhood Center is a registered 501(C)(3) organization and is supported by private donations, local churches, for profit and non-profit organizations. The following organizations are the two most significant financial supporters of BNC.
American Baptist Churches USA
Bethel was founded by the Women's American Baptist Home Mission Society
United Way
Since the early 1920s, Bethel has been recognized as a United Way agency