Staff
Rebecca Kauffman
Pastor
I was raised as the second of five children on a small farm in northern Alberta, Canada. Family life included working together on the farm, reading, playing games, holiday time with cousins, and seeing parents role-model Christian faith and practices. Attending Mennonite Youth Convention and Mennonite World Conference events were important faith builders for me during my teen years. I received Jesus as my Lord and was baptized into the church at age 17.
During college at Eastern Mennonite University (Harrisonburg, VA), I discovered an interest in justice and peace-building. That led to voluntary service assignments in New York City with the Mennonite Central Committee’s United Nations Liaison Office, and Pax Christi Metro New York, a Catholic peace and justice organization. After moving back to Alberta, I had a variety of rewarding work opportunities, including being an aide to special needs children, operating machinery as a farm-hand, and as a program assistant at Welcome Home Community in Edmonton. Following a sense of adventure, I moved to Tiskilwa, IL and served at Menno Haven Camp & Retreat Center for six years as Administrative Assistant.
Participating in congregational life and worship has always been important to me, and I was blessed by the encouragement for ministry I received from others. That nudging, as well as a sense of spiritual restlessness, led me to study at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary where I could test the call to pastoral ministry. Following graduation in 2012 (Master of Divinity), I served as a pastor at Paoli Mennonite Fellowship, in southern Indiana, for six years. Beginning in January 2019, I was pleased to accept the call to serve at Bethel.
One verse that has been meaningful to me for many years is Luke 1:45, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
Outside of ministry, I enjoy singing, walking, baking, hiking and traveling with my husband Andrew, and keeping in touch with family and friends.
Twila King Wilkins
Office Assistant
I am currently working in the office a few hours a week and minimal time from home. I grew up in the West Liberty area and have deep family roots in this community. I retired in 2017 after serving as the executive assistant to the president at Eastern Mennonite University for nearly 20 years and moved back to this area in 2022 when I married a former West Liberty-Salem classmate, Randy Wilkins. Together we have a wonderful blended family of seven children and thirteen grandchildren.
A verse that continues to inform my life and work is Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you are working for the Lord, not for others.”
I am delighted for the opportunity to provide office assistance for the Bethel congregation.