Bethany Opoku-Debrah

Aletheia Church, Cambridge, MA

“I choose ministry because people are what matters.”

When Bethany arrived at Highlands College in 2013, she didn’t know how her gifts fit within the church, and she certainly didn’t realize using them would end up being her life’s work and profession. Through the events practicum (now degree program), Highlands College brought to the surface the giftings and passions that God had placed within her. Continue reading to hear from Bethany how she intentionally creates and plans events and services at Aletheia Church in Cambridge, MA, for people to experience God, making guests feel thought of, comfortable, and able to receive the Word of God.

I am originally from New England and knew I wanted to be back in that part of the country, but I never imagined it would be my first spot post-grad. After graduating from Highlands College, I was placed at a church outside of Boston, which opened the door for where God has me now. When I joined Aletheia as a church member, one of my pastors knew of my background in ministry and asked whether I would consider stepping back into it. A year later, God opened a door for me to step into a staff role that was tailored to my gifts and the church’s needs.

Bethany serving with the Guest Services Team at Aletheia’s annual Fall Kickoff, where they focus on getting new people connected to groups and community.

My role at Aletheia has continued to grow and shift over the years as I gained experience and more leadership. As Director of Gatherings, I now oversee our Sunday Services, our Guest Services Team, make decisions as part of senior leadership, and help to lead and consult with all of our departments for events across church life.

Our church is truly a reflection of the kingdom of heaven, with dozens of different ethnicities and countries represented each Sunday.

We are in a highly influential part of the country, with four campuses across the Greater Boston area, and our Aletheia campus between Harvard and MIT. Boston and Cambridge are very transient cities with many college students coming and going through our church.

My husband and I have had the opportunity to lead a small group together for the past four years, helping create lasting and impactful relationships with these students, spurring young people towards God, and shaping how they decide to live their lives as they graduate and move to other parts of the country and world. Being able to show true biblical hospitality has been foundational to many of them, and hearing their stories now, after they have been sent out, has been encouraging and has helped fuel our continued service in these ways.

I choose ministry because people are what matters.

Relationships have always been central to my life, and seeing people grow and develop their relationship with God will always be the most fulfilling.

Bethany, her husband Justice, and daughters Leona (3) and Phoebe (1).

While being in ministry, I have become a wife and a mother. My husband and I have had the opportunity to mentor and serve young women and young mothers in our church.

Choosing to live and serve faithfully in full-time ministry, while being a wife and mother, is not a simple or easy task. But I want to be able to confidently stand before the Lord one day and say that I did my best with what He gave me in each season of my life. I want to steward well what is in my hands now.

A simple principle that has had a deep and lasting impact on me and how I serve the church and live my life is excellence, which is ’doing the best with what you have.’ It’s one of those things that you truly have to see and experience to understand the importance of, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be immersed in that while at Highlands College.

Highlands College was an incredible training ground and launching pad to prepare me for what I am doing right now, specifically through the teaching I received about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—I couldn’t do what I am doing today without the fellowship and communication with Him that gives me the grace to do the work He has set before me.

This month, our church is celebrating 15 years, and while God’s hand has always been evident, over the last 6 years, we have seen rapid growth uncommon in this part of the country. We are seeing a real hunger for God and for rich and authentic community.

• In 2022, we moved into a new building to help support growth.
• In 2024, we launched two new campuses, and the original campus still grew by 10%.
• In 2025, at my campus, we welcomed 1,762 people on Easter Sunday, and close to 10% wanted to join a small group.

My encouragement to those graduating and stepping into ministry is that things will be different, and different is not bad! Don’t fall into the temptation of comparing your new chapter to your old one. Remember that every church is part of the bride of Christ, and choose to think, act, and speak in ways that are honoring and build up. (Ephesians 4:29.)

To my fellow alums, keep your focus narrow. Don’t spend time looking to the right or to the left and comparing yourself to what others around you are doing, and how their path might look different from yours. Keep yourself rooted in a godly community and be brave enough to choose vulnerability within it. You can’t serve or make an impact in others’ lives if you’re not willing to allow people to serve and impact you as well.”

As Bethany and Aletheia Church continue to see harvest in Cambridge, MA, and the Greater Boston area, please pray for:

• God to continue to provide leaders to receive the harvest and shepherd their people well.
• A building campaign for the first piece of property Aletheia will own in their city.
• God to supernaturally provide a house for Bethany’s family to own, where they can continue to practice hospitality in real and tangible ways within their community.