Kyle Rasmussen conducts a tour of Bethel Church in downtown Centralia on Monday morning.
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
When The Chronicle named my pastor, Kyle Rasmussen, as its Person of the Year, the article cited his stewardship of our church’s many community service and outreach projects.
While those are certainly noteworthy, what I think of as a longtime attendee at Bethel Church is Rasmussen as servant-leader. He’s willing to stand in front to rally us, but he’s most eager to give glory to God and thanks to the many volunteers and other leaders who show up and work hard to make these projects succeed.
As often as I see him preaching, I also see him playing piano in the background or the side of the stage, watching to see how he can support and add harmony to the songs of others.
I talked with him about the “Person of the Year” recognition, and he repeated that he was uneasy to receive the attention. He was anxious to push credit upward to God and outward to the volunteers and church members whose selflessness, he said, leave him humbled and grateful every day.
He pointed to the story of the apostle Paul, who bragged about the generosity of the Macedonian church. They gave, not out of abundance, but out of their lack and need. That’s how Rasmussen sees the people of Bethel who are serving the community.
“How could I take any credit when I want to boast about the people who have so little and give so much for the Kingdom, for the gospel, for the sake of Jesus?” he told me.
Rasmussen, 56, has been singing and preaching for God literally since he was a baby.
His family spent years as traveling Christian evangelists when he was a child, presenting Bible-themed puppet shows and musical acts at churches, camps and other venues.
The family had their own theme song they would sing to introduce themselves: “We’re traveling all across the country and we bring good news to you / We are the Rasmussen family and we work for Jesus, too.”
Rasmussen remembers his first time singing a solo on stage — he was 2 years old, and the solo was called “Little Joe’s Prayer.”
His parents steeped the family in music and service, even as they lived with very few material resources, owning nothing but what they carried in the 33-foot trailer in which they traveled across western Canada and the northwestern United States.
That childhood, and the joyful sacrifice of his parents, continues to shape Rasmussen today.
“It was such a powerful upbringing,” he said. “We didn’t have much. We were really poor, yet they gave us a life of what it looked like to be engaged in giving the gospel away. My parents sacrificed every day of their life for the sake of the gospel.”
Rasmussen has been lead pastor at Bethel for 14 years, but being the top pastor was never in his plans. He was a music and worship leader at a church in Texas when former Bethel lead pastor Don Detrick called him. Detrick, who was planning to leave the church for a job at the regional level of the Assemblies of God denomination, had a dream that Rasmussen would take over the top job.
Although Rasmussen’s wife, Joanne, was from Chehalis, Rasmussen himself had no ties to the area — although he does have one unusual connection.
In 1964, when he was just a young child, he and his family spent a week in Napavine at what they called a “Family Crusade.” It happened to be during that year’s mammoth earthquake, based in Anchorage, which shook the Pacific Northwest.
During that time, Rasmussen’s mother, Marilyn, gave birth at the hospital then in Chehalis to Rasmussen’s younger brother Phillip. She was back playing piano at the church the next day.
The dedication of his parents continues to shape the spirit he brings to Bethel Church and our community.
“It was a great model for me as a kid to observe what Jesus meant when he says life is better when you give it away,” Rasmussen said. “I love what Jesus says: When you give your life away, you gain your life. The way to go up is to go down, to serve. That was modeled to me so well. I’m so grateful for it.”
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Brian Mittge is a (fairly) regular attendee of Bethel Church in Chehalis, and writes this column from that perspective. Drop him a line at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
