Mission
Lighthouse Community Church exists for God’s glory and for the joy of all people.
Vision
Our vision is to maximize the glory of God and our joy in him. We hold a traditional Protestant belief — that the chief end of humanity is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. (1 Corinthians 10:31; John 15:11; Ephesians 2:6-7)
Core Values
Our mission and vision are expressed with core values which can be derived from the Bible. Our core values include the following:
Biblical teaching
We believe that the Bible is our ultimate standard for everything that we do. We constantly strive for a better knowledge and application of the Bible. As a church, we devote significant resources to understanding the Bible in its original context and to finding cutting-edge applications in it for our everyday lives. (Matthew 7:24; James 1:25; Psalm 1:1-2)
The pursuit of joy
We believe that the pursuit of lasting, eternal joy is central and essential to godly living. (Hebrews 11:6)
In the language of the Bible, joy is synonymous with happiness. We believe that living God’s way leads to the greatest long-term happiness and the greatest long-term gain. (Deuteronomy 5:29; John 10:10)
By faith, we serve, make sacrifices, and endure discomforts to gain a treasure that lasts forever. Our great treasure is not in material gain, comfort, or worldly status. Rather, our treasure is in heaven — the joy of God, the praise of God, the kingdom of God, and friendship with people who will share heaven with us.
(John 15:11; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Luke 12:32; Luke 16:9)
We believe the wisest Christians are ambitious about pursuing joy.
(Philippians 3:14-15; Matthew 6:19-20)
Community
We believe that strong friendships between Christians are necessary for our spiritual health as individuals and as a community. Christians cannot follow Jesus without relationships because Jesus has given us relational commandments — to love one another, and to make disciples. As a community, we practice hospitality, we serve together, and we build and maintain friendships. (John 13:34-35; John 17:20-23; Matthew 28:18-20; Hebrews 10:25)
Reconciliation
We believe that all Christians are sinners who are forgiven. We do not endorse sin because we believe God hates it and it leads to our eventual grief.
(Romans 1:18; Galatians 6:7-8)
However, if someone sins obviously among us, we emphasize God’s forgiveness, love, and acceptance for the sinner. We seek to restore sinners, and to reduce the damage caused by their actions and their tendencies. Part of the reason we are gentle toward sinners is, we recognize our own inability to observe daily the greatest commandments to love God with all of our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. So, we forgive as we have been forgiven.
(Ephesians 4:32; 1 John 1:8-9; Galatians 6:1; Colossians 3:13)
Mobilization
We believe that every Christian is meant to serve. Our church leaders are meant to equip God’s people for works of service so that each Christian can do their work. At our church, we emphasize participation and personal growth over short-term performance. We try to take care of our volunteers and avoid overburdening them. At the same time, we try to offer some important work to anyone who is willing to serve. We do not want to be a church in which a small number of highly gifted Christians do all of the meaningful work. Rather, we want to be a church in which everyone takes ownership, and grows as they serve. (Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 4:11-13)
Partnership
We believe in local and global partnerships with other churches and other Christians to pursue God’s mission more effectively. We have much to gain from the example and work of other churches. We recognize the value of collaboration and shared resources in the advancement of God’s Kingdom and we also seek to bless other churches. (John 17:20-23; 1 Corinthians 12:12, 12:26)
Youth and children
We believe it is right and wise to invest in our youth and our children. We spend significant resources to give them a high-quality discipleship experience. We also hope to involve them in service at a young age. (Proverbs 22:6; Matthew 19:14; 3 John 1:4)
Evangelism
Baptisms and conversions are a source of great joy for us. We love to see people starting a new life with Jesus as their Lord. We regularly discuss how we can be better at helping people find the truth about Jesus — that as Savior and Lord he is the best thing that has ever happened to us, even if following him costs us all that we have. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 20:24)