What We Believe

Lighthouse exists to:

Love people as they are
Follow Jesus as we are
Share Jesus where we are

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.

The Father
He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with providential care over the universe and the flow of human history goes according to His purposes and plan.

The Son (Jesus)
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and became man at His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He bodily arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

The Holy Spirit
He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth, exalts Christ, convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment, cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.

Man is made in the image of God and is the crowning work of His creation. Man was created to have fellowship with God, but became separated in that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, man cannot attain a right relationship with God through his own effort. Only the grace of God, manifested in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ can reconcile sinful people to God.

The blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the only way of salvation through the forgiveness of sin. Salvation comes when we place our faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for our sin. Salvation is a gift from God and it cannot be earned through our own efforts. Because salvation and grace begin and end with God, our salvation is eternally secure. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, and not by the self-effort of the Christian.

The Bible or Scriptures were written by men divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. In the scriptures, God completely reveals Himself to man. The Bible is perfect and true, without any error. It reveals the principles by which God judges us and is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tested. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

It is the duty of every born again follower of Jesus Christ and of every church to endeavor to make disciples of all men everywhere. It is the command of Christ for every believer to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ. (John 3:3; Matthew 28:19-20)

Baptism by Immersion
We believe that scriptural baptism must be: (1) by being completely immersed under the water and (2) after salvation. Jesus was immersed and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. These two facts set the standard for baptism today. Baptism has no saving power but is the first act of obedience symbolizing (1) the believer’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, (2) the believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ, and (3) the Christian’s belief that he will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect him from the dead. (Matthew 3:13-17; Acts 2:38))

The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice represents His blood. (Luke 22:7-30; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29)

We believe in giving the tithe – ten percent of our gross income – as the biblical standard of giving. The tithe is to be given as an undesignated offering to the “storehouse” ministry of a local church. According to the Scriptures, we are to give cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth. (Malachi 3:10; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by their common faith and fellowship with Jesus. A local church is to observe the two ordinances: (1) baptism and (2) the Lord’s Supper. The church should exercise their God-given gifts and extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The church is an autonomous body serving under the Lordship of Christ. All members are equally responsible as they serve with the scriptural officers of the church, the pastors and deacons. (Acts 2:46-47; 1 Corinthians 12:4-12; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Timothy 3:2-13)

To live in harmony with other believers is clearly the teaching of the New Testament. It is the responsibility of each believer to endeavor to live in fellowship with each member of the congregation. It is further the responsibility of each member to bring all gossiping and backbiting to an end. (Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 2:1-11)