Ministries
Sunday School
Senior Adults
You may retire from work, but you never retire from the work of the Lord. Our ministry gives senior adults a place to continue to grow in their faith and to show the wisdom they have achieved through experience.
Married Adults
This married adult ministry is designed to help strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ while also strengthening the bonds of marriage. You and your spouse will share experiences, learning, and worship that will help you grow spiritually and discover God's will for your family.
Single Adults
The single adult ministry offers a variety of opportunities for worship, Bible study, personal and spiritual growth, recreation, and fellowship.
At the heart of the single adult ministry is the desire to help individuals build a strong, rewarding relationship within the single adult ministry as well as within the church family. It is a place where one can come and find a whole new group of caring friends as well as God's love.
Youth
Young people must be taught the clear commandments of God's Word. The Bible says in II Timothy 2:2, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also."
The purpose of the local church youth ministry is to help equip families with the necessary tools from God's Word to lay the right foundation for the rest of life. It is part of our task to take the place of parents by keeping young people active while separated from home and family. We must work to help entire families serve the Lord together. The essential for the youth minister is to walk with God and work with parents.
Children
Children are a gift from God. They are given to parents, and it is the responsibility of parents to give their children back to God. Giving a child to God involves first the surrender of the parents' will to the will of God.
Preschool
Nothing serves as so precious a reminder of God's blessing to us as the birth of a child. Every newborn baby should have the joy and privilege of being brought into a truly Christian home. It is the responsibility of the local church nursery and preschool ministry to provide all the help possible to parents as they seek to serve the Lord, bring their children to church, and teach their children to know God. With all the attention given to the physical facilities of the nursery and preschool, let us never forget the vital importance of the Christian Family.
Other Ministries
l Soul Winning
l Prison ministry (Adult and Juvenile statewide)
l Home School Co-op
l Nursing Home
l Good News Club
Prison Ministry
Our Burden
The Youth in America today are in a battle like never before. The break down of family, apathy in our churches, and Satan-the adversary, are all major factors contributing to the delinquency of our youth.
We at Lighthouse have a sincere burden to reach out to these troubled young people. It is our heart-felt desire to make a difference in the life of every young person or adult, and to bring them into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The Problem
States have allocated greater portions of their budgets to building and operating prisons, but there has been virtually no allocation for additional offender assessment and interventions. Regardless of the method of release (mandatory release, maximum expiration or parole), offenders return to their communities with the same problems and needs they had when first incarcerated.
Today’s correctional system does little to prepare inmates for their inevitable release. Offenders’ unmet needs include drug and alcohol treatment, mental health care, medical care for long-term illnesses, job training and placement, education, housing, family issues, and criminogenic risk factors include: anti-social attitudes and values, poor problem solving skills, and criminal associations.
While many agencies have a stake in the transition process their priorities, polices and procedures regarding transition often are inconsistent or countervailing. The flow of information among these agencies is impaired by systems or conflicts in priorities. When offenders are released to community supervision, too often there is little continuity between prison programs, activities, re-entry plans and types of supervision and services received.
Statistics of a Growing Corrections System
- In 2004 over 3.5 million Americans are being supervised by correctional system.
- If current trends continue, 1 to 20 Americans will be incarcerated in their lifetime.
- The prison population has more than doubled in the past 10 years.
- There are at least 2.5 million children in this country who have incarcerated parents.
- America spends over $30 billion a year to incarcerate prisoners.
- In 2000, more than 600,000 offenders left prison and returned to their communities nationwide.
- Between 1995 and 2001, the increasing number of violent offenders accounted for 63% of the total growth of the State prison population; 15% of the total growth was attributable to the increasing number of drug offenders.
- In 2004, there were estimated 486 prison inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents – up from 411 at year end 1995.
- Out of the entire prison population, approximately 51% to 53% of inmates were incarcerated for what is classified as a non-violent offense. Over 20% of today’s inmates were sentenced for drug-related crimes, and 30% were for non-violent property or public order crimes.
- At midyear 2004 there were 4,919 black male prison and jail inmates per 100,000 black males in the United States, compared to 1,717 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 Hispanic males, and 717 white male inmates per 100,000 white males.
- As of 2003, the United States prison population is the world’s largest in absolute numbers, according to available statistics.
Make a Disciple
Mentoring Program
(Laying the Foundation with the Local Church)
We see an increasingly greater need for strong church-centered discipling of inmates as we work each year in the Department of Corrections. Incarcerated inmates have a need to tear down the barriers and be discipled, in order to understand how to truly be released from the bondage of their past.
As an answer to these needs, we have found that inmates who are brought into the local church, discipled and mentored in Christ, have a better chance of not returning to prison. We have established the Make a Disciple mentoring program to meet the needs of the incarcerated and to help make them accountable to their area local churches. After they establish relationships with Godly individuals, the released inmates begin to make wise decisions in everyday life.
A shocking 4 out of 5 inmates return to the prison system within three years of being released. The local church needs to take their God-given authority and use it for the edification and restoration of the inmates and their families.
Testimonials
- “I really love your preaching thank you for coming here. You have touched me with your preaching. Thanks for that, everything you talk about touches me deeply!”—Shawn (JacksonCorrectional)
-“I appreciated you guys coming around and helping me when I was low or upset, thank you.”—Alex (PontiacCorrectional)
- “… [We] are keeping the faith by praying and reading the bible every day ….. Thanks.” – Lance (StatesvilleCorrectional)
- “…you truly were a blessing to me sent from God. I thank God that I was given the opportunity to meet you. …. I have grown tremendously in the last two years…. – Richard (Stephenson County Jail)
- “I really appreciate on how you had time to see my husband Graig… your family are in my prayers.” – Lora (Inmate Family Member)
- “Kevin has the ability to reach these kids not only in a spiritual way, but also as a friend. At times, this program can get very rough for these young men and Kevin has always been able to give them peace of mind and to help them through their difficult times.” – Lt. Mark Groves, YouthLeadershipTrainingCenter
- “Evangelist Lawver has been helping the incarcerated youth in our program turn their lives around by his faithfulness in providing a Bible study every week.” – Orman House (YLTC Chapel Coordinator)
- “I feel we have been blessed to have the volunteer services of Calvary's Justice Ministry… Through working with him, I have found him to be faithful, consistent and committed in ministering to the young men at our correctional facility… Evangelist Lawver’s “Make a Disciple Program” has been successful in helping Lincoln Hills place young men into churches when they are released—Chaplain Mitch Ungerer (Lincoln Hills)
Did You Know?
- Every 30 minutes a teen attempts suicide
- Every 15 minutes a teen commits suicide
- 7 million teens are drug and alcohol dependent
- 1 in 4 children are growing up without a father. (about 15 million)
-1 in 7 boys are sexually abused by age 5.
- 2 children under age of 5 are murdered each day.
- 3,000 teens a day drop out of school.
- TheUnited States incarcerates more children than any other country.
Time is Running Out!
American Teenagers Every…
· 8 seconds- drop out of school
· 15 seconds- run away from home
· 47 seconds- are abused in the home
· 3 minutes- lose their virginity
· 5 minutes – has a baby