A Struggling Church In the mid-1980's, Mariners Church was struggling. In fact, attendance had settled at a record low and offerings were inadequate to meet the budget. The leadership of the church faced two options: swim or cut bait. The easiest answer was to cut bait, shut the doors, and get out of the church business before the whole thing collapsed. The leadership chose to take the more difficult path; they chose to strike out into new waters. They approached a young pastor by the name of Kenton Beshore. Kenton knew that things didn't look good and he had been chosen to take the helm of a sinking ship. He proposed an unusual deal to the elders of the church. "I'll be your pastor," he told them, "but, for the entire first year of my ministry, I will not preach about money. At the end of the year, if we have not met budget, it will be up to you to make up the difference. I will not finish the first year of my ministry in the red." In a move that showed their own faith in the direction the church was moving, the elders agreed to Kenton's proposition. The first year passed. People were more satisfied with the direction of the church, attendance was improving. However, when the final figures were tallied, the church was still several thousand dollars behind budget. The elders shut themselves into a room together. Only those who were there at the time know exactly what happened in that room, but when they came out, budget had been made and the church was in the black. No longer was it operating from a deficit; it was time to move forward. Move forward they did, and at the end of the next year budget was met and then exceeded by $10,000. Suddenly, church leadership faced another problem: What should be done with that money? Several ideas were tossed around. Some suggested returning to the elders the money they had given to make the church salient the year before. Others thought it would be prudent to put that money in the bank where it would provide security should the church face another financial crisis. But, a wilder, more dangerous, more faith-filled idea grasped the imagination of church leaders: Give the money away. God had  already provided all that Mariners Church needed for the year. Everything that was left over should be given to those who needed it more. God had been working in the hearts of several key church leaders at that time. There was a collective feeling among them that the church needed to do more to help the poor. These people were gathered and given one simple mission, to seek God's guidance in how to give $10,000 away.

Focus on Study and Prayer The birth of Lighthouse Ministries was a somewhat inauspicious affair. The ministry began with a group of people who had $10,000 to spend but did nothing for an entire year. Or, it seemed like nothing. There were no programs. No big bang budgets. No outreach opportunities. Neither mission statement nor organizational structure was in place. For the whole first year of what was to become Lighthouse Ministries, a small team of individuals with a heart for the poor and in need immersed itself in the study of God's Word. Although every individual in the group personally felt the need to reach the poor, they were nevertheless astonished to find out how much God had to say on the subject of serving those in need. References to helping people in need were found throughout both the Old Testament and the New. The team was startled to see how directly, and how strongly, God spoke about how He wanted the poor treated and what He expected out of the church in fulfilling their needs. The leadership team felt a burden to heed God's direction and accept the responsibility He had laid on their hearts to care for people in need. The burden was compelling, both frightening and exciting. God was moving among His people. A year after the team had been commissioned it was time to take action.   Foundational Goals The early goals of the ministry (then called "Local Outreach") were simple. One of the first vision statements read: "The vision...is to help every poor and needy person in Orange County. We want to bring God's kingdom to these people by sharing through word and deed the message of the Gospel... We need to step up to the challenge." How did the leadership team plan to step up to the challenge? Here are their words: "The purpose/goal of Local Outreach is threefold: First, we teach our members what the Bible has to say about serving those in need. Second, we encourage them to become personally involved. And, finally, we provide opportunities to serve."     Having the desire to reach every poor and needy person in a community as large as Orange County, California, and actually accomplishing that desire are two very different things, but that didn't hamper the enthusiasm of the foundational team! In 1985, they encapsulated their vision into a presentation that was made to the then 400-member church body, hoping for a few helping hands and a little seed money. The response of the congregation was overwhelming! Nearly 100 people expressed a desire to be involved, and a special offering of approximately $12,000 was collected (that's $12,000 over and above regular tithes and offerings!).   First Partnerships In a move that may seem surprising considering the entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit of the leadership team, their initial decision was to launch Lighthouse by joining in partnership ministries that were already succeeding within the community. One ministry provided assistance to homeless men, women and children. Two aimed at     reaching out to women in crisis pregnancies, one through shelter and the other through medical care. The fourth ministry was working within the inner city of Los Angeles, 30 minutes up the freeway. In the early years, much of the support Mariners was able to offer these ministries were monetary support. Some ministries were better than others at utilizing volunteers, and certainly, there were some volunteers wholly dedicated to and fully utilized by the partner ministries. But, in truth, the major function of Mariners in some of the partner ministries was to provide financial support. The leadership team was convinced that God wanted Mariners to be a serving church. The call they had felt in studying God's Word was not just for a few. It was for every single person of the church. It was an essential part of the Christian faith an answering God's call was non-negotiable. They recognized that giving money to worthy causes was a good thing to do, but it wasn't what the team had envisioned in terms of providing a model for faithful service. When those who had volunteered arrived at the partnering ministries, they often found themselves serving in administrative assistance capacities. Copying and filing are much-needed tasks in many organizations, but they do not capture people's hearts. Life change does not often occur in a file cabinet. The Lighthouse leadership team felt a strong calling to provide volunteers with opportunities to engage in life-changing relationships with people in need. This type of direct involvement was not always compatible with the organizational structure of the partner ministries. After a long struggle to reconcile the vision of what Lighthouse could be with the reality of the kinds of service opportunities available in some partner organizations, it became apparent that Lighthouse needed to strike out in a new direction. But how? The event that changed the trajectory of Lighthouse came in the form of a summer camp. One of the leaders from the original study team was struck by the idea of providing camp for kids who had been abused and neglected. A group called Royal Family Kids' Camps had been successfully running camps utilizing many volunteers. Why couldn't there be a camp run entirely by the people of Mariners Church? The volunteer leader had a vision and ran with it. Surprisingly, the idea of spending a few days at camp was an excellent fit for the overscheduled business people of the church. More people signed up to work that camp than had been engaged in service the entire previous year. Better yet, they came back from camp changed. As they stood before the church body with shining faces and tender hearts the following weekend and told their stories, it was obvious to all in attendance that God was doing something big. More people wanted to get on board. This was the turning point Lighthouse was waiting for. The leadership team realize that it was actually possible to "own" a ministry. The idea of running an outreach ministry to the poor and in need solely through Lighthouse was a little scary, but the potential benefits were hugely attractive: Lighthouse would be able to engage large numbers of people in service; Services provided could change quickly when needs changed; Dollars given to the ministry could be leveraged by maximizing volunteer time. The list went on and on, far outweighing the fear of failure, risk, and the unknown. Once again, the leadership team decided to move forward into uncharted waters.   First Lighthouse Ministry The first official ministry of Lighthouse didn't come about as the result of any fancy trend data analysis or study of community issues. In truth, it was a matter of seeing where God was already working and joining Him there. Dedicated volunteers had begun a Homework Club in an inner-city area near the church. Volunteers were willingly going into the apartments of poor families and tutoring their children once a week. The children were hungry for the positive relationships they were building with their tutors. More and more kids began asking to join the Homework Club. Eventually, a carpool program was set up to bring the kids to the church where there was a bigger area available to work. Kids would line up after school to wait for their rides. Soon they started coming a half-hour early. Then it was an hour early. Unfortunately, there were times when there just weren't enough drivers and some kids got left behind. This provoked the volunteers to look into opening a facility right on the street where the kids were living, in the middle of the poverty, the rats and cockroaches, the warring gangs. It was a pretty radical idea considering the complete cultural dissonance between the inner-city and the upscale neighborhoods many of the church members, the potential volunteers, called home. The vision was to create a place where the doors could be open all week long so the kids could receive the tutoring they badly needed and build the relationships they so desired. Of course, this was the program that eventually became the Lighthouse Community Center in Santa Ana. The need was there, a volunteer base was already working there, and all Lighthouse needed to do was come alongside the ministry and encourage it to grow.   Lighthouse Today The mission, vision and values of Lighthouse Ministries today are a direct outgrowth of the groundwork that was laid in the very beginning. In our very human way, we still seek always to listen to God's voice first. We strive to continually bring before our church body all that God has to say about the poor and in need. People are regularly encouraged to be personally involved and they are given a variety of opportunities to serve. Our goal continues to be to serve people who are poor and in need in our community so that all may experience the transforming power of Christ's love, regardless of their wealth or status. One lesson that God has made abundantly clear is that ministry to people who are poor and in need begins with the development of the church body. That said, developing the hearts of the people of Mariners Church is a primary focus of Lighthouse. At first glance, this may seem contradictory to the goal of reaching people who are in need, but it is actually core to achieving that purpose. As the hearts of God's people are captured for those who are poor and in need, there is a direct impact on the culture of our church. Mariners is a serving church. We identify ourselves as servants and we are identified by our community as a service-oriented body. As hearts are captured for people in need, feeling turns to action. As people volunteer, they bring back to our church body an excitement for service. Some grow into leaders and encourage others to volunteer. This cycle of service contributing to life-change contributing to church culture contributing to service is what allows Lighthouse to continue to grow and develop. Yes, Lighthouse is our vehicle for reaching out to our community. But, the bottom line is, God has taught us, and continues to teach us, that we need the poor and in need more than they need us. Serving those who are in need is absolutely critical to the spiritual health of our people and our church. This culture of service and volunteer development has another direct benefit to our goal of reaching those who are poor and in need for Christ. Being a serving church gives us credibility with those we serve and with those who observe our body - people simply know that service is the job of the church. When our actions match our words, people from all walks of life are more open to hear the message of hope that is found in Christ.