Your Church Name

That describes who God is and who we desire to be – God is a loving God, and we want to reflect His character by being loving people! It also describes what we desire to do – love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.

1. We affirm that there is one God, infinitely perfect and eternally existent in the persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. We affirm the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His Ascension to the right hand of the Father and His personal return in power and glory.
3. We affirm the fullness of the Holy Spirit as the empowerment of the Christian for witness and service. We affirm that the Holy Spirit provides one or more spiritual gifts to all believers, manifesting them as He wills. We affirm that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are operative today.
4. We affirm the Bible to be the Holy Spirit inspired, authoritative Word of God which is eternally reliable.
5. We affirm that repentance from sin and faith toward God (Jesus Christ) results in regeneration by the Holy Spirit (becoming “born-again”).
6. We affirm the one, universal Church, which is the Body of Christ. We affirm Christ as its head. We affirm all who are “born-again” as its members. We affirm the church’s purpose as offering worship to God - fellowship, ministry, and instruction to itself, evangelism and service to the world. We affirm the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
7. We affirm believer's baptism by immersion in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ.
8. We affirm the importance of regular participation in the Lord's Supper (Communion).

The Church at large is comprised of people who have accepted God's free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. True faith will result in a life of obedience to the Lordship of Jesus Christ including a person's repentance and a changed focus from the world to God, confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, identification with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection through baptism, and receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as an indication of their relationship with God. Lighthouse stresses open fellowship with the body of Christ at large and accepts all disciples, believers, and seekers who wish to know more about walking with God. We also stress the importance of identifying with a local assembly of believers. We believe that it is God's plan to see Christ's life developed in us as we walk in relationship with other believers in the local Church.

If the Holy Spirit has led a person to be a part of this assembly, we can mutually expect that each member:

• Has received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

• Is in basic agreement with the church's values, mission, vision, philosophy of ministry and affirmation of faith.

• Will support the congregation's ministry with a commitment to unity and prayer for the congregation.

• Is in submission to the authority God has placed in this Fellowship (pastor/overseers).

• Has completed the Catch the Vision class and signed a confirmation indicating a desire to be a part of this church.

Meaningful participation with us as a family of God's people involves the following important components for your life:

• Growing in relationship with God and His people.

• Experiencing the life and ministry of Christ within a Life Group and through loving, giving and serving.

• Regularly attending the weekend celebration services for meaningful fellowship, teaching of the Word and an uplifting encounter with God.

• Discovering your spiritual gifts and exercising them by serving others in the congregation.

We believe that we were created to worship God and give Him all glory, honor and praise. We express worship not just through our music and singing but with our lives. Praise and worship is simply our right response to the incredible love that God has shown for us in giving us His Son, Jesus Christ. We are devoted to pleasing Him and experiencing His presence through worship, because He inhabits the praises of His people. As we behold His face when we worship in His presence, we are changed. We want to be a people who worship God in spirit and in truth responding with grateful passion to the awesome love and mercy of God.

Devotion and Obedience to the Word of God

We believe that the Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God and the perfect treasure of divine instruction. It is totally true and trustworthy and the supreme standard of all conduct and doctrine. It is the primary way that God speaks to His people, and it is the life-giving source of principles for righteous and successful living. Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.” We must be "doers" of the word and not simply “hearers”. Lighthouse is dedicated to teaching God's Word and helping its members live in accordance with every word that God has spoken.

Devotion to Prayer

We believe that prayer is one of God's primary tools for developing our relationship with Him, releasing the blessings He desires to give us and allowing us to partner with Him in bringing His Kingdom to bear on this earth. We are to seek the Lord earnestly in prayer individually and corporately working with God in the areas of daily influence that God has entrusted to us.

The Kingdom of God

We believe that from the beginning God's plan has been that His Kingdom would be manifest on earth as it is in heaven. We are instructed to pray that His Kingdom would come on earth and told to seek first His Kingdom. Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom, demonstrated the life of the Kingdom, then instructed His disciples to do the same. We believe that this also is His instruction for us today.

The Kingdom of God is the rule and reign of our Sovereign King Jesus. Jesus rules by love and fellowship, inviting His subjects to know Him and to become joint heirs and co-laborers with Him in the establishment of His Kingdom. He is not looking for slaves, but sons and daughters born of the Spirit, full of the Spirit and character, led by the Spirit to do His will, and empowered by His Spirit for ministry. The Kingdom is everlasting which will continue to increase until Jesus returns to bring forth its full expression.

Commitment to Community

Lighthouse is committed to growing the community by growing the community’s members through the church. We also believe that ”community” is more than just a geographical concentration. It is a unified body of believers coming together to advance God's Kingdom, loving one another as Christ loved us.

Commitment to Small Groups (Life Groups)

Lighthouse provides discipleship and care for its members in small groups called Life Groups. We call them Life Groups, as we simply place structure around the life and relationships that the Lord is creating in our midst. The primary purposes of the Life Groups are to: 1) Build lasting and caring relationships; 2) Help each other become disciples of Jesus Christ; 3) Learn to care for each other through prayer, serving, and learning to use our spiritual gifts; 4) Reach out to those who do not know Christ; and 5) Associate ourselves within the authority structure of the church.

Leadership training through Life Groups

Leaders are trained primarily through Life Groups. Leadership in the church will be limited to those who lead or have led Life Groups. Essential to the charge of the church is the discipleship and care of its members. We believe that servant leadership which focuses on the care of others is one of the strongest indicators of a leader and one of the most practical ways to determine and develop the character of an aspiring leader.

Equipping the church to minister in the power of the Holy Spirit

Lighthouse believes that the leaders within the church are to equip the members for ministry according to each member’s gifting, and that the power for effective ministry comes from the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Lord still empowers His people by the Holy Spirit and releases His gifts through us just as He did in the book of Acts. As we come under God's authority through His church and learn to walk in fellowship with Him and obedience to Him, the Holy Spirit is able to work through us in power. The Holy Spirit is critical to the accomplishment of the Great Commission as His power is required in order to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ.

Investing in the next generation

We believe that children are the foundation of the future and it is their generation that will carry on the work of the church. We believe that we have all been called to be spiritual aunts and uncles to the next generation. We are to live out an example of the life of Christ for them to follow and to help them be all that God has called them to be. We believe the primary responsibility for training children to be disciples of Jesus Christ belongs to their parents. However, while the Church cannot take the place of daily parental input that children need in the things of God, Lighthouse is committed to excellence in the children's ministry and in the spiritual education of the children.

Giving and Serving

God is a giver and those who desire to be like Him will be givers. God wants us to be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us. We encourage everyone to become investors in God's Kingdom, giving their talents and abilities, time and money to accomplish God's purpose through the local church. Jesus said that the servant is the greatest among us. As we serve, we become more like Him. We are a family who is committed to serving and giving to each other and to those in our community.

Discipleship

We believe that disciples should be men and women of Passion, Purity, Power, and Prayer:

Passion: Loving God and others with all of our heart
Purity: Living our lives by every Word of God
Power: Ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit
Prayer: Partnering with God by praying without ceasing

Reaching out to the lost in our community and in the Metroplex

In addition to the care of its members, Lighthouse strongly desires to reach out into the community to see those who do not know Christ be saved and become His disciples. We believe that in order for our church to be healthy and thriving, we must consistently be outwardly focused and attentive to the needs of those around us.

Supporting Missions to Reach the World for Christ

We believe that God is primarily concerned with advancing His Kingdom, the multiplication of the life of Christ in the world which will ultimately result in His glory covering the earth and the preparation of a Bride that is ready to reign with Him forever. We believe that living things multiply and that the life of God cannot be contained. As a result, we expect to see God's life reproduced in individual disciples, life groups, and congregations - both here and around the world - to His glory.

Market Place Ministry

A goal of Lighthouse is to equip its members to do the work of the ministry in the market place, one of the greatest areas of potential for the expansion of the Gospel of the Kingdom. We believe as we equip God's people to be supernatural in the market place, the Kingdom of God will expand tremendously. As men and women filled with God's spirit and walking in Godly character let their light shine in the market place, a transformation in this arena will occur.

Working in Unity With Other Churches and Ministries

We believe that unity in the Christian community is one of the primary necessities in reaching the world for Jesus Christ. Lighthouse purposes to work in harmony with the other churches and ministries in this area that exalt Jesus as the Son of God, the Savior.