IGNITE 2013: Encountering God

12th Annual
IGNITE! Conference 

"Encountering God"

Date TBA

Ignite a fresh passion in your heart for Christ during this free event!

Lighthouse Alliance Church
19147 Eastlook Rd.
Rocky River, Ohio  44116
www.LighthouseAlliance.org
440-333-2755

SCHEDULE  

Coming soon

Speaker:
The speaker for each session will be Paul Yanchek.
He has been the pastor of Lighthouse Alliance Church since 2000.
He has also taught for the Moody Bible Institute and is the host
of ABIDE! Radio.

One Cry Prayer Summit

Click image for details

Prayer Meeting Schedule

Here is our Prayer Meeting schedule:

Wednesday, April 18th (7 PM)
Tuesday, April 24th (7 PM)
Wednesday, May 2nd (7 PM)
Wednesday, May 9th (7 PM)
Tuesday, May 15th (7 PM)
Monday, May 21st (7 PM)
Tuesday, May 29th (7 PM)
Monday, June 4th (7 PM)
Monday, June 11th (7 PM)
Wednesday, June 20th (& PM)
*every Wednesday after June 20th

Prayer Meeting

Be sure to join us at Lighthouse Church next Wednesday as we launch our new weekly prayer meeting starting at 7 PM!  Let's see what God might do!

Biggest Project Slideshow

The Biggest Project: Baldwin Wallace

Part Two of the Biggest Project: Cleveland took place today at Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio (about 15 minutes south of downtown Cleveland).  The day started of with beautiful blue and sunny skies.  We began around 9:15 and were able to get to many students just leaving their dorms for the day.

In total, we had six team members (plus one baby!) helping out today.  The team included myself, Chris Chumita, Beth Morris, Joy Bohman, Ryan & Elaine Muniak (with Sarah).

By about 10:30, dark clouds began to roll in and the temperature began to drop quite a bit.  We continued to give out DVDs to thankful students, with very minimal rejections.  No videos were seen tossed on the ground.  It was a very positive event  Things were going much better than they did when we were here in the Fall with the 180 movie giveaway.  We had given out about 400 DVDs when the clouds opened and the rain started coming down around 11:45.

We scattered over to the metroparks for a wet cookout for lunch, provided by one of our team members.  We were hoping it would buy us time for the rain to die down.  After about an hour and a half of rain and falling temps (with thunderstorms still in the forecast), we made the difficult decision to call it for the day.

So, cold and wet, we packed up and headed home.  Now we will look to set a date to take more of the DVDs over to Cleveland State University.  By the time we are done, The Biggest Project: Cleveland will truly have hit quite a bit of the Cleveland area!

Discipleship Program?

If you are a careful observer, you may have noticed something.  Several months ago, I talked about a "Discipleship Program."  But recently I have talked about bringing back a weekly prayer meeting.  Add in Alpha on Monday nights in the Fall and outreaches on Monday nights in the summer, when will the
Discipleship Program be offered?

Well, there will be some live classes, but the focus will shift to online courses with video and mp3 audio options, along with downloadable study notes.  Why online courses?  Well, for one, my heart is feeling burdened that a weekly prayer meeting is non-negotiable.  The reality is, I believe we can be more effective in reaching more people through the online format, as opposed to live classes.  Couldn't we do both?  Yes, but back to that weekly prayer meeting thing.....

Anyway, I am going to start working on the next class: "Lord, Teach Me to Pray."  And don't forget, ABIDE! Radio co-host, Chris, will be teaching a 4-week class on the Trinity starting in May.

So, please be in prayer for this and we will see what God might do through it.

"Monumental"

Last night, about a dozen of us from church went to see the live opening of Kirk Cameron's film "Monumental."  Based on all the debate leading up to the movie, I knew what would come today - more debates about the movie.  I just wanted to add my thoughts on the film, along with the live feed portions from last night.

So, let's start with the elephant in the room - Glenn Beck's involvement in the live feed.  Glenn Beck is Mormon. He talked quite a bit about God and his prayer life.  Would I have preferred he not be a part of it?  Yes.  In fact, in reading a couple of reviews, it is clear that many people thought the purpose of the movie would be to call for a spiritual revival and to give a clear Gospel presentation.  If that was one's expectation of the movie, I can see the concern.  However, I do not believe that was the purpose behind "Monumental."  More on this in a moment.

"Monumental" as a film was a power eye-opener behind the founding of our nation beginning with the first Pilgrims.  The actual historical documentations of the Pilgrim's and the Founding Fathers completely overturns everything people assume to be true about our nation's history.  With that, I wish every American would take the hour or so to watch this well-done documentary.

For those concerned with the fact that live feed was lost at the end, there was no conspiracy, just an equipment issue.  The final comments from Kirk are available on YouTube:



Many seemed to leave the movie unsure of what to do next, other than get a hold of all the books and materials they will be producing.  For me, the next step was pretty clear.  It is helping to re-educate all people about the true history of our nation, which is very different from the message being handed down in our schools right now.  It begins with making sure our kids understand and doing what we can to help others learn.

The reality is, we now live in a culture that is being told it is basically their patriotic duty to shove God and religion out of public life.  As we were shown in the film, that was never the intent of the Pilgrims and the Founding Fathers.  The first Bibles printed in America were published BY CONGRESS for the people and for THE SCHOOLS.

Was this a call for spiritual revival?  No.  Was it an attempt to evangelize the nation?  No.  I don't think it set out to be.  Yes, as the film showed us, the Pilgrims came over for the glory of God and the advancement of Christianity.  But we also know that, in that, was the idea of religious freedom.  As the movie points out, not all of the Founding Fathers were Christians, but they still saw the value of the people having access to the Bible.  But they were free to not be Christians.  But they also let people be free to live and govern themselves by the principles of God's Word.

The heart of the movie was about getting us back to true freedom and liberty as a nation.  The movie was very clear that it is Christianity that makes such a nation possible.  But it also provides the freedom to not be a Christian if one so chooses.

If last night would have been a call to lock arms in prayer together as Christians and Mormons, then I have a problem.  But that was not the case.  Glenn Beck's comments were about his praying and his praying with his family.  Kirk was not endorsing that he and Glenn  Beck pray to the same God.  Can Kirk and Glenn Beck work together at what "Monumental" set forth?  I would say yes, just in the same way that many Christians are now deciding if they want to vote for Romney or Santorum - a Mormon and a Catholic.

Kirk's objective clearly seems to be a first step at fighting back against the redefining of our nation's history that has been done largely by the hands of atheists.  Would it have been wonderful to see a Gospel message at the end?  Sure.  But it also would have killed this movie in its tracks and zero progress would be made.  We would continue down our current path where God and the Bible are being shoved aside and labeled as extreme and dangerous.  I see this movie as necessary groundwork to help ensure the advance of the Gospel throughout our nation.

Is revival the only true thing that will save out nation?  Yes.  But step one is bringing God back to the conversation of a nation.  I am grateful that Kirk has taken this step to pave that road.  If he begins to unite in prayer with Glenn Beck, I will run the other way.  For now, I see a good work being initiated.

Chardon Slideshow

The Biggest Project: Chardon

On February 27, 2012 the community of Chardon was devastated by a shooting at Chardon High School.  The shooting resulted in the death of three students and serious injuries in two others.  On March 1st, three of us went to Chardon to set up a Prayer Station, seeking to minister to this hurting community.  Through a partnership with Wretched (with Todd Friel), we were able to return today for The Biggest Project.  With the help of Trish Ramos, we were sent 1,100 copies of The Biggest Question DVD to pass out in Chardon.  This is an amazing video which gives a powerful and clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Holding an outreach in Cleveland in March can be interesting.  Just a few weeks ago, on our first trip to Chardon, we nearly left with frostbite.  March usually brings more of the same, with a couple feet of snow on the ground.  Not to mention the fact that Chardon is right in the snow belt!  But God had other plans for us today, with bright, sunny skies and a temperature right around 80 degrees.

Our team planned to meet at the square in Chardon at 10:30 AM.  Three of us left together from Lighthouse Alliance Church, while the rest of the team would meet at the square.  Upon arrival, we gathered at the pavilion, which has served as a community memorial.  We spent some time in prayer together for the day.  Team members took DVDs around to hand out to those out for a walk, as well as into some of the small shops around the square.  I was blown away by the team that God had put together.  There were 11 people on site from 6 different churches!  Not to mention Chris and Rachel Chumita (from Lighthouse) who has taken the time to assemble the DVDs and get them ready for distribution.

The Biggest Team:
-Ben Adams
-Beth Morris
-Jessica Morris
-Mindi Morris
-Joy Bowman
-Ryan Muniak
-Rich Garey
-Dave Wible
-Darrell Stevens
-Joe Conkle
-Paul Yanchek

After spending almost two hours at the square, we headed over to the local Wendy's, owned by Darrell, where he provided lunch for all of us.  The, it was time to make our way over to the school.

We parked at the square and walked almost a mile to the school, as there was no public parking there and no parking on the streets.  We were almost there when Beth called me.  She had arrived before we got there.  The principal had come out and told her that we could not be there.  After hearing that we were not there to bother or intimidate the students, she seemed to back off, saying it was fine as long as we stayed off school property.  She went back inside, leaving an assistant in a car nearby to keep an eye on us.

Our main spot was at the entrance to the student parking lot, across the street from the school.  It didn't take long for a couple of cop cars to drive by.  One stopped to let us know the principal filed a complaint against us, but he assured us that we were within our rights on the public sidewalk.  We did our very best to be courteous and respectful to all that we dealt with and kind to every student, wanting to assure them that we were there out of love and support for them.  I cannot blame them for being on edge with us.  The Westboro Baptist Church people have made a couple of threats over the past couple of weeks to come and protest student funerals.  I can only assume they immediately thought we were somehow connected to that group.

I wrestled with my feelings.  The last thing I wanted to do was add any hurt to this school and this community.  I know the principal has had to have gone through an emotional roller coaster over the past few weeks.  But we reminded ourselves that there were students who certainly have been asking and wondering about eternity since the shooting.

As the students began to leave school, we had mixed reviews.  Overall, they were positive and DVDs were taken with kind words of thanks.  Some students ignored us.  Some were upset that we were there.  In the midst of the hurt these kids are facing, I cannot blame them for feeling some resentment at "outsiders" swarming their town.  One student who had taken a DVD came back with a hand-written note expressing his displeasure.  A few others shared his sentiment of "leave us alone."  Other students, though, asked what it was about and after hearing it was about the Gospel took one gladly.

At one point, a woman came up to some of the ladies in the team to talk to them.  When I saw her hug one of the team members, I assumed it wasn't an angry teacher.  It turned out to be a parent whose husband was a pastor as well as a member of the Chardon school board.  She wanted an address where she could send a thank you note to us for what we were doing.

Ben and I were set up at the exit to the parking lot, which was right across from where the school weight room was.  It was a renovated garage and the door was open.  Inside, it looked like the baseball team doing their daily workout.  With so many students right there, we agonized realizing that we could not go over to them.  Next thing you know, one of them comes out of the open garage door and runs across the street.  He asked for a DVD and wanted to take some to the other guys in the weight room.  Ben gave him a stack and he ran back, faithfully giving a DVD to his teammates.

Two students drove by and asked what the DVD was.  We said it was about the Gospel, they asked for a copy, saying, "God bless you guys!"

After being at the school for a little over an hour, realizing that any students left would be there for a while with their activities, we decided it was time to get our now sun-burnt selves on the road before rush hour got too bad.

This project was such a blessing.  To see the love and compassion from the people at Wretched - so far away from us, but whose hearts were filled with a desire to get the hope of the Gospel to this community.  I was blessed by this beautiful team of brothers and sisters in Christ from different churches coming together under the banner of the Gospel.  While there were some bumps from the higher ups and a few students (all understandable), the overall response of the students was positive.

I pray the project will prove to make a difference in many lives in Chardon.  No student will ever know who we were.  All that matters is that they hear about Jesus.  I pray that students are being drawn to put their trust in Jesus Christ this very night in response to what they see in this video.

For now, we catch our breath.  But not too long, as it will soon to time to gear up for part 2 at Baldwin Wallace College.

Prayer Station - 3/14/12

On Wednesday night, a couple in our church had an idea that, since the weather was so amazing, to bypass our normal Bible Drills time and take the Prayer Stand to Lakewood Park.  Sounded great!  The night was as close to perfect as we could imagine and the park was quite busy.  As often happens, our first hour was pretty slow.  But then a woman came to us who was a part of the local Vineyard Church.  She was excited to see us there and we had a moment to pray for her and pet her fun and energetic dog.  Very soon after that, another woman walked by thrilled to see us.  She said she didn't need prayer, but made a comment about how one day there will be a line of people in need of prayer.  Now, I generally take such things with a grain of salt.  Sometimes it is just a person's wishful thinking, but sometimes it ends up being the Lord.  I personally had a situation several weeks ago where someone "spoke a word" about me.  It sounded great, but was reluctant to believe it, but I told the Lord I was open for whatever He had for me.  It turns out that the "word" about me came true.  As for last night, I have a bit of a skeptical side of me, but I also want whatever God has in store.  And I certainly have no problem praying for the day when we do, in fact, see a line of people in need of prayer.

It is always encouraging as we go out with the Prayer Station because it seems that God always brings a Christian to us.  It is encouraging to hear from so many people in the area with a passion for the Lord.  Granted, I wish more of them were a little more active in sharing their faith.  But, at the same time, I have seen something over the past couple of months.  I used to have a frustration with all the Christians who applauded what we were doing on the streets, but who were doing nothing themselves.  But I am running into more and more Christians who are "men under the stage," as Eric Ludy calls them.  People who are passionately praying for a revival in the city of Cleveland.  I cannot declare their calling as "less than" that of one on the streets.  But if every Christian was always on the street, who would be 'under the stage" praying for the work of God in this city?  We need both parts of the body at work in Cleveland - those under the stage in prayer and those on the frontlines of the streets and marketplaces.

As we spent our time at the park, I couldn't help but take a moment to thank God.  I was joined by a brother in Christ and three sisters in Christ.  Just a few years ago, I didn't know any of them.  Here we were, sharing fellowship while serving the Lord.  I am so grateful that God has brought them to our church.  I am so blessed by them all.

IGNITE! Reflections

So, IGNITE! 2012 is now complete.  If you missed it, you missed out.  Sorry.  But, you did.  I have been praying for this conference for a long time and eagerly looking forward to it.  The attendance did not concern me, I just wanted us to meet with God.  Personally, I believe we did.

We had some people come from nearly an hour away, to three men who drove in from Detroit to seek God with us.  Our times of worship were wonderful.  People were not holding back from giving God the glory He deserves.  Our small group times of prayer were refreshing.  At least, that's how I saw it.

I would have to say that the highlight of the conference may have come in the two hours after it wrapped up on Saturday afternoon.  I had a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with the men from Detroit to talk about the things of God.  I pray that they left the conference edified in some way, because I know God used them to edify me.  I won't go into all the details here.  I will sum it up by saying that there has been a theme that God has been building into me for the past year.  That theme has been tested lately.  God used these brothers in Christ, without knowing me prior to the conference, to press them theme back into me deeper than it had been before.

Long story short, let me just say that if God does anything in 2013 like He did this weekend, you will want to be diligent in setting aside the dates for IGNITE! 2013 when they are released.  And let us begin praying now that next year, the 12th year of the conference, is the most God glorifying yet!

IGNITE! 2012

IGNITE! 2012 is just one day away!  I have been looking forward to this for quite some time, and the hefty part of my week has been spent getting final logistics in place.  I believe it is going to be an amazing time.  However, I also know that it may not be that for everyone.  Just like a workout program, your results depend on what you put into it.  If you come to IGNITE! and approach it half-heartedly, you will walk away feeling like it was somewhat of a waste of time.  But if you come into it ready to seek after God with everything you've got, you will leave changed.  Because I will be speaking? NO!  Because if we draw into the presence of God, how can we not leave changed?

So, are you in?  Are you ready to ignite a fresh passion in your heart for Jesus?  Come on out tomorrow night!

ABIDE! Challenge: Day 1 Encouragement

Thank you for committing yourself to spending an hour a day in prayer this week.  For some, it may be doing what you are already doing.  For some, this may be a true challenge.  Hang in there - don't get discouraged.  Even if you don't quite hit the hour mark, you have not failed.  Time spent with God in prayer is never a wasted effort.  If you are spending more time in prayer this week than you have before, the challenge will be well worth it.

Let me address a few things as we begin our week in prayer.  First of all, is it legalistic or wooden to schedule an hour of prayer?  Some can be unsettled by doing this.  Think for a moment about a marriage.  Let's say you know a couple who have been growing distant from each other and barely talk from day to day.  Would you oppose their idea to resolve their problem by setting aside an hour a day to sit down and talk together, or would you see this as a wonderful step in the right direction?  All relationships rise and fall on communication.  Prayer is a vital part of our communication with God.  If that communication has been lacking, scheduling an hour is a great step in the right direction.  I came across a survey that said that the average Christian prays for about 5 minutes a day.  So, I think a scheduled hour is appropriate.

Second of all, I want to encourage you in how you go about that hour of prayer.  I purposely do not want to set a lot of rules on this time, as it is between you and God.  However, I would strongly encourage you to spend that hour either in one chunk, or to divide it into two 30-minute blocks to start off.  Many times, as Christians, we like to say that we just pray a little bit throughout the day.  A minute here, two minutes there.  Continue to do that, but I would encourage you NOT to count that as a part of your hour.  Here's why.  Again, go back to a marriage.  It is wonderful when a married couple keeps in touch throughout the day with a quick phone call here and there just to say hello.  Those are special moments.  But if that is the only communication taking place, those moments are not special at all.  Paul Washer strongly reinforces this point in saying that those little moments throughout the day are to only be an outflow of time set aside with God in prayer.  You see, in a minute or two minute communication, you never attain real depth.  If your spouse never wanted to sit down and talk with you for extended period of time, but only gave you a moment here and a moment there, my guess is you would start to feel some distance.  Your heart would long for depth in your sharing together.  If you need to start with two 30-minute blocks - go for it.  But begin to work your way to making it one full hour by Thursday, and I believe you will begin to see a difference.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge a painful truth.  That truth is that all of us, heading into this challenge, already have every minute of our day accounted for.  Even if you spend time every day picking lint out of your belly button, you are already doing something every moment of the day.  So, making room for more time in prayer is going to involve the sacrifice of something you are currently doing.  Sadly, we cannot just add an extra hour to our day.  Something is going to have to go.  You may find yourself cutting down on a beloved hobby, or turning off a favorite TV show.  Those will be hard choices, but ask yourself, "Do I want this more than I want Jesus?"

You are all in my prayers as we begin this week together.  Maybe you are a prayer veteran, or perhaps this marks the beginning of a life of prayer for you.  Let us pray for one another and encourage one another.  And may the name of Jesus be exalted as we come before the throne of God in prayer.

If you have particular prayer requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to be lifting up, please feel free to post them on our Facebook page here.

The ABIDE! Challenge

Ready for a challenge?

Join us for the ABIDE! Challenge starting Monday, February 20th.

Click here for details.

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Contact us here to attend in the Cleveland area.

Evangelism Boot Camp Promo

The Alpha Course

Who is Jesus?  Why did He die?  Is faith reasonable?  Why should I pray?

Why should I read the Bible?  Who is the Holy Spirit?  What does the Spirit do?

How can I resist evil?  Why should I go to church?

Is there more to life?

These questions and more are answered in the Alpha Course!

In 2012, we will offer the Alpha Course twice.  The Spring course will be reserved for current members of Lighthouse Alliance Church only.  The Fall course will be open to all.  The Spring schedule is provided below, and the Fall schedule will be posted as soon as we schedule the dates.  

Who should attend Alpha?  This course will be helpful to the person who has heard the Gospel but still has some unanswered questions to resolve.  It is great for the new Christian, as it is an "introduction to the Christian life."  It is great for a Christian stuck in a rut or for a Christian looking to go deeper in the Lord and in fellowship with other believers!  In short, it is great for anyone!

Each night will feature a free dinner, a talk on one of the questions above, and small group interaction.  Each session will begin at 6:30 PM and run until approximately 8:45 PM.  

SPRING SCHEDULE

*Please register FOR FREE by February 20th 

Monday, March 5th - Introduction & Is there more to life?

Monday, March 12th - Who is Jesus?

Monday, March 19th - Why did Jesus die?

Monday, March 26th - How can I be sure of my faith?

Monday, April 2nd - Why and how do I pray?

Monday, April 9th - Why and how should I read the Bible?

Saturday, April 14th - Day Away

                                    -Who is the Holy Spirit?

                                    -What does the Holy Spirit do?

                                    -How can I be filled with the Spirit?

                                    -How can I make the most of the rest of my life?

Monday, April 16th - How does God guide us?

Monday, April 23rd - How can I resist evil?

Monday, April 30th - Why and how should we tell others?

Monday, May 7th - Does God heal today?

Monday, May 14th - What about the Church?

FALL SCHEDULE: COMING SOON