Back-to-School with Jesus! - supplies needed

Each morning I take a few minutes to walk around the Lighthouse Mission campus. I walk the property looking over & inspecting our grounds and buildings. I am looking for the usual stuff you might find on your church grounds -You know what I mean: bullet casings, crack vials, heroin needles, graffiti, broken glass, bloody knives, drunks and even machine gun bullet holes.

The media always says, “It’s unfortunate, but for many of the people who live in North Bellport violence, gangs & poverty is simply a normal part of their lives….” Anyone who knows me knows that I am the kind of Pastor that is not afraid of dirty hands and certainly not guns or knives pointed at me (I lean on my Fathers promise in Isaiah 54:17) I will NOT simply lean comfortably against my church pulpit and stand aside as the enemy rips apart the communities around us". I serve a mighty God who has empowered the Lighthouse Mission to push back against the enemy with everything we have & when he begins to stumble (and he will) push even harder. When the enemy strikes with hunger: we send our trucks into that community every week and bring food, prayer & the mighty word of God to more then 2800 people each week. When the enemy sends despair, abuse and sadness into our underprivileged children- Lighthouse responds with a dynamic children’s program every Saturday for over a hundred children. Demonstrating & teaching the love of Jesus through creative bible lessons, lunch, games & crafts. When the enemy tried to run every business in North Bellport out of town leaving only boarded up & abandoned buildings everywhere. Our God tells us to respond by renovating one of the worst buildings in the community into a beautiful new head quarters for our ministry.

Most recently the enemy has made it very difficult for people all over Long Island to provide for their families. While parents struggle simply to pay the most basic of bills buying school supplies is next to impossible. God wants the Lighthouse Mission to respond by helping to provide over a thousand children this year with school supplies through our program. However & most importantly they and their parents get to hear about the good news of our Lord and Savior Jesus. Not only do they get to hear the good news but have it demonstrated to them in us meeting this need.

As you might imagine with the economy what it is our donations are down this year. If you are able to buy a few extra items this year when you go school shopping for your children it would mean a great deal to a child who may have never heard about the love of Jesus. If your family is in need- please contact our office so we can help you.

Click here for supplies list & Flyer

God Bless you .. “I can’t wait to see what God is going to do next!!”

Respectfully,

Pastor Jim

Lighthouse Mission's Homeless and underprivileged children ministry

I am very happy to report that the
Lighthouse Mission's kids club (our ministry to homeless and underprivileged children) has been a huge success. (Click here to check out the kids club photos)

Under the amazing direction of my wife Andrea and by the grace of our Heavenly Father the Lighthouse Mission has been blessed to be able to minister to more then 90+ children each week. We have designed this program to minister to children from ages 4-11 years old (however these little guys have been known to slip on the bus even younger).

Sadly, most of the children we pick up with a bus live in local homeless shelters and very challenged areas. Gangs, violence, drugs and abuse are a very real part of their lives. It breaks my heart to see these little children "hardened" because of all that they have been subjected to. Thats is why the Lighthouse Missions Kids Club is so important to these children. Most will never be able to go to a church & the Kids Club will be the only opportunity to meet Jesus - I take that responsibility VERY seriously.

A few weeks ago my wife & I adopted a wonderful dog from the Brookhaven animal shelter for our children (If you are thinking about getting a dog- be sure to check this place out first-you will be blessed). Any-who, while in prayer God revealed to me that my new dog now has a safe place to live while the children in the Lighthouse Mission's Kids Club does not. Your dog has it's own little spot in your house it likes to sleep- the little children have no stability in their lives and have no idea where they will be sleeping each night. Your dog has nutritious dog food to eat- for many of the children they get only one unhealthy meal each day to eat. You don't abuse or beat your new dog- yet the little children you minister are. This revelation broke my heart. Therefore we do all that we can to make this Saturday morning program the highlight of their week.

Although we have very little money to buy crafts, food and supplies needed for the children we make use of all that we have. A wonderful local church (Integrity Christian Fellowship) that is pastored by my close Friend Dr. Tony Balsamo is generously lending us the use of their facility and school bus each Saturday from 10:00am-1:00pm until June 5th while the Lighthouse Missions buildings are being renovated.

The moment the children climb off the bus they are shown the love of Jesus with 20-25 Lighthouse Mission volunteers clapping, cheering and blowing bubbles for them as they enter the facility (sorry, the bubbles are my thing). Soon after they are engaged with a high impact bible lesson, music, skits, puppet show etc. that teaches them that poverty, drugs, violence are not a lifestyle - we teach them about the love of Jesus. Then we offer them the opportunity to make a craft that reflects the bible lesson they just learned. Games and a whole bunch of fun follow the craft. When it's time for lunch we try to provide a nutritious & fun meal for the children. This can be difficult for the lighthouse mission as we have to purchase enough food for 100 children ready to eat. Remember that the Lighthouse Mission is NOT a church that can project what their weekly offing will be. We operate entirely on donations. That means some weeks we receive a funds from faithful donors and other weeks nothing. It is not uncommon for the Pastor of the mission to consider going without a paycheck in order to continue the operations of the ministry. For many of the children it is the ONLY meal they will receive for the entire day. It's hard to imagine that 110,000 children go to be hungry each night right here on long Island (reported in the 2010 LI Harvest/LI Cares study). After the children have lunch we give them the opportunity to choose a toy from our prize table. This is a BIG deal for these little guys- many of the children are moved around from shelter to shelter so often that they have to leave their toys behind many times. So to receive a "new" (most are used donated toys) brings a wonderful smile to their face.

By the end of the program the children are all smiling and hugging the volunteers good bye. Some of the children are crying because they don't want to leave while some of the volunteers are in tears as well. Because they know that this may be the last time they will ever see these children as they are moved around so often.

For most of the people whom come to volunteer at the LIghthouse Missions Kids club program or our street outreaches it is a life changing event. Most think that poverty is something that happens in a far away country... they quickly learn that it is just a few miles from their home.

If you are interested in getting plugged into our Kids Club program or any other outreach opportunity just give us a call e-mail and we'll be happy to get you connected showing the love of jesus in a practical way.

God Bless you..

Pastor Jim

"Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." -- Jesus