Before the front door, the front porch. The relational pathway into the life of our church.
Before the front door, the front porch
We exist as a church to introduce people to Jesus. But we believe our Sunday Gathering isn't the right front door, so to speak.
Sunday morning is the deep end of the pool — a small house, full of people who know each other, gathered to worship under the Spirit of God. For someone who's never met us, that can feel like a lot. So instead of inviting people straight into the Sunday Gathering, we like to invite them onto the front porch of the house first.
The front porch is everywhere life happens: a meal in someone's home, a walk in the neighborhood, a Bible study around a kitchen table, an honest conversation about who Jesus is and what He's done. We want you to meet Light House Church — and Jesus — through life-on-life relationships before you ever sit in our living room on a Sunday morning.
Where you might start
There's no single right path onto the porch. Here are some of the ways God is doing this work among us:
A conversation with someone in the Body. If you know someone at Light House — a friend, a neighbor, a coworker — start there. Coffee, dinner, a long walk. We are a people who love conversations about real things.
Personal hospitality. Several of our households make a regular practice of opening their tables to friends and neighbors. If someone in the Body invites you over, say yes.
Story-Formed Life. A guided journey through the big story of the Bible — Creation, Fall, Redemption, New Creation — designed to help anyone, believer or not, encounter Jesus in the unfolding storyline of Scripture.
Discovery Bible Study (DBS). A simple, reproducible way of reading the Bible together, in small groups, focused on three questions: What does this passage say? What is God saying to me through it? Who am I going to tell? You don't need to be a Christian to participate. You just need to be curious.
Midrash groups. A weekly gathering centered on discussing a Bible passage together — questions, observations, applications — in the spirit of the early Church and ancient Jewish learning.
If any of these sound interesting, the next step is the same: reach out. We'd love to point you to whichever one is the right fit for where you are right now.
If you're not yet a Christian
We are very glad you're here.
The good news of Jesus is this: God made you, He loves you, and despite the ways every one of us has run from Him, He has come looking for us in His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus lived the life we couldn't, died the death we deserved, and rose from the grave to defeat sin and death forever. He offers full forgiveness and new life to anyone who turns from their sin and trusts in Him.
If that resonates — even just as a question — we'd love to talk. You don't need to have it figured out before you reach out. You can start here or contact us directly.
If you're already a Christian and looking for a church
Welcome. We're glad you're seeking faithful community.
A word of honesty up front: Light House is a small household expression of the Church, not a large worship service. Our culture takes time to train and build. For that reason, we set a high bar for "transfer growth" — Christians joining us from other churches — so that our small Body can prioritize reaching the lost and strengthening the disciples we already have.
If you're convinced God is leading you to Light House, the next step is to contact us and talk with one of our Elders early in the process. We'd love to discern this with you. In some cases, the most loving thing we can do is encourage you to bloom where you already are.
What "the front porch" is not
It's not a polite way of putting people off. We mean it. We want to know you, in real life, and we want you to know us.
It's also not a long obstacle course before you're "allowed" to know Jesus. Jesus saves anyone who calls on His name, in any place, at any time. The front porch is just our way of saying: relationships are the soil in which the gospel grows best, and we'd rather start there than start with a Sunday morning visit that doesn't tell you much about who we actually are.
So — your next step
Just reach out. That's it.
We'd love to hear your story and share more of ours.
Read more
