Category Archives: Affinity Groups

Growth and Change in Lumos

by Roger Alcaraz

It’s sobering to think about Lighthouse without her youth members. Sobering because a year and a half ago, I couldn’t recall many interactions with them, but now it’s hard to walk throughout church without seeing each of their faces and reflecting on how they’re growing. The youth ministry is very active but is often tucked away in its own Bible studies, Sunday schools, and activities. This summer was a time of transition with our beloved youth pastor JR Cuevas moving with the church plant, but as he has said, “All who know me well can attest that I am the furthest thing from an indispensable minister. I have always been aware that the growth of the youth depended not on my strengths and talents but rather on God’s sovereignty and love for them – and He is more than capable of raising up another leader to accomplish whatever purpose He has for them.” So by the strength and grace of God, we’ve continued studying His Word with our studies of Jesus’ “I am” statements in the home of one of our staff leaders. We also developed a proper view of salvation and angels through our continued systematic theology series.

But these only describe various programs we have in Lumos, and as Pastor Patrick shared, people come before programs and so it is with Lumos. Perhaps you’ve seen their bright and young faces around church and have wanted to get to know them but have asked, “What do I, a collegian or single adult have in common to such an energetic youngling?” You’re asking the wrong question. It’s easy to worry that you’ll have nothing to talk about with this new generation and veer toward people you’re more familiar with. However, I can attest that these youth members treasure the friendships they have with older men and women. Also, what better way is there to apply the Titus 2 principle then with the youth at Lighthouse? I was once intimidated by the youth but after getting to know the Lumos bunch, I realized the tremendous opportunity to welcome them and represent Christ to them.

The dynamics of Lumos have changed. No longer are we a group entirely made up Lighthouse members’ children or even believing parents. Some have started attending because their Lighthouse friends invited them and they are discovering the message of the gospel. Some have been in Lighthouse their whole lives and are committed and baptized Christians. Still, some lie in between, having recently become Christians and want to take the gospel to their families. Each youth member is unique, and at times they’re all that the youth staff talks about when speaking together. It’s invigorating to be part of a ministry that takes so much joy in the people we serve and witness to. Since we take so much joy in our youthies, we want let you join the fun despite your business schedule. That is why we’ll be starting a Beacon series dedicated to better knowing them. We want you to see their goofy and fun side but we also want you to see how each one is growing and being challenged by the gospel.

Sonlight

by Abram Kim

LBC’s Sonlight Elementary Ministry is set to resume on October 3rd. The staff is excited and looking forward to a new year to teach the children of our church God’s holy truth. Children Desiring God has provided faithful curricula the past two years, so we will continue with them again this year. Our curriculum this year is called “In the Beginning…Jesus.” We will walk through the Bible to see how it is all about God’s plan from the beginning to save sinners through the death and resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We will see how God’s plan from the beginning had the cross in mind. We will learn how Adam, Abraham, Moses, the Levitical priesthood, King David, and others from the Old Testament point to the main character of the Bible (and all of history), the Lord Jesus Christ. At this stage in their development, we want to impress to the kids the reality of God, the truthfulness of Scripture, and the seriousness of our sinful state. We look forward to using the curriculum as a tool to teach the Bible and plant the seeds onto, we pray, good soil that will one day bear fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, even a hundredfold.

As it was announced on Sunday, starting this fall Sonlight will be dismissed during first hour at the start of the “big” message. The additional Sunday School time will, we pray, provide greater opportunities to instill the lessons from the curriculum into the hearts and minds of the young ones in Sonlight. Each week our staff will prepare for an age-appropriate lesson based on the curriculum. Our time together for 1st and 2nd hours will also include singing songs, small group discussions, snacks, and an activity.

We are experiencing a lot of turnover this year in terms of our staff. Two left this past summer for the San Jose Church Plant (Cindy Chu and David Jung) and two have moved on for graduate school opportunities (Kristen Yee and Susan Kim). However, we are excited for all the new staff that will be joining us in the fall! Our new staff this year are: Catherine Lee, James Lim, Jane Liou, Josh Liu, Ryan McAdams, Tim Paik, Dennis Su, and Grace Yi. Our returning staff are: David Ahn, Abram Kim, Daniel (Diddy) Kim, Emily Kuo, Josh Lee, and Stephanie McAdams.

If you have any questions about Sonlight, please feel free to talk to me anytime.

Affinity Groups Series

by Stephen Rodgers

Hey there friends! I just wanted to give you a brief announcement of what’s going to be happening on Thursdays going forward.

As you know, we’ve been doing a series on the LBC ministries for almost a year now, culminating last week with our final article in that series, which we hope will be a launching pad for involvement in the church.

Starting next week, we’re going to narrow our focus a little bit. It’s great to know about the various groups at the church, but we want to make sure that we don’t lose sight of the people in doing so. And so, we’re going to focus in on the major affinity groups here at LBC: Children’s, Youth, College, Singles, and Marrieds.

Each week you can expect an article that gives you a peek into that ministry, what they’re doing, and especially who they are. It might be a staff member writing about training, or a member of the group recounting a recent event, or even someone just sharing what they’ve been learning lately as they have participated in that fellowship.

We hope that you’ll enjoy it. And we hope that this glimpse into the other groups and stages of life ultimately displays a common theme. No matter how old we are, how educated we are, or how married we are, we are first and foremost a church, bound together by a common love for Jesus Christ, out of which flows a common love for people.

Pro Rege