History
During the summer of 1996 several Christian Reformed Churches in Northwest Iowa decided they wanted to start new churches. They began to look outward, to cities in need of the gospel. The Spirit led them to North Lincoln, where they saw few churches, but a growing population. As many in NW Iowa were praying, the Lord was also at work in Seattle, Washington. Sam Keyzer, pastor of the First Christina Reformed Church of Seattle, and his wife Karen became interested in starting a new church. After several months of praying and connectiong with church leaders in Iowa, the Lord led Sam and Karen to North Lincoln to start the Northern Lighthouse. Before leaving Seattle, Karen mentioned to Sam how much she liked pictures of lighthouses. Sam began thinking of a Lighthouse as an ideal name for a church. The Bible speaks of light in relation to Jesus, salvation, love, and God’s presence. Both Sam and Karen became excited about the name and the vision of helping people come toknow Jesus as the Light of the world. Sam and Karen arrived in Lincoln in June of 1997. The Lord immediately began introducing them to people who would join in the work of establishing a spiritual lighthouse. In November of 1998 five acres of land and a ranch style home were purchased on North 14th Street for the Northern Lighthouse as a ministry center. Since then, a multipurpose building has been built.
I can't tell you everything that's happened since the very beginning of the church, but I do know that after a few years, things weren't looking so great. That was when Lee McCain, a member of the Northern Lighthouse, brought a friend that he had sponsored out of the Community Correction Center of Lincoln. This was the beginning of a very important relationship that the Northern Lighthouse has fostered with CCC-L over the last five years. As we watch this ministry grow, we also see many families of the inmates that we serve join our community. It has been a great blessing to see God working in this community.
Another important step for the Northern Lighthouse was planting a church in nearby Waverly, Nebraska called Oasis. We brought in David Best specifically to help us plant churches and begin reaching a broader community. This has been a very exciting endeavor, and we can't wait to see what God does in Waverly through Oasis.
Like I said, there are many other amazing things that have happened in the last ten years, and we hope that God will continue to do amazing things over the next ten. Please keep us in your prayers, and know that God has stirred up the hearts of a community in North Lincoln.