About Us
Thank you for taking the time to visit us.
Who We Are
At the core, we are a group of believers who strive to be God-focused, Christ-centered, and grace-oriented in all that we do. We endeavor to serve God together sincerely, always rejoicing in his electing grace and eternal love. Whether assembled for Sunday worship or dispersed for weekday ministry, the Word of God is our compass and obedience is our aim. We hope to have the privilege of participating earnestly in the expansion of his Kingdom in our community and around the world.
What Kind of a Church Are We?
Great Light Baptist Church is committed to Baptist principles and practices such as are expressed in various historic Baptist Confessions (Second London Confession, Philadelphia Confession). But while we appreciate and love the Baptist confessions of faith, we are not “strict subscriptionists.” In other words, we use the confessions as a guide only, not as instruments to bind the church or the believer’s conscience.
We are committed to what are commonly called the Doctrines of Grace. This means that we believe salvation is entirely of God and entirely by sovereign grace. Additionally, we are committed to what are referred to as the “solas” (alones) of the Reformation: Sola Fide—faith alone, Sola Gratia—grace alone, Solus Christus—Christ alone, Sola Scriptura—Scripture alone, Soli Deo Gloria—to the glory of God alone.
We believe that worship is to be orderly and by design. Our services are constructed to exalt God and to celebrate his Son’s completed work. We rely on the Holy Spirit and the Word to direct our preparation for worship services. Worship services at Great Light are carefully prepared to center primarily on the glory of God’s sovereign work of Redemption, the astonishing person and accomplishments of Jesus Christ, and the work of the Spirit of Truth to keep the people of God vibrant in the faith.
Our music is a blend of traditional hymns and conservative contemporary Christian songs. Our preaching is expository. Our weekly pattern for the gathered church is to read the Word, pray the Word, sing the Word, and preach the Word. Our passion is to see God glorified in our hearts, our homes, our church, our community, and our world, and we currently support church-planting efforts in Haiti, Honduras, the Philippines and Russia.
"if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."
Titus 1:6-9
"This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus."
1 Timothy 3:1-13
Our Elders
Great light currently has two active Elders. They uphold the qualifications set forth by scripture to fulfill the office as given in Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-13. Al Garard is our primary preaching elder and Steven Thompson is our primary worship leader.
Our Deacons
Great light currently has 7 Deacons along with their wives. They are busy about taking care of our church and assisting however they can while upholding the qualifications set forth by scripture to fulfill the office as given in Titus 1:6-9 and 1 Timothy 3:1-13.
