The one element that has been conspicuously missing from past attempts at establishing sustainable Christian community has, ironically, been the one island upon which most spend the majority of their waking hours: work, or the marketplace. We too often see work as a necessary evil rather than the beautiful thing God made it to be. The first endeavor He gave His first man was “to cultivate and keep” the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15). The “excellent wife” of Proverbs 31 was skilled in both production of goods and commerce. Finally, when Jesus was looking for His disciples He did not look to the temples. Rather, He went to the workplace and created “Marketplace Saints” of the men He found there. We not only plan to integrate businesses into our Lighthouse communities, we plan to make them the cornerstones of them. By doing this, we hope to provide a healthy environment where they can re-integrate their work into their spiritual lives, interact, share ideas, mentor one another, provide accountability, and become a launching pad for commerce with compassion, integrity, and passion!
A New Model of Sustainable Christian Community
