Radical Acceptance.
Life‑Giving Direction.
We are a gospel-centered church family celebrating God’s radical forgiveness and love — and we mean it for absolutely everyone. Come As You Are.
Being part of something bigger than yourself
Most churches our size welcome a stranger on Sunday. Fewer walk with that same person for a year — from a cell at the Community Corrections Center, through fourteen weeks of reentry classes, into a small group, and eventually onto a leadership team. At Northern Lighthouse, that whole journey happens under one roof, and everyone who shows up becomes part of carrying it forward.
A Full Reentry Ecosystem, Not Just a Program
Our RIP (Reintegration) ministry runs three 14-week sessions a year with transportation to and from CCCL included, then hands off to a dedicated Aftercare Coordinator so support doesn’t end when the class does.
Every Table Is the Same Table
Every Sunday at 10:30, the person a week out of CCCL and the deacon who’s attended for a decade sit down at the same brunch table. That’s not a program — it’s just who we are.
Graduates Become Leaders
Our Emerging Leaders track exists so that people who found hope here can grow into the people who extend it to the next person walking through our doors.
A light on 14th Street since 2008
Northern Lighthouse organized as a congregation of the Christian Reformed Church in North America in 2008, but the ministry heart behind it goes back further — to pastors who believed that following Jesus meant going into hard places, including the Community Corrections Center right in our neighborhood, not waiting for hard places to come to us.
Today we’re a congregation of about 115 people, worshiping in a modest brick building on N 14th Street, marked simply by a cross on the outside wall. What happens inside is anything but modest: reentry classes, free car repairs, small groups, discipleship, and a weekly brunch table where every kind of story is welcome.
Read Our Full Story
A small congregation carrying a big mission
Real numbers from a church that measures impact in changed lives, not attendance records.
Three doors in, all leading to the same family
RIP — Reintegration Program
Support classes for those incarcerated, recovering, or rebuilding after CCCL — Christian 12‑Step, Life Skills, GriefShare, Boundaries, and more. Mondays, 7–9 PM.
Learn About RIPCharity Autos
Our volunteer mechanics repair vehicles for neighbors who can’t afford it, every Saturday from 9 AM to 3 PM — because a broken car can cost someone their job.
See Charity AutosEmerging Leaders
A 12-week leadership track built on Christ, Character, Community, Calling, and Competency — growing our own next generation of ministry leaders. Sunday nights, 6–8 PM.
Explore Emerging LeadersWhat RIP has meant to the people who’ve walked through it
I have found the program to be very informative and supportive. I know when I am out, I can turn to RIP for encouragement and direction.
We got information on getting jobs and doing budgeting on our daily spending and bills. All the information we got has really helped, and the program has also brought me closer to God.
Even though I have never been incarcerated, I was a prisoner to my own behavior. RIP has helped me break the chains of bondage with drugs, alcohol, and abuse issues and so much more.
Community life you can join right now
NL Community Garage Sale
A neighborhood-wide garage sale hosted on our grounds — a simple, low-barrier way for our neighbors to meet us before they ever meet us on a Sunday.
Charity Autos Car Show
A community car show celebrating the same volunteer mechanics who spend their Saturdays keeping our neighbors on the road, free of charge.
Come as you are — this Sunday
No dress code, no perfect past required. Just two service times, a shared brunch table, and a family that means it when we say radical acceptance.