On Monday, March 4th we celebrated our 35th Anniversary at our annual Fundraising Banquet! What a joy it was to gather with over 970 friends at The Venetian! Our theme for this year was “Wonder” as we celebrated God’s wonderful creation of life and His wonderful work in the lives of those we serve. Special guests included musicians from Hillsong NYC Worship Teams and Rev. Dr. Randall Lassiter, Senior Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, Paterson.
Debbie Provencher, Executive Director for Lighthouse Pregnancy Resource Center, highlighted some of the WONDERful things that have happened over the past 35 years and shared the ministry’s vision for the future.
The evening also featured several powerful testimonies from Lighthouse parents, staff and a Lighthouse baby born in 2006. Gianna is 12 years old now and she recounted her mother’s journey from an unexpected teen pregnancy to a loving mother of four and grace-filled follower of Christ.
“Because of Lighthouse, my mom gained a community who was speaking truth over her life. Who supported her, not because she did anything to deserve it, but because Lighthouse knew that the only way my mom would choose life, was by making sure that she experienced a taste of grace. And Lighthouse gave her exactly that. My mom gave me the wondrous gift of life. If she never had me, there is a chance that she would have stayed on the dangerous path that she was already on. Maybe she would not be here today if she did not go through with her pregnancy. Grace was felt in very real ways. Her identity was no longer being found in boyfriends and partying, but in Jesus. He forgave her for turning to everything but Him.” Gianna, age 12
God is good. Lighthouse thanks Him and our many sponsors and guests for contributing to a memorable celebration and a record crowd! Sponsorships, tickets and other gifts in advance of the evening contributed $105,749, and the offering that night, plus pledges for the coming year, brought the total raised so far to $350,000! Thank you to all who joined us.
Don’t miss the photos from the event and the photobooth! Click here to view the gallery. Photobooth pictures start on page 3! Thank you to Rod Bolten and Cheryl Biswurm for event photography.