Lighthouse Baptist Celebrates 20 Years

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After graduating from Bible College in 2000, Paul Arcand and his wife were unsure of what their next mission would be.

“We were praying about where the lord might have us serve and we ended up here,” said Arcand.

In 2001, his prayers were answered and the Arcand family moved to the Baltimore area to start Lighthouse Baptist Church. Now, as they celebrate the church’s 20th anniversary, Arcand is looking back on the long road that brought them where they are today.

In order to build a congregation, the Arcand family knocked on almost 600 doors to spread the news about the new church. Their first service took place on April 1, 2001 in Armiger Fire Station in Pasadena. There were 61 people in attendance. After 18 months of service in the fire hall, Lighthouse Baptist Church rented storefronts all over the community. While they were in and out of locations, Arcand continued to look for a permanent location for the growing church.

“We looked for 17 years,” said Arcand. “We looked at and considered no less than 60 different properties that we could purchase or long-term lease, so it was difficult.”

In 2016, the Arcand family finally found the perfect location for the church. The building, positioned prominently on Ritchie Highway, was a State Farm insurance office. Extensive renovations took place over the next year to transform the space.

Arcand said the congregation, excited to have a permanent location, was generous with donations. On one Sunday, over $75,000 was collected for renovations. Arcand said this is an example of the faith that Lighthouse Baptist Church emphasizes.

“They want to shine the light and get the message of the gospel to everybody in our community,” said Arcand. “Even in the midst of that move, the storefronts, the pandemic — they have just rallied at every hurdle.”

To reach out to some communities in need, the church obtained a few old school buses and formed a successful bus ministry. Members have even gotten commercial drivers licenses (CDL) on their own time, so that they could drive buses into Brooklyn Park, Pasadena and Glen Burnie to bring people to church and Sunday school.

With Lighthouse being a grassroots, traditional church, the pandemic was difficult. The members and leadership had to learn to livestream and set up online donations. The bus ministry and door-knocking have still not returned to normal, but Arcand said people are excited to be back in-person in time for the anniversary.

Although the 20th year was nothing like Arcand and his family pictured, they have made the most out of their situation.

“Honestly, if I could have just kept a group of people loving God and loving each other, I would have been happy,” said Arcand. “I'm happy to say that our people do love our community and to see how God's done it all is just miraculous.”

In the next 20 years, Arcand hopes that Lighthouse will continue to expand. He would eventually like to expand the bus ministry into Annapolis, Baltimore and down Route 1, and buy more property.

“We'd like to see more ministries flourish out of it and continue to develop and love people,” said Arcand. “That's what we're here for.”

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