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Our Vision
Our dream is to impact the city of Long Beach by starting a compelling new church in the heart of downtown. When you come to downtown Long Beach, we want you to think that you somehow stumbled into Jerusalem in 33 A.D. and were experiencing the church described in Acts 2 – the church that was known, characterized, and set-apart by their uncommon love for God, for each other, and for their city.
Their uncommon love for God led to a passionate commitment to Him. Because of their uncommon love for God, they stood firm against opposition, exhibited uncompromising obedience, even being willing to lay down their very lives for God. They served Him joyfully. They worshiped Him authentically. They trusted Him fully.
Their uncommon love for each other led to the creation of an amazing atmosphere of love and acceptance. They welcomed strangers, served foreigners, dined with lepers. They were devoted to each other. They became family. They met in each other’s homes, breaking the bread of true fellowship. They grew together, served together, and pursued God together.
Their uncommon love for the city sparked a revival that radically impacted the city. They humbly served the needy, feed the poor, and healed the broken. They met needs, touched lives and healed hurts in practical and tangible ways. They accepted the outsiders and outcasts. They loved the lepers. They cared for the orphans and widows. They changed the city by their love.
Jesus lived a life of uncommon love, and He asks His followers to do the same. In one of His most well-known parables, He gives us a picture of what uncommon love looks like. This story is called, “The Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:30-35). In it, Jesus teaches us that uncommon love should be passionate, personal, practical, generous and free. Passionate love is real and compelling. Personal love gets involved. Practical love is tangible and action-oriented. Generous love is giving and willing to sacrifice. Free love has no strings attached, expecting nothing in return. That type of love is very uncommon in our day. But that is the type of love that we want to be known for and characterized by.
That’s a picture of what we hope to create at Citylights Church of Long Beach. We hope it will be a place where you can taste the Acts 2 church. We desire to be known, characterized and set-apart by our uncommon love. We believe that a church like this will make a difference in the city for God’s glory.
That is the simple, yet compelling vision of Citylights Church.
