Lighthouse Ministries International: Following Hard After God

In the heart of Tampa, Florida is a ministry that has been reaching the needs of the hurting for over fifty years, Lighthouse Ministries International. Founded on December 12, 1952 by J.A. Lennard, what is now known as Lighthouse Ministries International began as the Lighthouse Gospel Mission and Faith Home.

J.A. Lennard was radically converted and with a heart full of love for lost souls, he began preaching to the homeless and skid row of Tampa. With assistance from an attorney who had favored the preacher's radical style, J.A. Lennard purchased the first building structure that would be the Lighthouse Gospel Mission and Faith Home. By 1961, J.A. Lennard established the Lighthouse Gospel Mission and Faith Home in Riverview, Florida where he dispensed, soup, soap, and salvation.

Today, Bishop Hank Furr and his wife, Alison Furr, operate Lighthouse Ministries International. They are bishops because Lighthouse Ministries International is much more than a restorative facility for the hurting and homeless. It is a launching or birthing pad for future ministries. Since Bishop Furr took over the Lighthouse Gospel Mission and Faith Home in 1991, there have been amazing testimonies of lives being set free from drugs, alcoholism, and other addictions.

The ministry has grown tremendously and continues to grow. Today, there is a facility for men as well as one for women. There are numerous outreaches that branch forth into the surrounding communities touching and transforming lives for Jesus Christ. When J.A. Lennard started the Lighthouse Gospel Mission and Faith Home, he always desired that it would be a true church. Today, Lighthouse Ministries International houses the faith home, as well as the Lighthouse Revival Center, a church that flows and operates in the power and giftings of the Holy Spirit. It is the vision of the Lighthouse Revival Center, to see lives changed and transformed as they run hard after God, as clearly expressed in Psalms 63:8. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

Lighthouse Gospel Mission and Faith Home has a residential program for both men and women, however the focus is not a humanistic view of simply abstaining from drugs and alcohol by admitting that you are an addict. The foundational truth that has been predominant and characteristic of Lighthouse Ministries International, is that if you follow after God with all your heart, mind, and strength, God will change you, transform you into the image of His son. As you learn to obey and walk in God's ways and principles, the addictions and things of this world will fall to the wayside. Isn't this the true meaning of salvation? Isn't this the very heart of the words, "To Be Born Again?"

J.A. Lennard believed that the power of God was so great that it would transform a lost wounded soul. Bishops Hank and Alison Furr operate in this belief and because of their selfless sacrifice to see lives transformed, many people have been set free and delivered.

Freedom is a battle, and it takes everything that you have to remain free. You must keep following hard after God, no matter how many victories you have previously won. When someone enters the Lighthouse Gospel Mission and Faith Home program, they learn how to overcome bondages and find freedom. The Lighthouse Revival Center is the perfect atmosphere to learn how to walk out that freedom and grow in the gifts and call that God has for your life.

I will always be grateful to Bishops Hank and Alison Furr. Though my own personal journey has been long and arduous at times, I can say that when I joined Lighthouse Ministries International, my own journey to freedom began. There have been times when I have found myself slipping backwards when I should have been leaping forward with exuberant strides, but one thing I have learned is that as long as you continue to pick yourself up and put yourself back on the narrow path, you will reach your destination. Every mistake is to be learned from, and as you learn what causes you to stumble, you'll find yourself stepping around the stones instead of tripping over them unaware, the next time.

Bishops Hank and Alison Furr have remained a true example of staying on course, dancing over the stumbling blocks, and following hard after God.