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Lighthouse Covenant Ministries plans Citywide Youth Explosion
By LINDA M. LINONIS
YOUNGSTOWN
Lighthouse Covenant Ministries assigns priority status to its outreach in the community. The second annual Citywide Youth Explosion, planned for May 27-29 and May 31, reflects that mission.
At Lighthouse, apostle Michael C. Scott Sr. is senior pastor, and his son, Michael W. Scott Jr., is youth pastor. Last year, the senior pastor said, the two-day event attracted about 250 young people from 18 to 30 years old.
“I have a heart and passion for young people,” the youth pastor said, adding, “but not just those in church — young people from all religious backgrounds and cultures.”
The younger Scott said the event is geared to the age group who are making decisions affecting their futures and questioning aspects of their lives. “All |the speakers are geared to youth ministry and can speak to the hearts of youth,” he said, adding the event will benefit participants who attend church and those who don’t.
Pastor Scott Jr. said he has distributed fliers in schools and churches in Mahoning and Trumbull counties and some sites in Pennsylvania. There’s also a billboard on Market Street in Boardman. He said the event will feature speakers, music, praise and worship. “We want it to be inspirational on many levels.”
The younger Scott said he sought out speakers who will touch the hearts of young people and know what they are dealing with in their lives.
He said he picked the theme “I Have Authority” from Matthew 16:19. “I want to tell young people that they have the strength ... the authority ... to make decisions for their lives,” Pastor Scott Jr. said. “I want to emphasize that God loves them and gives each person the power to face life’s difficulties.”
Each of the speakers will offer his take on the theme. “They will talk about making better choices in life,” Pastor Scott Jr. said, adding the choices that young people make sometime affect their entire lives. “They’re searching for hope of a better future and what to do with their lives.”
The Scotts said they hope the event inspires young people but also shows them there are places, such as Lighthouse ministries, where they can come to talk regardless if they are part of a church.
“With the challenges young people face today, sometimes they feel hopeless,” the elder Scott said. “We want to show them that life is something to look forward to.”
He continued that for those who attend church, the event “will renew their spiritual lives.”
Pastor Scott Jr. said he hoped participants would “live Christianity as a lifestyle.”
Pastor Scott Sr. said his ministry originated in 1996 as New Galilee Church of God on Franklin Avenue. In 2009, he said God led him to change the ministry to nondenominational and kingdom based. In April 2014, the ministry bought a former funeral home on Shehy and renovated the space that is now Lighthouse Covenant Ministries.
It is so named, the elder pastor said, because a lighthouse is a beacon to safety. Co-pastor is Wilena Scott, wife of the senior pastor.
Lighthouse conducts a youth ministry from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays for 8- to 17-year-olds. “It’s a mentoring program to help young people develop Christian values in a changing world,” Pastor Scott Sr. said. “It’s about life skills, and we refer youths to tutors,” he said. The senior pastor also said Lighthouse plans a day-care center in the future.