From Calvary Baptist to Lighthouse on White Avenue
Lighthouse Baptist Church sits on the east side of White Avenue in La Verne, just a few blocks north of the Pomona Fairplex, on a campus that grew out of years of prayer and relocation. The church began in 1979 as Calvary Baptist Church, planted by a Bible college professor teaching at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in San Dimas. Like many new congregations, it met in borrowed spaces first, including the Holiday Inn in West Covina and the Masonic Temple in San Dimas, before settling onto the Bible college campus for most of its early years. A brief relocation to Central Baptist Church in Pomona from 1991 to 1992 gave the young body room to launch its own school, and Calvary Baptist Academy opened in September 1992. After several moves between buildings on the college campus, the church relocated again when the college sold its property, this time landing at the present White Avenue location in La Verne.
A Pulpit Led by Pastor Brian Dunlop Since 1994
Pastor Brian Dunlop has served as senior pastor since 1994 and has shaped much of what Lighthouse Baptist Church is today. A 1982 graduate of Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College, he spent twelve years as the church's youth director before being called to the pulpit. He and his wife Daun, married in 1983, have five children who all serve in church ministry in some capacity. Pastor Dunlop is a frequent speaker at revival meetings, marriage and family conferences, creation seminars, and youth camps around the country. His missions travels have taken him to Chile, Fiji, Mexico, Armenia, Cambodia, and other countries, giving him a wide-angle view of the gospel going out. He was instrumental in founding Pacific Baptist College in 1998, serving as Chairman of the Co-operating Council from 1998 to 2015 and continuing today as the school's president while still teaching courses like Apologetics and World Religions, Youth Programs, Ethics, and Cults.
Supporting the senior pastor are three pastoral assistants. Ryan Starman oversees children's ministries, bus routes, and maintenance alongside his wife Ariel, both graduates of Pacific Baptist College. Tom Dunlop directs the junior and senior high ministries and the summer instructional basketball league. Dan Randolph leads music, outreach, and the Young Marrieds class. The church also fields pastors for its other language ministries. Jesus Hernandez and his wife Zua lead the Spanish-language congregation, and Dan Watson, who returned from planting a church among Chinese expatriates in the Vancouver area in October 2022, serves as pastor of the Mandarin-speaking congregation with his wife Debbi. Steve Pizano and his wife Maggie lead Reformers Unanimous, the church's addictions-recovery program.
Weekly Gatherings from Sunday Morning Through Thursday Night
Lighthouse Baptist Church gathers four times a week in its main auditorium, with Sunday School stretching across the campus in graded classrooms. The Sunday School hour for all ages begins at 10:00 a.m., followed by the Sunday morning preaching service at 11:00 a.m. A second preaching service fills the evening at 5:00 p.m., and the church meets again on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. for a preaching service that overlaps with youth group, adult Bible study, and children's King's Kids ministry. A livestream is available through the church's YouTube channel for anyone out of town or unable to attend in person.
The Sunday School hour is structured around six adult classes, each meeting at 10:00 a.m. and tailored to a particular season of life. The GAP Class gathers graduates and professionals in Room B8. The Ladies Class (TLC) meets in Room B4. Young Marrieds gather in the gymnasium. Lighthouse Keepers meet in the main auditorium. Home Builders meet in Room B5. Visitors who are not sure which class fits best can stop by the Corner Cafe in the gymnasium, where someone will help them find a good match.
Teaching the Bible, KJV-Only
The church identifies itself as an Independent Baptist body and holds to a doctrinal statement centered on the inerrancy and verbal inspiration of Scripture. For reasons of unity within the church and what it calls textual reliability, Lighthouse Baptist Church uses the King James Version of the Bible as its final authority in matters of faith and practice. The doctrinal statement lays out a Trinitarian view of God, the person and work of Jesus Christ, the fall of man, salvation by faith in Christ's substitutionary death and bodily resurrection, the role of the local church, and the imminent return of Christ to catch up the saved before the Tribulation and a thousand-year reign.
The church also walks visitors through a simple gospel presentation in seven steps drawn directly from the book of Romans: realize there is none good, see yourself as a sinner, recognize where sin came from, notice God's price on sin, realize that Christ died for you, repent, and take God at His word. Anyone wanting more information about becoming a Christian is invited to get in touch.
Children, Teens, and a Summer Basketball League
Children are a centerpiece of life at Lighthouse, and the church provides nursery care for every service along with graded classes from birth through sixth grade. Ryan and Ariel Starman direct the children's ministry, which includes Sunday School at 10:00 a.m., JR Church (or "Junior Church Extravaganza") at 11:00 a.m. with lively singing, games, and a Bible lesson, a Sunday night class at 5:00 p.m., and King's Kids on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. where children begin learning the meat of the Word. Activities outside the church building include trips to MLB games, trampoline parks, bowling, and gym events, so children see the children's ministry as a community as well as a classroom.
The teen ministry, led by Pastor Tommy Dunlop and his wife Darlene, meets for youth group on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. and again for a Thursday Bible study at 7:00 p.m. The focus is helping teenagers know, love, and be transformed by the Word of God, with habits they can carry into adult life. Beyond the weekly meetings, Pastor Tommy takes the teens on mission trips, baseball games, bonfires, and hikes, building a Christ-centered community that supports them through the most pivotal years.
Lighthouse also runs a summer instructional youth basketball league and hosts intramural sports tournaments in its modern gymnasium, drawing students from outside the Sunday program into the life of the church.
Adult Sunday School Across Every Life Stage
The adult Sunday School hour at 10:00 a.m. is structured to match where members find themselves. The GAP Class (Graduates and Professionals) brings together singles and younger adults. TLC (The Ladies Class) offers a women's Bible study environment in Room B4. Young Marrieds uses the gymnasium, and Lighthouse Keepers fills the main auditorium with a broader adult group. Home Builders, meeting in Room B5, is geared toward families with children at home. Anyone unsure which class to visit can stop by the Corner Cafe in the gymnasium, where a greeter will point them in the right direction.
For young adults specifically, the GAP Class meets Sundays at 10:00 a.m. with Bible teaching, practical lessons, and time together. Hangouts, service opportunities, and events through the week make it easy for newcomers to plug in. The class welcomes both longtime churchgoers and those just checking things out.
Reformers Unanimous on Friday Nights
Reformers Unanimous, a nationally recognized faith-based addictions recovery program, meets every Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at the church. The program is free of charge and open without appointment, designed to rescue, recover, and restore those caught in addictive behaviors through the power of the hidden life in Jesus Christ. Steve and Maggie Pizano have been leading the RU ministry here for more than eleven years.
Spanish and Mandarin Congregations Under One Roof
Lighthouse Baptist Church is a multilingual congregation. The Spanish-language ministry, Iglesia Bautista El Faro, meets at the same address and holds a Bible study on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m., Sunday School at 10:00 a.m., a worship service at 11:00 a.m., and an evening service at 5:00 p.m. Pastor Jesus Hernandez and his wife Zua lead the ministry, which includes Sunday School classes for women, men, and children of all ages. The doctrinal convictions mirror those of the main church, with the Reina Valera 1960 used for preaching and teaching.
The Mandarin Ministry, 燈塔華語浸信教會, meets every Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on the east side of the north building. Pastor Dan Watson and his wife Debbi, who returned from planting a Chinese-language congregation in the Vancouver area in October 2022, lead the work. Each week features a Mandarin sermon alongside a bilingual Chinese-English outline, with biblical teaching aimed at the everyday challenges Mandarin-speaking families face. The ministry grew out of years of hosting Chinese students in church homes and a long-held prayer by Pastor Dunlop to begin a Mandarin congregation at Lighthouse.
Biblical Counseling, Bus Routes, and a Door-to-Door Outreach
Pastoral care at Lighthouse is backed up by biblical counseling for individuals and families. The church also operates a bus ministry that brings people in from the surrounding area, a door-to-door community outreach program that shares the gospel in neighborhoods across La Verne, and a missions program that underwrites the church's own short-term mission trips abroad. Donations to the church and its ministries are handled online through a partnership with Stewardship Technology, with ACH giving encouraged over credit and debit cards in order to keep processing fees low.
Lighthouse Baptist Academy
The Christian day school known as Lighthouse Baptist Academy is part of the church's family of ministries. Originally opened as Calvary Baptist Academy in September 1992, the school began with the entire student body apart from kindergarten gathered in a single room in Billington Chapel on the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College campus. It has since grown into a graded program with its own space on the current White Avenue campus, providing a Christian education option for families in the church and the wider La Verne community.
Visiting Lighthouse: What to Wear and Where to Park
Lighthouse Baptist Church aims to make first visits easy. Ushers greet visitors at the sanctuary doors with a smile, help them find a seat, and answer any questions about the service or the church. Music is described as Christ-honoring, and preaching is Bible-centered and relevant. Ministry leaders dress in traditional church attire, but the rest of the congregation ranges from Sunday best to casual, so newcomers are welcome to come as they are. Nursery care is available for every service, and graded children's classes meet throughout the morning and evening hours. Off-site parking is available for the larger services, and the livestream ensures that anyone out of town or home sick can still catch the message.