God's Ministry, Not Ours: The Heart Behind Light The Way

A quiet scroll through TikTok. A glimpse of the Asbury College revival. Then a sentence spoken into the dark: “Nothing like this ever happens here.” What came next changed everything. Leena tells the full story of Light the Way, the Northwest Indiana worship movement that started with zero budget, zero gear, and one bold yes.

We talk about the early obedience that shaped the mission, including the decision to get clear headed and fully surrender old coping habits, and the very practical challenges that followed: permits, sound equipment, volunteers, and the vulnerability of being told it was “too big.” From there, you’ll hear how churches across denominations stepped in, how the first night of worship in downtown Chesterton drew hundreds, and why unity in the body of Christ is worth fighting for even when not everyone wants to participate.

Light the Way grows into more than an outdoor worship night. We share why we bring nonprofit organizations and ministry booths alongside live worship, prayer, and altar calls, and how that mix creates real community outreach for people facing homelessness, hunger, addiction, mental health struggles, and family crisis. We also get honest about what happens when “excellence” turns into pressure, ego sneaks in, and the mission starts to feel cloudy, plus the leadership changes we’re making to keep Jesus at the center.

If you’re looking for a night of worship in the park, Christian community events in Chesterton and Valparaiso, or a model for church unity and local ministry partnerships, this conversation will give you both inspiration and practical ideas. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review with the one takeaway you don’t want to forget.

Transcript

Welcome And Opening Prayer

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Lyric in the light.

SPEAKER_03 0:29

Good morning.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

Good morning.

SPEAKER_03 0:31

I'm Deion and I'm Lena. And we are the lyric in the light.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

Yay!

SPEAKER_03 0:36

That sounds smooth. Ooh. Jumping right into it. Well, we have butt today, so it's probably a good thing that we're gonna jump right into it. But before we get started, let's go to prayer. I'll start us out this time.

unknown 0:49

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for bringing Dion over today. Hopefully, we have finally worked out some kinks with our sound. Please, God, be with us. And our conversation, we as we talk about your ministry and what you have been doing over these last few years. I'm so excited to be a part of it and to bring Dion into it and to get to share with everybody all about what you have been doing over the last three years. Father God, thank you so much for entrusting us with this. We love you and we hope this conversation blesses others and brings honor and glory to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Okay.

Light The Way Vision Begins

SPEAKER_03 1:25

So we're finally going to talk about drum roll, please. Light the way. Okay. I'm so excited because this is this is so the jam in my jelly roll. And you and this is why. Because Light the Way has been my my baby for the last three years. That'll be three years since my very first event next month. Only three years? I know. It seems longer, doesn't it? That's because we've done so many of them. So how Light the Way got started. Back in February of 2023, there was a revival at Asbury College in Kentucky. At the time, I was, you know, I'm still still very early in my walk. I had just a month before, and I've shared this story before, God had encouraged me to give up smoking weed. And I had been a lifetime pothead. And I was the one thing from my old life that I was holding on to, even on my Christian walk, I was just like, I'm a functioning pothead. Like I it is how I make it through the day. I don't have, you know, it helps me with anxiety and PTSD and all the stuff that I was struggling with. It was helping me in my walk with having a young child and the frustrations and the struggles that go along with that. And I just I thought it came from the earth and God beated it and all the things, all the reasons why. And God was like, give me, you know, hand all that to me and walk with me. And but I really think he was one testing my obedience because he was about to ask me to do something completely bananas. And two, he needed me to be clear headed for what he was about to ask me to do. So, and also that people needed to take me seriously. And I think that if I was a hothead, I don't know that everybody would have really like heard me in the way that he needed me to be heard. So a month later, February of 2023, Asbury College in Kentucky had this revival that went on, and it was a normal church service that just didn't end for an extended period of time. I don't know exactly how long it was going on, but I was watching, I used to get up really early for my daycare. So I was watching, scrolling on TikTok, and I saw the revival, and I saw it multiple days in a row. So is this something that you can look up now to see it? Absolutely. Yeah, and a lot of people from around here went because Kentucky's not that far away, and people were like, This is crazy. Like it was just going on and on and on. And we're talking like almost two weeks long, a church service that didn't end. Wow. And it was wild. And so I was, you know, I had seen it multiple days in a row, and I'm sitting here in the dark at like three, four o'clock in the morning, because I get up so early, and it's like the only time of the day where no one's touching me. And so I was like, I said out loud to myself, in the dark, I go, nothing like this ever happens here. Meaning in Chesterton. And out loud in the dark, I hear a voice. I want to say it's out loud. It sounded out loud to me at the time, but I that's how I remember it. And it said, You're going to do it. And I was like, Me? What do I know? I mean, I I haven't in-home daycare. I'm still reading my Bible for the first time. Like, not, I mean, you can't see me, but I'm shaking my hand and my head. No, no, no, no, wait a minute, you know? And I don't know anything about this. I need you to do permits and paperwork. I got the rest. And I was like, okay, okay, okay. And then I was like, well, now what do I do? So I went online and I went on Facebook and I went on to a Chesterton Happenings page and I said, if someone was gonna do a worship night in the park, what do I do? Like, how do I where does where does this start? I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. And I also emailed my worship leader at my church. And I'm gonna preface what I'm about to say by saying that I am not trying to talk smack about my church or my worship leader. Everything he said in his response was a hundred percent true. Okay. Okay. But I respond, I or him and I said, This is what I want to do. How do I do this? Because I know that my church puts on a worship night in downtown Balpo every year for someone to kickoff. And he responded saying, like, love your heart, but if you want to see a revival happen, I think you should just invite people over and sing in your living room. Because what you want to do costs a lot of money, it takes a lot of equipment that you don't have, takes a lot of it like it takes us a team as a church that has money and equipment and musicians, right? Like months to prepare for this. This is a lot bigger of a deal than you think it is, you know? But but God. But God. And that's so I was very turned off. I'm gonna I'm not gonna lie, I was very turned off by that response. I was like, I understand what you're saying, I hear what you're saying, but I know that that came from God because I never, it ne it has never occurred to me in my life to want to put on a concert of any kind or worship concert to do anything like this, and it's never ever ever crossed my mind ever. So, and I knew that that did not come for me. Yeah, and so I was like, okay, like, but God said to do this, and so like he must have a plan, yeah, you know, so like God telling me to work with teenagers, yeah, yeah, yes, yeah, just scary, probably. Nah, yeah, don't tell him no. He doesn't he don't listen. We also still end up there. So, but then I also remember that I have a living reading reminder of God's faithfulness and his goodness and of what he has done for me. So, how dare I, after he has saved me, redeemed me, and delivered me and gave me a child, how could I possibly tell him no about anything? Yeah. So I was like, okay, well, that that didn't go how I hoped. And now it almost became a how you like the metals kind of a thing from Goodwill Hunting that like I was gonna show him that like you either believe that a God can move mountains or you don't. Yeah. And you sing about this God and how big he is and how what he can do, but you and you sing about it every week, and I know because I've been there, yeah. And and you taught me that. Yeah, but now you're asking me to not believe that and to believe in in my own, and you're right, but everything you said. I do not have money, I don't have a committee, I don't have any of those things, but God does. Yeah.

Churches Unite For The First Night

SPEAKER_03 8:20

And so anyway, one of my friends said, Do you know the Muffin Man? The Muhammad? The Muhammad. Yes, they live on your alien. But no, there was a there's a local pastor who started, I'm not gonna say what church, but she started a mega church in this area, and she's kind of a local celebrity. She was no longer with that church, and she said, You know, I know this person, why don't you reach out to them? So I did, and they were like, I love this idea because I think there's something super special about Chesterton. Let me give you a list of churches that I think might be willing to work with you on this. She's like, I want to get involved too, because she had just started her own church and was trying to get her name out there, and she's like, I'll jump in with you and and help you or whatever and guide you the best I can. And then so I started reaching out to these churches, and then there was a little church in Chesterton called Bethlehem Lutheran Church. And they are a traditional Lutheran church, they don't have a worship team, but their pastor was um, she studied, I think she she did some kind of worship studies or something at BU, and she loves music, she loves to sing, and so she's like, we don't have a a music team to contribute, but we can help you in whatever way we can help you. So whether you need our building to do something in, or you need we can help you with advertising, we can help you with whatever. Like, we could even maybe like give you our 501c3 and cover you that way so that you can rent the park for cheaper or get things for cheaper. We can help you maybe get a grant for like 200 bucks to help pay for advertising, whatever we can do to help you. We want to help. Uh, we just want to get involved because they need to get in front of the community too. Being supportive. They were being very supportive. Yeah. And they wanted, they just wanted to help. So they jumped in. And then another girl that I'm friends with named Leah, she was like, hey, reach out to Valparaiso Baptist Church. Pastor Mitch really has a heart for uniting the body of Christ, which is what you're talking about doing. You're talking about having a worship night with churches from all over the region, all different denominations. He would absolutely be down for that. So I get a hold of Pastor Mitch, and him and I team up. Now I have three churches. In moments, I went from having nothing to having three churches that are willing to help. And I knew nothing about any of these churches, by the way. And then little by little, it turned into seven churches, seven worship teams from different churches all over Northwest Indiana. And four months later, after God put that on my heart to do, in January, I mean, sorry, in June of 2023, we had our first worship night in downtown Chesterton. 800 people showed up. 800. I want to, I'm gonna cry thinking about it. That was the coolest, most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life. And there was like, I don't know any other way to say it than there was like a bubble around that park that day. And it was amazing. We had Vital Community Church, The River, Living Hope, Valvo Baptist, Bethlehem Lutheran, which we ended up singing for Bethlehem Lutheran. We got up there and sang hip hymns. It was the two Bethel and Valpo and the Hope Collective. Anyway, so we had we ended up singing the two guitarists, uh, Paul Danger, who I'll get to him in a second. But Paul Danger and Matt Arns from Bethel played guitar and and myself, Pastor Ruth, Lisa Blaxton, and some other lady from one of Pastor Ruth's other churches that she was working with, a Methodist Church, or no, a Lutheran church in Michigan City. We all sang as the deer. Oh, yeah. And shine, shine, Jesus, shine. Yeah. And we and we we got there, we sang, we represented their church in that way, and they were the only ones doing hymnals at that time. And that was our way to like bring them into it too, so they could get, and it was just neat to see the different churches even come together in that way. And then at the very end, every single church person that was left behind, everybody held hands in front of the gazebo, and we sang Amazing Grace together. The crowd, the churches, and it was it was stunning. And then there was also three days before that event, somebody had painted, and excuse my word boarding, this is their word, not mine. Somebody had painted the word faggot on the municipal building in front of downtown Chesterton, three or four days before that worship night. So a group called the Nasty Women of Northwest Indiana came in response to that to protest. And they said, you know, take me to your leader, to whoever my security team was. And so the security people brought them to me, and all of a sudden I hear Lena and I turn around and I go, Ashley? And she's like, What are you doing here? I said, This is my thing. What are you doing here? She goes, We're protesting. And I was like, Why? And she told me what happened. I said, Oh, I heard about that. So sorry. I said, She's I go, This isn't like this doesn't have anything to do with that. And she and I said, Do you guys want to come in? And she is she's like, Yeah, I was like, No, come in. She's like, Well, I don't want anybody to give my friends a hard time. I said, No one's gonna give them a hard time. We're all just talking, like singing to Jesus right now. I said, Seriously, if anybody gives you a hard time, I'll put security around you and give you markers and cardboard and you do protest right in the middle of this thing. I really don't care, but like I don't have a problem, right? Right, you know? And they stayed, and they not only stayed, but four months later, when we did it again, they were back with another group. It was the mom's club of Al Prazo, which is a nonprofit organization. She happens to be the president of that group, and so she came back and set up a booth and they worked with that one. Wow. So now, since we're talking about nonprofits, so when we so right after that first one, I thought it was a one and done.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

I had no idea it was gonna continue.

SPEAKER_03 14:23

And my husband, who is a very like even keeled person, he was like, I keep hearing do it in the fall every time you talk about light

Adding Nonprofits And Real-World Help

SPEAKER_03 14:35

delay. Because we would talk about it and how an amazing day it was. Yeah, every time we talk about it, I keep hearing do it in the fall, do it in the fall, do it in the fall. Like it's on a loop in my brain. Because did we do it again in the fall? I was like, Brian, we just did this. Yeah, yeah. Like, I don't think we're gonna get the people who can help us back. Oh, by the way, let me let me re-rewind because this is why that matters. So, sound equipment, right? Okay, I didn't know anything about sound equipment. We certainly didn't have the money to rent it or to buy anybody, or I didn't know how to run it. In my mind, when I thought about doing this initially, it was gonna be like a guy with a guitar and a microphone and a karaoke speaker. Like that's what I saw in my body. I had no idea. And nothing wrong with that. I nothing wrong with that. I had no idea what God would do. You know, but as I'm as I'm in my kitchen one morning, my husband goes, What are we doing about sound equipment? I have no idea. I said, This is God's problem, not mine. I have no idea. He's gonna have to figure it out because I we know we don't have money. Right. I no kidding. That day, that day, I get a call from Paul Danger at Bessel in Valcrazo. And he said, I heard you're doing a worship night. And I was like, Yep. What are you doing about sound equipment? No idea. He's like, I'm gonna bring in, I'm gonna bring sound equipment, I'm gonna run tech for you. Yeah, I dropped to the floor. I dropped to the floor. I could not believe it. That very same day that Brian and I had that conversation. We hadn't talked about sound equipment at all. And that same day, Paul comes in with the sound equipment. And so another just miracle after miracle after miracle after miracle, and it was amazing. So I'm like, I can't ask Paul to do that again. It was four months ago. Like, I was like, Can't ask him to do it again. It wasn't even four months ago at that point, this was like right after. And he's like, just ask, see what he says. Well, he said yes. And so October, we're back in the park. But this time, God had another part of the plan. He said, I want you to bring in nonprofit organizations. Now, the first one, we had a couple of them only because my daughter's adopted. So I invited Josiah Whites and the Porter County adoption, like foster and adoption agency, because I just wanted to support, you know, other adoptive potential adopted kids in foster care because my that's where my heart is. And so sorry about that. So I but this time he's like, I want you to bring in nonprofit organizations, I want you to give them free booth space and let them. He's like, people, people are not going to church because they're struggling with homelessness, with hunger, with divorce, with infertility, whatever, mental health, addiction. Like they they they need help so they can get back to church. And so that was the beginning of that. And as it turns out, the Good Grace Project, who's one of the ones I'm gonna talk about, their founders, Jessica and Jared Hayden, were guests at the very first light away. They were there with their daughter. I have pictures of them. In fact, Jessica, a picture of Jessica worshiping, has been a picture I have used multiple times on multiple platforms, not even realizing, not even knowing her because I just love that picture so much. And Andrea Quick, her husband, was on my billboard for the October Light the Way, not realizing I would come to him as well. But the picture of him worshiping like this, he was the background for the billboard. And I was like, I was like, I wonder if this guy is ever gonna just drive down the road and see himself on billboards because we got billboards the second time to try to help us like learn our way around. But so anyway, I go, I I'm like, well, how do I find nonprofit organizations? So I start Googling the very first one I come across, the Good Grace Project. And so I go to call Jessica or the the founder or whatever, and Jessica picks me up the phone and and we're talking for a minute, and I go, I started to tell her, she goes, Lena, it's Jessica from the Buy Nothing Facebook page. Remember, we we've been trading clothes. Oh and I'm like, what? And she I she's like, Yeah, she goes, You did light the way. She goes, That was amazing. I was there. So then we meet each other, and I'm like, you're in all the pictures that I've been posting. And like it was it was Kiss Met that we were supposed to meet. Yeah. So the Good Grace Project, these their story is that they, I don't know if I should even let me give, I'll get back to them. I'm so sorry, I'm like kind of jumping all over the place, but I'm just so excited and have so much to say. So so then the Good Grace Project jumps in, and before I knew it, I had 15 nonprofit and ministry booths to come and have at least give them free booth space. It allows for them to promote themselves and share with people what the work that they're doing so they can find volunteers, they can find people who want to financially support their missions, and so they can provide resources in case somebody needs their help. And it and they came and and everybody loved it. And it kind of draws people in because people see they hear the live music, they see the food trucks, and then they see the boots, and they're like, This is a farmer's market, what's happening over here? And they wander in and then we're like scatcha, right? And the Holy Spirit just snatches them up. And it was amazing when we got to meet so many cool people. So then, year two, we decide that. Oh, and then at the end of the year, BU was like, Hey, if you want to do a gala, we'll give you our church for free. Yeah, and so I got BU's church, which if you've never seen it, it is one of it's in the top 10 biggest cathedrals in the United States. Oh wow, it's huge and it's so stunningly beautiful. And when I very first, and I've no, I don't really talk about this at all. I think I maybe told like one person ever, but when I first moved here, I didn't know anybody, I didn't have any friends, I didn't have a job, I didn't have a car. So I would just go for walks for miles, miles and miles. I'd walk like five or six miles a day, just wandering around, trying to like find learn my way. And I used to walk over to VU and I would walk through that church, through the cathedral. They were doing renovations, the door was open, okay, and I had pictures of me taking pictures in VU in their church, and I wasn't saved, I wasn't, I didn't care at all about Jesus at that time. And but it was just somewhere for me to go, and I just thought it was beautiful. And it was what a what a full circle moment to be back in that church doing a worship night, and that was the first time we ever had a united team. And all of the bands that we had worked with that year were like, let's come together for the get the our very first gala. Um, and we did a worship night in views church with a with a collective worship team, and it was stunning.

Taking The Mission Beyond Chesterton

SPEAKER_03 21:22

So then year two, we were like, okay, now we've done two in Chesterton. We've, you know, we've we've worked out some kinks. Paul agreed to come back and do the year with us, and then we were like, now we have to branch out. So our very first venture out of Chesterton was in Portage, and Portage was rough because we went from 60 degrees the day before to 99 degrees the next day. And if you've never been to downtown Portage, there is no trees, no tree coverage at all. I got sun poisoning. Oh, you saw me swimming in the baptismal at the end of. The day I was absolutely miserable, but and because of that, people would come and leave almost immediately. Yeah, because it was so uncomfortably hot. And so we had probably, I mean, we we had 800 at the first one, we had probably six to seven at the second one. There was four hundred maybe at that at the one in Portage. And I thought, God isn't calling me to this anymore. I think I'm trying to drag out a thing that God's done with. Yeah. And then I can't, but then I came to find out after the fact that when I started talking to the organizations that were there and apologizing to them for the bad turnout and talking to the churches and whatever, that a lot of the churches, because of the fact that we were slow, had a chance to talk to the nonprofit organizations and walk around and they got to know each other. And they ended up building relationships with each other. And now they do projects outside of light the way that they support each other's initiatives. So it was all gone, and God knew where that needed to be and who needed to be there, and how many people, you know what I mean? It's all it's all his going. He had a plan. Yeah, yeah. He had a great plan. And then we also found out that a the boy, the one boy that got baptized that day was gonna kill himself. And he got saved that day. Uh yeah, and he's been with the Lord ever since at the quarted level. So see, that's why we say it's all about one. It doesn't matter how many people show up. But it took me to it took me that to learn that. Yeah because I I you you start getting obsessed with the numbers side of it. And so, but I also didn't consider that there is a playground that wasn't part of our event that was right by the park. So all those kids that came that day to the playground were hearing the word of God through music and seeing all these people praying and worshiping, not even knowing that that's what was going on or that they were gonna hear that. Who knows what seeds were planted in them, too. Right. So God had a plan. So then the night we had did two more that year. We did we went back to Chesterton for our biggest event ever. We had over a thousand people show up in downtown Chesterton. Absolutely stunning. That time we had probably like twenty five booths, I think it went up to. And then the city uh the boot the businesses downtown complaint that we had too many people down there and we took up all the parking and crazy though, because you would think it would help their businesses to have people there. So yeah, they they asked me to apologize for bringing all those people downtown and taking up the parking, and I said, Absolutely not. I said I brought you a thousand people to your doorstep instead of meeting the people out in the crowd and going across the street and saying hello and using yourself or passing out flyers or coupons, you stood on your walk and yelled at them with your arms folded, and then went into the city and complained about it. Yeah, so that is gonna be a no from me. So I said no, and then we we ended up going to downtown Valpo, and Valvo was stunning. The the the look of it's stunning, but it's so expensive to throw events down there, and then our sound equipment which was great for Portage, which was great for Chesterton, could not handle the size of the park for Valpo. Valpo is a whole other beast. Yeah, yeah. So there we had some technical problems that we didn't foresee, and then it was just it it was tough. And then, but we had a great night because again, God moving, people kept showing up at the park, not really knowing why they were there, right? And we saw God move and God move, and I watched my Jewish best friend walk up to an altar call that night and accept Jesus. We watched people who had family issues break down those barriers, and just a lot of people, you know, kind of came to Jesus that day. So another another wonderful event. That one we had about 30 boots. That was our most boots that we'd ever had, and just watching even more organizations come out. So now we're on year three.

When Excellence Turns Into Pressure

SPEAKER_03 26:11

We've done another we did another gala, which you got to go to, and that's how I ended up beating my boss and getting the job I have now. Um, we tried to create a like way united team because we had the opportunity we again had the opportunity to bless this one lady named Tina last year who has Lyme disease and she's been stuck in bed for many, many years. And we went and we worshiped, we turned she could never come to any of our worship nights, so we decided to bring a worship night to her. And so we went there and worshipped in her home, and then we went to some elderly facilities and we brought worship there, and it was amazing. So we're like, oh, we should do this united team and and keep going with it. And then somebody who suggested we do we have them perform at the at the gala. Well and in downtown Chesterton. But well there was a lot wrong with that. A lot wrong with that. It was like it was it wasn't done the way it probably should have been done. Egos get involved, try and keep up with the Joneses. I was sort of, you know, encouraged to do different things with sound to make us sound more like a professional team. And things became clouded. Yeah. And it made me want to quit. Rather than letting God lead you and it be you know what you said about just the people that got together to play the guitar and just sing, you know, with their karaoke system and just something very basic, and God doesn't ask for performance or perfection or, you know, all those things, and maybe that got a little away from from you. You know, got a lot away from me. Yeah, and I'll be the first to admit it. I mean, I d I I wanted to be taken seriously. Yeah, and I I met with somebody who is a worship leader in a bigger church, and they said that no one was going to take me seriously as long as I continued not having the kind of sound that they were gonna require. Yeah. And all the bells and whistles that came along with that, and that none of the bigger churches would work with me, and yada yada, which was definitely not true because Living Hope in Maryville and Portage, they have two campuses or a huge church, and they were the they were there the first one, and they've been there at every one since. And I love that, but I wonder also because like the church that you go to wasn't incredibly supportive. I'm wondering also about a couple others that I know of that I've talked about it, and not once has anyone said, Oh, we would love to do that, or we would love to support that. So I'm wondering if it's not more of a uh in some cases, just this bigger church, you know, reality. Yeah, and they're I wish I could think, you know, I'm really bad with my word, but ego, a little bit of an ego that maybe we're too good to help support something like that, or why would we help support something like that? And why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you want to come together as the body of Christ to help another ministry with this? But also within that, they have their own worship nights. Do you know what I mean? And so maybe they feel either this is the extent of the they're doing things within the community. But isn't there something said to coming together in the body of Christ and supporting one another in that that you would think they would all be clamoring to be involved in something like this? Something that could have the potential to grow the body of Christ. Why would you not want to help support that and be there for that? Yeah, and they don't, and and it's not like I'm asking for, I was never asking for the team to come and play, certainly from not from my own church. I really we did get to have a youth team play from there, and I actually preferred that. I thought that seeing multi-generational worship is something that interests me greatly, and I I just wanted I want young people to see other young people. But even support with a booth, support with a booth from your church that has even if it's the teens that are there to show what their their teen program looks like, if it's the youth group, the youth pastor showing what their youth group looks like. Do you know what I mean? Isn't that also drawing people to your church though, then that you have a booth there? Yeah. To say, look at what we offer. I guess in their minds, they don't need to draw people to the church because their church is already busy enough. But I also think I'm talking any church, though, you know. Why would you not want to be there to try and grow your church? Absolutely. I and I had even asked for them to let me have people from the prayer team. And they said no. I said we we would love to have a prayer team. I'd love to. I want to be on prayer team because I'm trying to work on that. So I told you that last year. I am willing to be a prayer team t-shirt wearer. Jump trying to be better with that. Yeah. Yeah, no. Tell the good grace project, they'll jump in. Yeah, the good grace is actually they've been upright. Right. However many because they just are willing and able. Yeah. But yeah, so they they wouldn't even provide that either. And all they could, the only excuse I kind of got from them was, you know, that they didn't have the bandwidth to to add anything else. It may also be too that if we support you, we have to support him, we have to support her, we have you know what I mean, we have to support everybody, you know. Maybe it's some of that. I'm sure maybe. But I see what they're supporting. Yeah. There's people who've come on board after me that they jumped on. And there's but for whatever reason, I'm not it. And it's fine, you know. That's okay because also what we're learning is in the body of Christ, and in that group that we're in, not everyone is on board for everyone else. That is, you know, like I don't know. We we so it is what it is, and it and I've come to I've come to peace with it, and yeah, and I've you know, I've I've really appreciated the support from churches that are not mine. Right, and you've had have had plenty for sure. A

Results So Far And What’s Next

SPEAKER_03 32:14

lot of support. So thankfully now three and you know, almost three and a half years later, we are growing, and we've done eight, we're doing uh getting ready to do our eighth event, and we've served about 4,500 people. We've seen people get baptized, we've seen miracles happen, we've seen churches come together. You did a conference, we did a conference last year. We did our first conference, thanks to you and your brain child that that's gonna continue growing. We did a 24-hour tent revival last year, or just in October.

SPEAKER_02 32:45

Yeah, I had to miss that last year because that was sad.

SPEAKER_03 32:49

Yeah, you would have loved it too. It was just there was that was I mean, seeing I would love to see you do that again. I you know, honestly, I I was I said I said never and God is already, you know, never, never I know. God's already pulling on me about that again. God will never He will have you never nevering like you've never been never fit forward. Yes. It's so true. He will, but yeah, that's it's already been kind of creepy to to do that again. But some things are gonna have to change. Well, sure, you you learn through a first experience too. Yeah. No, I mean that was the day. The day itself was I expect in my personality. Your schedule will have to change a little bit before I can do that. Yeah, my job has changed since then. But we do have we are introducing some new people this year to leadership, and we're gonna try doing some different things. Um, first of all, you came on as my assistant for a lack of a better word, but really it's literally for a lack of a better word.

SPEAKER_02 33:52

There's no there's really no other word.

SPEAKER_03 33:53

I don't assist her with anything.

SPEAKER_02 33:55

No. I am the most worthless out there.

SPEAKER_03 34:02

Oh, yeah. She's like, physically, I can help you. Physically, I am I have no help. No, I can give you ideas. Yeah, so she's a second brain. Yes, I am the one you do bounce a lot of ideas out of you. And then we're the devil's advocate for me to wear it. Oh yes. Yes. And so I appreciate I do need that though, because I I don't want ever somebody who's just gonna agree with me all the time and tell me that all my ideas are wonderful. And I don't. You don't, and that's and that's fine because I need that too. But you're I mean you just love things. I support you though. You do support, yeah. And then I have uh a girl named Maddie, right, who is gonna be training to be another me at the events, so somebody who can kind of physically run all over the parks. We tried to have you do that last time and you broke your body. Um, so I'm not doing that to you again. So physically, I I need somebody who can kind of run all over, and then Patty Gephart, who was the worship leader at Living Hope, who's now the worship leader at the moment church, who's been with me since the first event. Patty's gonna be coming on as sort of like the musical director, so she will be sort of the one moving forward after this Chesterman event, who's gonna be the one booking the teams that are playing and working with the sound people and kind of figuring out the music side of things because that really is not my gifting. Um, and I am gonna be working on growing the conference side of things and just continuing working on networking and making relationships with churches and nonprofit organizations. So that was what that will be where I'm focused. Maddie will be focused on running the events, Patty will be focused on on the music, and you will kind of continue to be my sounding board and my sane place that I can go to because sometimes my husband's just like I can't talk to you about this anymore. Yeah, yeah. It takes up so much of it. Yeah, yeah. And then we are working on possibly even bringing in a girl named Maddie, um, who you introduced me to to help run a little bit of our social media. And then we had a great for the women's conference to get our first time like really bringing in like a team of volunteers to really show up for us. So I'm super excited. So all that catches us up to our present day.

May 22 Worship Night Details

SPEAKER_03 36:10

So coming up in two weeks on May 22nd, which is a Friday. It's the Thursday on one of our flights coming in gong. My husband caught that actually. I did not. You know, I'm the one that catches every message. It was so small that I just didn't see it. So I was like, ah, yeah. Um, but thankfully I I had written Friday anyway, just because people tend to think events are happening on Saturdays. So I had already written Friday in the big bolt letters, but I didn't see on the flyer itself. It's a Thursday. So we didn't fix that. But on Friday, May 22nd, from 5 to 10 p.m. in downtown Chesterton at Thomas Centennial Park, where it all began, we will be back with another Light the Way Night of Worship in the park. Woo! I know. This time we have I think 34 boots. Oh 34, 35 boots. So this is the most boots. I thought there was even more than that. I don't know. I've been telling people 30 to 70 boots. Oh gosh, I wish. No, I mean we'll get there eventually, but not at that part. Um I really talk you up when I'm out there. Lion lager. No, you need butt. But uh no, um, I think we're about 35 boots, that includes the food trucks as well. But we'll have about 30 to 30 or 34 to 35 food booths and trucks. And so I'm gonna talk to you talk to you about some of them, but our food trucks are Chicoyas, which is a Mexican food truck, which is this is our first time with them, but I'm really excited to have that kind of variety. And then we're welcoming back Big Mike's, which is kind of a family friendly, like American grill style food. Big D's, which is mostly Phillies and sandwiches. And I know it's what his name is Dave.

SPEAKER_02 37:50

Okay, I'm all right, moving on together. Moving on.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

What do I do? Then he of Porter County, which is uh obviously donuts and lemonades and things like that. So oh yes, they had shakeups or something last time that I noted a lot of people were after. Yeah, like some type of drink they were yeah, they have uh like lemonades, yeah, like a lemonade shakeup or something. They were so good though. Yeah, donuts great. They're all they're all really, really good. So I'm really excited about that. And then for the kiddos, we have M and B Jamboree, who you know. Yes. How do you know them? My daughter and her best friend, Maddie. Yeah, your social media girl. Yeah. Brianna and Maddie, they yeah, have the yeah, have the bounce house, sorry, bounce houses. And a foam thing, right? Yeah, they're doing they've added a foam party this year, so they have some more stuff that they're adding to their they also have the soft the soft play for the toddlers, so different things that they can do for birthday parties and things like that. So they'll be there. That's nice. Yeah, they were at the last Chester one, and that was really nice because it's Chesterton, uh, downtown Chesterton doesn't have a park, like a jungle gym kind of park. Okay. So it's nice that they have they brought stuff for usually we set up our own kids zone, but I'm kind of glad that they're doing that. Yeah. And then Rivers Edge Homestead. So Patty Gebhart, who I was just talking about, I'm taking the lead. Her other job is she runs a petting zoo. Okay. Um, so she's actually bringing some for smaller animals uh for a petting zoo. So we'll have that kids. And is that on Facebook? Because also MB Jamboree, they are on Facebook. So yes, they're both on Facebook and they're both their both their advertisements are okay. Yeah, and definitely go on the Light the Way Facebook page, but also there's a Lightway event for this. There's two event pages. One is run by Light the Way, and then one is run by me. Like the one by me is um I think a lot more people are following that. But all of these nonprofit organizations are listed there, but I did want to highlight some of

Partner Ministry Spotlights

SPEAKER_03 39:45

them. So, first and foremost, I want to talk about we talked about the Good Grace Project. So Jared and Jessica Hayden lead the Good Grace Project, and they their story is amazing. They were a couple that was homeless and that was living in basically like living out of a hotel in Michigan City. Jared struggled with addiction, and they they then during COVID, they were trying to help people find a sand, what is this stuff called? The the stuff it's like not so hand sanitizer. There you go. And they started passing out hand sanitizer and stuff like that to people, and sl all of a sudden that just kind of rolled into like poiletries and and providing homeless people with things that they needed in order to stay safe and healthy during COVID. And then it sort of then they kind of got their life together. Jared got a job, Jared got cleaned up, and they moved into another home, and they kept going. And so uh they started doing outreaches at the I think it's a days in right by the Franciscan hospital in Michigan City. They go in the parking lot a couple times a year and they set up tents with food and clothes and toiletries and just things on they do worship out there, they and they just pray for people and love on people. We do it every Thanksgiving. We go out there and feed the feed the homeless with them. They do a taco one sometime in the summer, and then they also do a back to school for the kids, and then we do an Easter one. So it's been really awesome working with them, and they just got their 501c themselves after a few years of doing this. They uh they've got their 501c. Jared speaks at a lot of our events, so he'll be he'll be talking it light the way, and they run our prayer tent now. They're amazing people. So the Good Braves Project, they'll be there. The H Life is another one I want to talk about. The H Life, Beth Serafin, has been with me since the first the first light away as well. And she her organization, they provide resources and financial help and just love and support to families that are that have kids who have DIPG, which is a very specific terminal form of brain cancer. And H life, they sell coffee and tea at our events, and she is one of the best human beings on earth. And so definitely make sure you stop by and chit-chat with her, and they have amazing, amazing coffee, and all those root finances go back to helping those families. Then we have Bethlehem Lutheran Church. It has been with us again. A lot of these are are people that have been with us, you know, from the beginning. And Bethlehem Lutheran, they cover us with their 501c3 umbrella. They are an amazing or traditional Lutheran church in Chesterton over by Dogwood Park. And they have taken on a project called the Really, really free market. I've seen it on Facebook. It's a really I wanted to go the last time, but I didn't make it over there. Yeah, twice a year, they'll do really big, it's basically a garage sale, but everything is free. Everything is free. Everything is 100% free. And they fill up their whole church, their fellowship hall, everything with things that are donated to them from the community and they give it back to the community, and then they have a store at their church where their homeschool used to be, their co-op, that is open year round. And you can go in there two to three days a week, I believe, and just get whatever you need. Oh wow. So it's pretty awesome. Pastoruth is amazing. They have such a huge heart for people who with neurodivergencies, and she used to set up a sensory zone at all of our events. This year they're bringing free market to the event, so you can actually do a little shopping at the at the Chesterton event to get some things that you might need. So make sure you stop by and see that. We also have Valparaiso Baptist Church, Pastor Mitch Tabla. They set up a free popcorn booth, and they are just an awesome church. What a nice guy. He is the nicest guy. And such a huge source of support. When I needed when we got the farm for the twenty four hour worship, he was one of the pastors that participated in a sermon that was given by four pastors of different denominations, given side by side that they wrote together. I wish I could have been there for that.

SPEAKER_02 44:01

That was what that was like one of the coolest things we've done so far.

SPEAKER_03 44:04

And he also provided the tent for that worship night, helped us put it up, helped us break it down. His church are just the kindest people, and he has been such a huge support system for me. Like I said, my own church is not super involved in what I do. And so I have needed when I have needed counsel from the pastor, he has been him and Pastor Ruth from Bethlehem have been my go-to pastors. And I'm just so grateful for them. So make sure you stop by and say hi to them too. And then we have the Fearless Queens coming back. If you were at our women's conference, the Fearless Queens are two podcast hosts, Tina Martin and Sarah. I keep wanting to call her Sarah Kiros, but she's Soberg. Sarah Soberg. I'm so sorry. Yeah. Sorry, Sarah. That they are the hosts of a podcast called the Fearless Queens Podcast. You can find them on YouTube and where all other platforms they do a really great educational podcast. Super inspiring. They're actually getting ready to have their sold-out Pilates, Christian Pilates event, which is really exciting. So they'll be there. We have 500 turkeys. Which you know, what do you know about 500 turkeys? Do you know anything about them? Um, I mean, I know the girl who runs it, Jenny Bolton. We've become very good friends. She's does the 500 turkeys. You just said that. Yeah. So basically at Thanksgiving, they get a group of volunteers together to pass out turkeys and all the fixings for families in families that need that and who are in need. You do have to register and sign up for it though. And it's best to do that as soon as they open that up to doing that. So they have Turkey Palooza coming up this summer. Um, I think they're doing like a 70s party, I think, this season. I don't rem I don't know. I think last year was 80s. It is, yeah, the last year 1985. Yeah. 70s this year, but a great organization to get behind if you're looking for an opportunity to volunteer, and then they also work clothes and prayers. Oh, yeah, yeah. Which is also I think it's in South Haven, right behind McDonald's. Yeah, and Jenny actually also just started something called Wildcard Ministry, where she is getting you can get from her a card basically that they look like Uno cards, but basically when you take it and you open it up, there's a challenge inside there for you based on how she was initially challenged to start 500 turkeys. She's got a really great testimony and a really awesome story for starting that. But I'm thinking probably 500 turkeys will have that wildcard ministry there too. I think I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure too. Because now I just told her that that's what she's doing.

SPEAKER_02 46:52

Yeah. No. You're up, Jenny.

SPEAKER_03 46:54

Yeah. Um, that's a that's a good one too, though. She's got yeah, so she's got a couple ministries within her ministry, and she's she's out there being the hands and feet for sure. Um she's also very involved with the banquet community, which we're talking about, but will the banquet community be there? Someone representing I don't think the banquet will not this time. Um, but Bridgepoint, who hosts the banquet. Bridgepoint Church in Valpo will have a booth there. Okay. But for I was there Indiana Dude's Great Banquet? They were there last year. They were there last year, but um I spoke to Corlin who is in charge of banquet. He's just said that they couldn't get volunteers to be able to run the booth this year. So that's too bad because I mean we uh both are involved with that, obviously, and then a good, real good ministry, and yeah, so it is, yeah. I think um headboarded uh I'll we've talked about it off the off the podcast. It's just too long of a story. Yeah. And then another one, another I only want to mention two more because we do have so many, and this is sorry, they can be kind of long. So I I want to mention Yahweh Army. Yes, and they're an incredible organization too. That they are talking about the hands and feet of Jesus. I mean, they're those people are like when there's a storm, they're in your yard with chainsaws helping cut trees and bringing water, they're showing up. And I know they've been to Kentucky for the floods and things like that, and serve the homeless. And I know they go pass out pass out food, pass out sandwiches, hot chocolate in the winter, coffee, da-da-da. I know that they're I unfortunately I don't know exactly what they do, but I do know they got their hands in different things when they're helping. So I think they do a lot of different yeah, they do do a lot of different stuff, just supporting the community and agents. I know they give out quotes like that. They're getting ready to build a ramp, I believe. Oh, okay. Okay. So again, just kind of out there helping who they can help in any way that they can. Absolutely, yeah. That's awesome. And that's what God would want us to do. Absolutely. He wants us to show up for each other. Right. They definitely do that. And then the last one I'm gonna mention is Builder of Men. And that is run by Wayne Antusis, who's also another member of our Indiana Dunes Great Banquet family, and he goes into prisons and he teaches what he uh these builder of men classes, and he basically teaches guys in the jail in the jails how to, once they exit jail, how to be better husbands, how to be better men in the community, and to stop causing trouble and how to be good fathers and just kind of step into the role that God has given them. Right. And he goes in there and just kind of teaches them how to be men and he builds them up and helps build their characters. And I know that that is a ministry that is God is just blessing and blessing and blessing, and it's growing so rapidly. So we're just so excited that we can be a small part in helping get Wayne's out there. He has so much energy and he is so excited. And I know he's looking for mentors to go into the jail and talk to these guys. So they definitely need some help. If there's men out there who have a heart for helping with that cause, I know he's looking for people. So those are just a handful.

How To Get Involved Locally

SPEAKER_03 50:03

Will Coney be there? Yeah, yep, Coney outside, or uh Kairos. Kairos will be, yes. Yeah, but that's a word associated with the case. Is Kairos women? Oh, something like that. Yeah, yeah. But Kairos will be Kairos outside will be there. Um lifewise, 320 recovery. True North. Not true north this time. Oh, we need the Princess and the Port, which is a new one. I'm really excited about that. Josiah Whites will be back, sleep in Heavenly Peace, Salvation Army, Woven Hope. I mean, I think the list goes on and on. So I I'm really just super excited to get to meet some of our new boots, to get to say hi to some old friends. Is it too late for people to contact you to be there? Not at all. No, I think as long as we have room. So we'll find room for you if there's uh if if we can, because we want to get people the resources that they need. And we like to get at the park about 4 30. Everybody has to be done setting up by 4 30 so that we can get together and pray and worship at the time. Did you say lifewise would be there? Lifewise Academy will be there. Yep. So right before everything starts, we get together and pray, and then we do a little worship acapella as a group so that the vendors and and booths can all participate in that too. Yeah. And then everything booth-wise closes at nine um so that they can come out and worship for the last hour. Yeah. We have three worship teams this time. I'm not gonna say what order they're going in because I don't like it when people just show up to support the people that they like and then leave. So we have uh we have three groups. Your husband's actually leaving one of those groups. Yeah, they sound so good. He is a proud of him. He's doing good, but he's got the the better thing, the bigger thing is that he's got a heart for it. He's really stepping into it, and it's not something that he's really ever done before, and he's just taking it on this last year, kind of fronting it, and usually he's just more comfortable behind the drums because he plays drums and sings, but yeah, he's stepped forward and stepped out with some wonderful people surrounding him and encouraging him and kind of stepping into that. And I'm I'm proud of him to see him doing that, you know, and and for and and for God, you know, and so he's he's loving it. And that's a united team of sorts, too, isn't it? Yes, yeah, and so is the so is one of the other teams, is also a collective of worship musicians from different churches, this is worship musician from different churches. There's only one church team playing, so this is different than anything we've done in that aspect because usually it's church worship teams and maybe one collective team, but this time it's like all that. Right. Um, so I know it's less teams, but they're playing longer sets, and then we are gonna take some time, um, intentional time for prayer, a little bit more so than we have in the past. We're gonna give our nonprofit organizations an opportunity to come and and talk about themselves also and and talk about what they're doing. But also, somebody else is gonna have a booth there. Any thoughts on who that might be? Us, the lyric and the light.

SPEAKER_02 53:08

The lyric and the light. We're gonna have a booth.

SPEAKER_03 53:10

I'm so excited. Our first booth. I'm so excited. I'm excited. So if you haven't met us in person, or both of us anyway, because you probably know one of us, that you could please come and stop by. We're gonna be right next to the light the way booth, which is gonna be right by the stage. Just I because I have to be close by the light the way booth, and um, I kind of have to be all over the place. So Dion will be there for the whole time. Right. I'll be kind of floating in and out throughout the night. We're hoping to have some people come on and say hi. So we'll be doing a podcast from the booth, which is so exciting. So that's gonna be really, really fun.

Men’s Conference And Christmas Bake-Off

SPEAKER_03 53:51

And one other thing that we're doing, which is not the light the way, but I do want to say it, we are back in the popcorn festival parade. Oh, yay! I signed us back up. I thought that you had said, I exactly, yeah. So we're back at the popcorn festival parade in the first or second weekend of September. I'm always looking for people to walk with you and that. You want to walk with us in that? And then I'm gonna try, possibly, depending on what time I have to work. I might see if we can be in the Fourth of July parade in Porter, but I'm not 100% sure because I actually have a wedding that day, enough. So just Yeah, that's our anniversary weekend, so we're not usually. Well, then maybe we won't maybe not this year, maybe it's not. But we are trying to get out more in the community because we're not doing as many events this year. Right. And then we are gonna start planning next month. We start planning for our men's conference. Okay, which is actually gonna be called Firm Foundations Men's Conference. Okay. So that is most likely going to be held sometime in the very beginning of November. Okay. And I'm just really excited about that. Yeah, that'll come up quick. It's gonna come up quick. Yeah, yeah. Seems like you've been kind of boom, boom, boom, one thing after the next. So it has been. Yep. And then I think the only other thing we have so far planned for this year, which this will be the very first time we're announcing this, and I haven't told the on that I'm announcing this, but we are I knew about it, but I didn't know you were announcing it. We are doing our very first light the way Christmas bake-off championship. We are, I'm so excited. I'm very excited. It sounds so silly, and you're like, why in the world can we do a light the way Christmas baking championship? But they do chili cook-offs all the time. Yeah, and so we wanted to find a way because we're not charging for our conferences, but we do want to keep being able to do things like worship nights and parking conferences. And so we thought, who doesn't love Christmas goodies? Right. So right at the Amen. So right at the right, probably I get back from my trip right at the beginning of December. So probably the week after I get back, we will be doing our very first Christmas fake off. Yeah, like I don't know where it's gonna be yet, but as more details roll in about how you can sign up, yeah, what that's gonna look like in real time. But I really, really hope that this is just the first of many Christmas achievements making chance. I'm so yummy. I'm so excited. Yeah, I'm so excited. Get rid of the Thanksgiving pounds, we're gonna make real Christmas. And who doesn't love you know the Christmas holiday and and just lending to that? It's gonna be it's gonna be fun. I think it's gonna be fun. I think no next year we'll probably start introducing more small events like trivia nights and things like that. Just trying to build community within the light the way community instead of only seeing each other a couple times a year just getting together for some more stuff. So I know some great bakers too, so it's gonna be a competition. Woo! You know I'm gonna enter. So with my ugly with my ugly stuff, I was kind of thinking uh the same thing, but yeah, okay. And I'm all about for keeping them like secret, only you know, only the judges know who who's is who's. Oh, yeah, for sure. I well, when they see how ugly this stuff is, they're gonna know it's mine. It tastes delicious, but your girl cannot decorate. So we'll see how that goes.

Prayer Walk Invite And Closing Prayer

SPEAKER_03 57:11

Anyway, well, I just want to thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share about Light the Way and for encouraging me to put that stuff out there for everybody. I'm so excited to worship with you guys in the park. And what just less than two weeks. So I know this episode's coming out late Monday. Usually we get this out early, first thing Monday, but we wanted to make sure that we took the time to really uh talk about it. And if you guys are interested in joining me, I do prayer walk the park on Thursday night before an event. I would really love it if I usually go by myself. So if you guys could join me, I walk every single inch. And that would be the Thursday night. Thursday 21st before the 21st, Thursday night before 6 p.m. Okay. I am walking every inch of that park. I put my hands on every bench, every place to sit. I mean, I look like a crazy person. I'm literally just walking for probably a good half an hour, just praying over that space to make sure that the Holy Spirit has the red carpet rolled out for him, that he knows that this is his ministry and his night, and this is all about Jesus. So thank you for joining me. And if you wouldn't mind uh closing us in prayer since I opened us. Yeah, I'm gonna give uh a couple scriptures to just to tie in to today. Ephesians 2 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in one. And John 13, 14. If I then your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. Sorry, I forgot the tongue twister. And then two songs that I was thinking of is Bethel Music, Send Me is what it's called, and Cain the Commission. They're both great songs speaking on being the hands and feet of of Christ and going and telling the world about Jesus. So two good two good songs we'll definitely go along with it. Or the YouTube videos for those up on the Facebook page as well. Right. Well, thanks for sharing all that. Um I'm excited. I'm excited, super excited. Yeah, everybody else is excited too. Yeah, please bring bring friends, bring family, bring your neighbors, bring your churches. I mean, we want to fill that park. Let's let's I mean I want them to hear us all the way in here. I even think their dogs are allowed too, right? Like dogs are allowed, yeah. Yeah, bring bringing you can you can bring coolers, you don't have to eat. Blankets, sit on fresh around there. Do bring a chair to sit on if you have chairs, you know, yeah. Bug spray, yes, yeah, all the things that you would think for outdoor summer time in the evening. Yeah, I mean, thankfully, I I I'm hoping hopefully the weather will be kind of how it is now and we won't be hot. We've been very, very blessed with weather in the past. So hopefully we'll have other than that footage, but we we've been blessed with the weather. Yeah, yeah. So hopefully it'll be a good night. It's gonna be a great night, no matter what. Regardless of the weather. Uh amen. I'll I'll worship him. Yes, yeah. Sometimes I think that's a blessing in itself, kind of a natural baptism sort. As long as we can keep the speakers dry, then we're we're okay. I'll sit the right. All right. I'll close in prayer. Father God, thank you for this time together. Thank you for Lena's heart and her obedience and listening to you and taking that initial first step to start light the way. Thank you for all of the support that she has from different friends and family and people who have become friends along the way. And Father God, we just ask that you bless the event and that you bring the one, always the one, who needs it the most and just cover everyone that night and just let everyone come together in a time of unity because that's what it's really all about. It's all about you. It's all about being the united body of Christ. Father God, we we love you, we honor you, we thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:18

Amen. All right, so until next, uh, so have a good one. See ya, bye.