PASTORAL TRANSITION
About Lighthouse Baptist Church
Lighthouse Baptist Church was founded in 1976 as Calvary Baptist Church of
Lehighton. Our church was one of several congregations that Calvary Baptist Church of
Lansdale helped to plant around this time. The church initially met in local rented
locations, and within several years built the first part of our current church on Green
Sreet in Lehighton. Today, God has blessed us with beautiful facilities that are very
adequate for our church - a larger auditorium was built in 1991, and a 2008 addition
added a gymnasium, offices, and classroom space.
The church had its ups and downs over the years, at one point even splitting into two
congregations before merging again and renaming to Lighthouse Baptist Church. Pastor
Wolverton accepted the pastorate of Lighthouse Baptist Church in 2001, and he has
pastored here for 25 years. He has led our people with a servant’s heart, and has
guided us as we have transitioned from a very legalistic mindset to being a grace-
focused, Gospel-centered congregation.
Our ministries have also evolved over the years. A small Christian school was operated
for a number of years, but closed in 2015. A bus ministry was also in operation for many
years, but dwindled and ended in 2020 during the Covid-19 shutdown. Today, we are
blessed to have a vibrant children’s ministry, and some of our largest outreaches are
Vacation Bible School and an annual Fall Festival. The Fall Festival is a public event,
open to our community, that has brought more than 1100 people to our property. This
leads to opportunities to connect with our community, help them feel comfortable at our
church, and to share the Gospel. God has used these outreaches to bring us a number
of new attenders and members. Other ministries include: Benevolence, decorations,
special meals, coffee shop, janitorial, buildings and grounds, ushers, safety & security.
In September 2026, Pastor Wolverton announced to the church his intention to retire
from Lighthouse at the end of 2026. While our congregation is saddened by this news,
we’re trusting God’s provision and are confident that He will lead us as we search for
and call a new Pastor.
About our area:
Lehighton is located in Northeast Pennsylvania - roughly 1.25 hours from Philadelphia,
and roughly 2.25 hours from the New York City area. We’re a somewhat rural area, and
located 25-40 minutes north of the more populous Lehigh Valley (composed of
Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the surrounding towns). Lehighton is composed of a
Borough with around 5,000 residents, and a larger rural area with roughly 20,000
residents. Our county, Carbon County, has around 65,000 residents.
Lehighton has a strong Pennsylvania Dutch (German) history, and even today many
recognizable German names are found in our community, as well as traditions like the
ham-and-saurkraut dinner, and even speaking “Pennsylvania Dutch”. The area has a
strong working-class population, built on a history that includes coal mines, textile mills,
and manufacturing operations. Today, many residents also work in healthcare,
government services, and retail trade, though manufacturing and service industries also
remain strong. Many residents work locally, and many also commute to the Lehigh
Valley. The average commute for Lehighton residents is 25 minutes. The median
income is $63,254 and the median home value is $188,645.
Northeast PA is known for its beauty, and our area is no exception. Jim Thorpe, a
nearby town, is a popular tourist destination. Many people come here to enjoy our
thousands of acres of wooded mountains, hiking and biking trails, the Lehigh River and
Beltzville Lake, nearby Blue Mountain Ski Area, and the many historical sites of interest.
What We Believe:
The following paragraphs simply summarize what we believe as a church family.
We believe the Bible and teach it to be perfectly true. Every belief and teaching of
Lighthouse Baptist flows from God’s Word. For a more detailed account and description
of our doctrine, feel free to request a doctrinal statement from the church office.
The Bible
We believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God, fully and verbally inspired of God.
We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible Word of God, as found within the
66 books from Genesis to Revelation. We believe God not only inspired every word, but
has preserved them through the ages (Psalm 12:6-7; II Timothy 3:15-17; I Peter 1:23-
25; II Peter 1:19-21).
God
We believe in one God, who is eternal, self-existent, infinite, and immutable. We believe
He has one nature, one essence, and one substance, yet manifests Himself to man in
three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4; I Timothy
1:17; James 1:17; I John 4:4).
Son
We believe Jesus Christ to be the one and only Savior of mankind. We believe Jesus
Christ to be eternally God and to possess all the attributes of Deity. We believe that the
Lord Jesus Christ was virgin born, that He was God incarnate, and that the purposes of
the incarnation were to reveal God, to redeem men, and to rule over God's kingdom. We
believe Jesus Christ never relinquished any attributes of His Deity, but merely veiled
them. We believe He lived a perfect, sinless life, at the end of which He was offered for
all mankind as a substitutionary sacrifice for man's sin. This sacrifice was a just
payment to God for the forgiveness of sin. It was activated by His death through the
shedding of His blood on the cross and was accepted by God upon His resurrection. We
believe He ascended into Heaven after His resurrection to be seated at the right hand of
the Father, waiting for the time of receiving His church at the rapture, and returning
seven years later to earth to rule and reign as King for 1,000 years (Psalm 2:7-9; Isaiah
7:14, 9:6, 43:11; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1, 1:3, 14, 18, 29;
Romans 3:19-25; Romans 5:6-15; Philippians 2:5-11; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I
Timothy 2:5; I Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:10-15; Hebrews 7:26, 9:24-28; I Peter 1:19, 2:2; I
John 1:3; Revelation 20:1-6).
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit of God is a person who has personality and all the attributes
of Deity. We believe the Holy Spirit has always been involved in the affairs of mankind.
However, we believe He has a special ministry which began at Pentecost and will
continue until the rapture. This ministry includes convicting the world of sin,
righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit was also sent to regenerate, sanctify, seal,
and fill all who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:5-6; John 14:16; Acts 1:5;
Acts 11:15; I Corinthians 3:16; I Corinthians 6:19-20; I Corinthians 12:13).
Sin and Salvation
We believe all men were born with an inherited sin nature received from our common
ancestor, Adam. We believe that because of his nature, man is a sinner by choice, and
he is totally incapable of reforming himself or ceasing from his sin by his own power. We
believe the only hope of deliverance for man is a total change of mind concerning his
sinful condition and inability to change it, and a turning to Jesus Christ as the only
Savior. We believe that only through the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross
can a man be delivered from his sin. We believe that all those who reject Jesus Christ
as their Savior are already condemned to an eternity in the lake of fire (Genesis 5:1-5;
Acts 4:19; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:10-23; Romans 5:6-12; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9-
10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6; Revelation 20:11-14).
The New Testament Church
We believe the church began with the calling out of the twelve apostles by Jesus Christ
and was empowered on the day of Pentecost. We believe the local church is God's only
institution to carry out His work today. We believe the local church is composed of
members who have been saved and baptized according to the command of Christ, and
have voluntarily united together for the purposes of worship, fellowship, service, and the
Lord's Table. We believe all true believers will be taken up at the rapture, just prior to the
tribulation (Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 1:15; Acts 2:41-43; Acts 11:15; Acts 20:28; I
Corinthians 15: 51-58; Ephesians 1:12-14; Ephesians 5:25-30; I Thessalonians 4:13-18;
I Timothy 3:4-15).
The Last Days
We believe in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures in their grammatical and
historical context. We believe in the pre-tribulational rapture of the church saints,
followed by the seven-year tribulation. We believe in the pre-millennial return of Christ to
the earth and His literal rule of one thousand years. Following this one thousand years is
the Great White Throne judgment and then the new heaven and new earth (I
Corinthians 15:51-58; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Thessalonians 5:1-9; Revelation 19-
22).
Are you interested in this position?
Please contact our pulpit committee at [email protected]
You may email a resume or packet directly to this email, where it will be received by our
pulpit committee. We have prepared a more detailed information packet that includes
our church constitution and more information about our ministry, that we are happy to
send on request.
Pulpit Committee Members:
Ryan Berry
Darrell Bolton
Nathan Foeller
Jon Hittner
Bill Richards