Venice Beach, California

Lighting the Way began with the only Christian table on Ocean Front Walk in Venice Beach, CA, in 2002. Alongside psychics, tarot card readers, Hindu tables, Atheists United, Scientologists and Hare Krishna parades, Dwayna Litz started the only Christian table on the boardwalk in 2002 as a missionary, and this began as a church-wide ministry of Grace Community Church where John MacArthur is pastor. Dwayna had just moved from Nashville to Los Angeles to become a member of Grace Community when, six months later, this outreach began.

With a sign reading, “Come Find Out What God Has to Say About Your Future” and a banner reading, “A Free Gift for You,” instead of reading palms or tarot cards, we read people what the Bible says about how to have eternal life through Jesus. We got the 501c3 in 2003, and Lighting the Way began growing internationally.

Working with youth groups from churches all throughout the area, this outreach’s purpose began by meeting people right where they are, bringing the church to the lost, and this is what LTW still does in every outreach location. We also fed the neighborhood each Saturday in what was then called “the homeless capital of the world.”

Unlike other ministries of evangelism, LTW began by using no “evangelism scripts” and still does not today. With a deep scope of alphabetized articles in file bins, books and tracts written specifically for reaching New Agers, Moslems, atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons…we not only share the Gospel, but we define terms to explain what the Gospel means. Sermons are also available on CD from Walter Martin, the original Bible Answer Man, explaining anything from reincarnation to psychic phenomena from a Christian perspective.

This outreach location is still going strong today, as we partner with the Venice Beach Bible Ministry on the boardwalk every weekend as an outreach of evangelism based on apologetics. All materials are free—Bibles, tracts, books and articles specifically for people of all belief systems and religions to shine a light for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a place known for its occult spirituality, Venice Beach, CA.