Baptist Church on North Clay plans celebration
By David Blanchette
It all started in a meeting room at the Jacksonville Comfort Inn, and now two decades later, the Lighthouse Baptist Church at 310 N. Clay Ave. is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special day of services on December 8.
Lighthouse Baptist Church began when its first minister, Jeff Feil, came to Jacksonville looking to start a new church and met at the local hotel with a group of 16 people who wanted a good fundamental, independent Baptist church. That group voted to organize the church, named it Lighthouse Baptist, and the first service was held December 12, 2004 in rental property at 350 E. Michigan Ave. that was owned by one of the organizers, Lester Utley.
Services were held there until February 2005 when the congregation purchased the old Carpenter’s Union building on North Clay Avenue and worked themselves to transform it into the church’s new home. According to its printed history, the church received donated lights, pews and two pianos, including one that was rescued from a local dumpster. A woman who visited the church heard of their musical needs and donated an organ.
Karl Jones was called to be the new pastor on September 23, 2005, and Joe Tonellato was hired as the assistant pastor in June 2007. Joe Tonellato and his wife Gretchen were an assistant pastor and school teacher, respectively, at a ministry in Florida and jumped at the opportunity to move to the Jacksonville congregation because Jones was Gretchen’s father and Gretchen was happy to come back to her home community.
“There are very close connections in this congregation, everybody is like family here and we all love each other,” Gretchen said. “I was born here and I love Jacksonville.”
When Pastor Jones died in July 2016, Joe was selected the next month to be the church’s senior pastor, a role he still fulfills.
“After Pastor Jones’ passing the church and our family went through a period of grief and some people left the church,” Joe said. “Then we had the COVID pandemic, which was hard on everyone. But the Lord has blessed us and we’ve had small but steady and faithful growth, and we’ve been able to pay off our mortgage, so we are debt-free.”
Lighthouse is an independent Baptist church, which means there is no outside ruling structure over the church. The members of the congregation decide what goes on there.
“We preach the Word of God and that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone,” Joe said. “By putting our faith and trust in Him, we know we have a home in heaven when the time comes.”
Joe said the church has a traditional style of music, preaching and worship and their teachings are based on both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Services are at 10 a.m. on Sunday and there is also a 1 p.m. Sunday service.
“We have several people who travel and when they come for the morning service they bring their lunch,” Joe said. “We decided to do that as well, so now we have the morning service, eat lunch, and then have the afternoon service.”
Lighthouse Baptist Church also has a 7 p.m. Wednesday prayer and Bible study session that covers different topics and Bible passages than are covered in the Sunday services. Approximately 15 to 20 people attend on Sunday, and all visitors are welcome to attend any of the church’s services.
The Tonellatos have employment outside of their church roles. Joe is a driver for the West Central Mass Transit District. Gretchen works at Merle Norman Cosmetics and the contract Post Office on Veterans Drive in Jacksonville, and she does part time clerical and support work at the church. The couple stay in touch during the week with congregation members through text massages and they are starting to use social media to keep people informed as well.
Lighthouse Baptist Church may be small, but they are proud of their 20 years of ministry. The 10 a.m. service on Sunday, December 8 will kick off their anniversary observance, a special meal will follow, and the 1 p.m. service that day will celebrate the church’s history and recognize individual members. The anniversary services are open to the public, and all who attend will receive a free gift.
Meanwhile, Lighthouse Baptist Church is looking forward to the next 20 years and beyond.
“We have some modest renovation plans for the property and we want to do more community outreach,” Joe said. “We want to share the Gospel with everybody.”
