How We Started
Lakelight Institute was founded in 2022 by Christ Church.
This initiative has been a long-term aspiration of the senior pastor, Mike Woodruff. Christ Church felt the need to respond to three emerging trends:
Sharp declines in biblical literacy
Rapid cultural change in a post-Christian society.
An increasingly truncated view of the gospel which sequesters faith to Sunday morning.
Countering those trends required a new institute that could provide robust biblical training for the community, a thoughtful Christian public witness, and resources to integrate faith and work.
The driving objective is personal and cultural renewal as people work out the implications of the gospel in ordinary life.
We want a community which embodies Paul’s prayer to the Colossians: that they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding bearing fruit in every good endeavor. (Col 1:10)
What We Do
We offer classes taught by world-class professors.
We host events.
We convene an Annual Conference called the Good Work Summit.
We publish articles and books.
We host podcasts.
We recommend books (GoodReads), and we share articles, links & studies (GoodFinds).
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What’s the story behind the name Lakelight?
You’ve heard of sunlight and moonlight, candlelight and starlight, the list goes on. How about lakelight?
Light does some amazing things on the lake. It reflects, refracts, illuminates, and radiates. It makes charming soft tones and brilliant bars of light at sunset. We want our work to shine with light like that. Additionally, the name serves as a nod to the original vision of Christ Church. The founding members were a small group of people seeking God and living by faith. They sensed God calling them to be a light in Lake Forest and Lake County. Put it all together and you get Lakelight Institute.
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Light comes from outside
One of the hallmark beliefs of the Christian faith is that any goodness humans possess is a gift from outside of us. Likewise, lakes don’t create light. They reflect it. Lakelight reminds us that we are not the source of light - God is. We are not looking inside for answers, but outside.
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See your good deeds
Jesus tells his followers they are the light of the world. He continues to tell them not to hide the light, but to let it shine so others can see their good deeds and praise their Father in heaven. Our hope is to support you to reflect and refract the beauty of God through the work you do.
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The Examined Life
It would be easier to follow God if we only had to focus on external markers: hard work, results, benchmarks against others, etc. Instead, God is deeply committed to ridding the darkness within. This takes reflection. Lakelight emphasizes and invites you to live an examined life.