Many people in the Houston area are familiar with The Lighthouse Church and its dynamic pastor, Keion Henderson. A native of Gary, Indiana, Henderson graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne in 2004 with a degree in organizational communication and a minor in organizational leadership and supervision. Both his major and minor have served him well, especially in Texas, where he organized The Lighthouse Church in 2009.

The Lighthouse Church is one of the fastest growing churches in Houston, according to Henderson.

The church works toward the continual improvement of the world through spiritual application and human stewardship. In alignment with its vision, the church regularly hosts community events, including an Easter egg hunt and conferences for singles and business professionals.

The church recently welcomed Capt. Greg Fremin of the Houston Police Department and other officers to a Sunday service following the shooting of five officers in response to the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

It’s that sense of connecting people and helping people realize their potential that brings joy to Henderson. But it’s not a new feeling. Henderson has known for a long time that he be a conduit between God and the people.

“I’ve known my purpose my entire adult life,” Henderson explained. “God even spoke to my pastor, and he told me at the age of 14 that God would one day move me to Houston to minister.”

One does not go against the word of God.

“I was actually pastoring a church while I was in college and at the same time I was pursuing a basketball career,” Henderson said. “My coach would let me leave practice to go teach Sunday school and during my junior year, he told me that I had to make a choice. Of course I decided to go with basketball like any 20-year-old person would do. However, the day that I decided to pursue my basketball career, I tore my ACL. I like to say that God had to cause a shift in my knee to cause the shift in my mind.”

So Henderson studied the Bible extensively, prayed, observed the world around him and thought about how he would develop his ministry.

Henderson is a man of vision, a man of passion. These attributes have led him to utilize his ministry to seek solutions to community issues that many congregational leaders routinely do not get involved with.

For example, Henderson’s Lighthouse Church will enter the political arena when it hosts Harris County Sheriff’s Town Hall Meeting at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Concerned about issues such as crime, racial friction and intolerance, Henderson felt that by hosting this event, his congregation, members of the community and local political and law enforcement leaders will have an opportunity to discuss community issues, share their perspectives and hear from local leaders.

“One of the first steps to solving problems and dealing with issues is for people to discuss them,” said Henderson, who will also give the invocation. “The Lighthouse Church is a safe place where people can express their views and engage in a respectful, meaningful dialogue. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is committed to engaging the local community and facilitating constructive and productive dialogue between Houston-area residents and the office’s personnel. It is our hope that local residents will make opportunities likes these for discourse with local officials a priority, and that we can all come together to connect and collaborate on the issues that mean the most to us.”

The town hall meeting is open to the public, and residents of all ages are encouraged to attend.

Connecting people at events such as the town hall meeting is one of the cornerstone’s of Henderson’s ministry. He feels that relationships and connections between people establish the foundation for success in both the spiritual and temporal worlds.

“Connection is my favorite word,” Henderson said. “My passion to reach neglected people is relentless. I don’t give up so I want other people not to give up. I want them to keep after whatever their goal is and to see what happens. Sometimes it happens in the first attempt. Sometimes it happens a after a few attempts. And sometimes it takes many attempts but if people just keep after it, they usually will see their goals realized. Most people are drawn to helping people through causes but I would like for people to invest in people themselves. I feel that human capital is the best wealth and collaboration is a key to success. Look in the Bible — Old Testament or New Testament — and see how many great deeds and works were achieved by connections between people and between God and people. It’s still the same today.”

Henderson believes that many problems faced by people come from a lack of hope or knowledge or from poverty. He feels that with the right knowledge, connections and fellowship, people can achieve great results be it in a business career, working for others or the educational system.

“In addition to the services offered by our ministry, I prayed about what else I could do to help my congregation and the community help themselves, especially with the economic rollercoaster we’ve been as a nation for the last 10 or 15 years,” Henderson explained. “The answer I received was to connect people in need and the many resources out there. The resources could be an individual or a specific type of education or sympathetic financial sources or volunteers looking for a cause or a structure — you name it. To get these people to connect, we came up with the two-day Destiny Empowerment 2016 conference, set for Oct. 21-22.”

By Henderson’s design, the conference features business leaders, authors, celebrities, government officials and other high profile figures that have a powerful testimony of how they have achieved fame, fortune and favor by the grace of God. Through information-packed sessions and seminars, and encouraging keynote presentations, Christian business leaders help to prepare men and women of faith for the next phase in their lives.

Attendees will have an opportunity to learn firsthand from innovative and faith-driven trailblazers, as well as connect with others in attendance who share their goals and visions.

“Destiny Empowerment 2016 is the country’s leading Christian conference for men and women who want to rediscover their passion and purpose, and step into the greatness that God has ordained for their lives,” Henderson said. “Destiny Empowerment 2016 brings top tier, nationally lauded professionals together to share guidance and resources on how to break down barriers in order to break through to a more successful future. This year’s theme is ‘Destiny Decoded: Redefining How You Think.’”

According to Henderson, Destiny Empowerment 2016 attendees will learn:

• Why they haven’t moved forward with a dream or a business

• Why Noah from the Bible thought like an entrepreneur should

• Why overpromising is killing their consciousness and keeping them complacent

• Why fear of failure holds many people back but skyrockets others, like Oprah and Walt Disney

• How negative self-talk becomes traits of those who wish but don’t do.

Conference sessions will include:

• Mind Your Business – CEO of Destiny

• Destiny TRAP: Talents, Resources, Abilities and Passion

Breakup to Breakthrough, Setback to Setup, Control Your Destiny

Strategy, Plan, Vision, Success Workshop

The conference will feature once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for professional development and training, mentoring and network opportunities. For more information about Destiny Empowerment 2016, or to register, visit www.pastorkeion.com.

In addition to being the founder and pastor of The Lighthouse Church, Henderson is also a Top 50 Billboard-chart topping gospel music artist and a prolific business and community leader. He preaches the gospel to more than 4,000 members of his congregation locally and his message can be heard globally, including in the United Kingdom and Africa, through television and online broadcasts. His commitment to human stewardship, civic engagement and global missions have earned him numerous honors including a CNN Heroes nomination, Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs Community Hero Award,Community Leadership Award from the East Houston Economic Development Company and a top 250 ranking by the John C. Maxwell Leadership Institute. For more information about Henderson, visit www.pastorkeion.com or http://www.the-lighthouse-church.org/.

The Lighthouse Church is located at 6650 Rankin Road in Humble. For more information about the church, visit http://www.the-lighthouse-church.org/.

an article from: https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/humble/news/article/Pastor-emphasizes-connection-to-achieve-goals-9898896.php