My Father's Lighthouse - House Of Worship & Prayer

UPDATE: March 17 2024

A young teenager on an auto rolling ball skate board is stopped out front and looking through the bright blue treasure chest this afternoon as I am updating and editing this project for our very important mission site here at My Father's Lighthouse Venice FL.

She chose to take a Bible. How precious is that? And she is only one of many. This Evangelistic Mission is reaching thousands of souls per month and can be even a greater beacon of Jesus True Light with your help.

By the grace and strength of Jesus and actively serving Him together we can win, encourage and influence thousands of precious souls into a right relationship with our Heavenly Father through our Lord Jesus Christ and be a blessing to His mission going on here now.

You see this house was an old beach house that no one was living in and it needed a lot of work yet God has shown us this is His choice place for an outreach to this beach community. After a lot of hard work, money, prayer and help it has now become a house of worship, prayer, internet broadcasting and outdoor evangelism with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ truth going forth in His love daily.

Good Lord willing this is also soon to be a place used as a filming site and office for film editing for Faith based Christ centered film making with the purpose of reaching millions of hungry souls with Jesus truth, love, encouragement and the true salvation message.

Another outreach function from this house is outdoor evangelism welcoming the public to stop and listen to the live preaching and live worship bands. We also will be offering prayers for people to accept Jesus, giving true life testimonials. Our hearts desire is to also offer slices of watermelon, healthy treats and pure cold bottled water to all who stop in to listen.

We see a team forming as Jesus creates it and pulls it together along with an experienced team of prayer intercessors praying for those who stop by that would like prayer and someone to talk to.

Another function from this mission Lighthouse in-between outreaches is to serve as a quiet place for sabbaticals. Welcoming Ministers, Missionaries and prayer intercessors needing to take a sabbatical rest with the Lord in the clean and remodeled completely private and quiet downstairs bed and bath area with private entrance, kitchenette and soon to come indoor/outdoor living room area.

This sabbatical oasis is finished out for the bed and bath and kitchenette ( except for the living room furniture and decor for that space ) and we are welcoming reservations now.

This mission house has come a long way from when we first moved in. It has been cleaned, painted and renovated in our spare time yet is still needing more painting, renovations and upgrades to complete the finished vision. As you can imagine this is a well used property that is extremely valuable for winning and encouraging souls and building the Kingdom of our Holy Father God.

The rare location of this Christ centered missions Lighthouse creates an extremely valuable opportunity for us to reach thousands of precious souls per month here on Venice Beach. We are very near the beach park and during a sunny Holiday weekend such as July 4th or Memorial Day etc… there are even thousands more souls gathered on the beach and are within listening distance to the worship songs and preaching we play from the outdoor speakers on the deck pointed towards the road and beachfront.

Jesus said “GO” into all the world and preach the Gospel so we are going. Will you help us to keep going right now... Please. We really need some generous givers and faithful monthly support at this time. This is an opportunity for you to work in the precious harvest of souls and build the Kingdom of God with us. Will you please help us to continue on strong? Will you please help us right now... even today ? This is an expensive property and mission but no one can put a price tag on these precious souls.

God has made a way for us to reach these thousands of hungry and lost souls right here from My Fathers Lighthouse. Will you help with this important project and Go fund us today ? If you do you will be making a big impact on the youth and people in this area. I would safely say that when these children, teens and people of all ages get into the treasure chest and take some of Gods loving treasure they will never forget it! Today a young man stopped by and was videoing the sign and cross and so Gary walked out to meet him and spoke with him. He said that he was a new Christian and desired to learn more. He said the cross is so beautiful and he is so thankful and glad we are here shinning Jesus light. Gary got to encourage that young man and give him a very valuable book that he needed to read about the real Jesus and the true Gospel. The young man was very grateful and is so precious to the Lord!! And we got to add him to our prayer list. Another family came by on bikes about 1 week ago with 2 very young children and we got to minister to them in person and pray for them and give Christian growth books and a Bible.

We believe that God put His finger on this property and sent us here to rent it with the door open to purchase it in the near future if He wills for that to be He will provide all. You see it was in great need of cleaning, repairs, painting, remodeling and upgrades so it was just sitting here with no one in it. The Lord gave a strategy and an offer that we could have a lower rent if we took the property in “as is” condition.

By His grace we took the steps of faith to be following Him and His creative vision and saw the property for what it "could be" and what God could do from here to reach souls and not to see it as it was in our natural sight.

By us answering His call and obeying Him the Lord is using our partners, the property and us to reach the many thousands of people in this area that live and work here, those who are spending their winter here plus the many tourists coming and going. Glories to the Lord forever!!

By His grace and strength we have served the Lord for 20 years and counting in full time ministry spending our time in much prayer, study of the Holy Word of God, travel from Church to Church to minister in music, song, prayer and Word, and now in evangelism, in ministry outreaches, doing our daily ministry office work and in broadcasting the Gospel and songs of the Lord over the internet 3 times per week to the Church and spiritually hungry people from this Lighthouse.

We need a faithful team of people that will help us accomplish what God wants done here. As the Holy Father YAHWEH leads and provides we shall continue on here as long as He wills. Will you be one of the people that can step up with a donation today and also become a faithful monthly supporter?

Please remember your gifts will help us reach thousands of people monthly with the Gospel and with the songs of Jesus Christ. The evangelism is geared to reach anyone sitting on the near beach front or walking or riding by on the road in front of My Fathers Lighthouse.

Daily ( from aprox. 8:00 or 9am till 8:00 pm ) all will hear one of the most beloved and well known evangelists of our generation, Rev. Billy Graham; he is still preaching the anointed truth from his prerecorded messages during his large crusades across the world. His timeless messages are broadcasted outdoors from our speakers that are mounted on each corner of the Lighthouse. We have aprox. 10-15 seconds when someone is walking by to give and sow and anointed word of truth into them and the

Rev. Billy Graham can punch the truth out quickly and sharply in love. He power punches the messages so it reaches them quickly and effectively. Did you know that He was a guest Minister many years ago right here in Venice at a local Baptist Church and that was one of his first sermons preached !

Another great voice of wisdom for this generation that is heard from this house outside is the Author and Beloved Rabbi and Prophet Jonathan Cahn and more. At other times the people will hear an autoplay list of various well known and loved worship music bands like “Mercy Me”, ”Shane and Shane”, “Steven Curtis Chapman”, ”Neal Roberson “, “Chris Tomlin”, “Matt Redman “ our own "Lilyband Psalmist " and many others.

The bold sign in front for all to see says “Jesus says ' Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand' with a big red heart found in Matthew 4:17 -- with a scan bar code that will take them to a website that the Lord told us to create that will give them more. The site is full of Bible Scriptures, videos and help links. See www.GodAnswers.org

The treasure chest is also out in front of the Lighthouse here and is very popular with those coming and going from the beach walk way and the beach road directly located here. It is a treasure chest shaped box that is full of Bibles, tracts, testimonial books of people coming out of the dark into the Light with a right relationship with Jesus, silicone bracelets with encouraging scriptures, silver coins imprinted with the 10 commandments and salvation message and various other Gospel and Salvation related items. This chest is stewarded by us usually daily and checked to see when it needs restocked with anything. It is a joy !!! Yet it all costs money and we need the body of Christ to get involved and active with us now and stay connected. This is fruitful ground.

We also desire to put in more little toys for the younger little children that says “Jesus Loves Me”. But we need help ... this all costs money daily and we do not put a price on souls.

This treasure chest is often opened through out the day and evening and is a very successful evangelism tool as well as a great encouragement to believers. It was an idea and vision given to Rhonda directly from the Lord in prayer. We are on our 2nd treasure chest now, the first one deteriorated after about 1 yr. it was very well used !!! We are wearing this one out too Glory to God!!

We are on our second one now and are believing for the 3rd one soon. Ideally our next one will be larger and more durable than the one we have now (see pics below).

We do need your help as Jesus leads you for the monthly cost of operation, needed outreach tools such as upgraded music equipment and instrument upgrades, tents, outdoor chairs, new beautiful permanent professional JESUS sign in front yard seen from beach and the road, new bigger stronger treasure chest and all that is needed in it daily, landscaping to beautify property, all needed repairs and house remodel projects finished including outdoor stairs and decking and indoor upgrades to finish the house for it to be a true Glory to the Lord, all the people that see it coming and going and a full blessing for all guests and a blessing for our full time ministry and us too.

If you are in the area and would like to take a tour you are welcome to contact us for a reservation to view My Fathers Lighthouse. We would love to show you around and answer any questions you may have. We can also clearly show the past and current online financial books as to how the donations are used monthly. We have saved paper receipts for many years and you are welcomed to view them if you have that need and upon request.

The previous My Father’s Lighthouse GoFundMe account was put on the shelf for past 1 1/2 yrs. but we believe we heard the Lord saying to update it and put it in front of the people again at this time and show them the upgrades that have been done so far.

We appreciate everyone who has donated before and we want to show you what all has been done because of the Lords goodness and your help. See all updated pics and visit back soon for more updated pics that will be added too. Glories to God!

Please note that most of the labor has all been done by us in our spare time so as to save money. Please note that we also work at two other businesses and a full time ministry besides this outreach evangelism work.

The enemy has tried to stop this evangelism outreach in many different ways, such as trying to stop the funds in the past few months. The devil and his workers has not wanted us here ...LOL ... BUT YAHWEH RULES !!! He said He would provide all of our needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus. We have put our own money and our ministry funds into this house and the outreach many times to keep it going. And have put this ministry as a priority over our personal needs often in the past, yet it was still not enough to cover all expenses, repairs and upgrades consistently in the past. We truly need your help today. Will you pray for us and ask the Lord if He would have you to help us quickly please ?

Some things are finished and some things are yet to be done and so we truly do need your help at this time. We cannot do this on our own but we can do it with the Lord's grace and your generous help. Let's reap His Harvest of precious souls and encourage the Body of Christ NOW before its too late....

TOGETHER :) !!

The family we pay rent to made us a special as-is deal to give us the lowest rent they could, if we were the ones to clean and repair the home with upgrades. But it is still expensive. Part of our rent money goes to the future purchase of the home, should the Good Lord will for us to purchase the property.

We do have the first option to purchase. And it would be good to have ownership of this soul winning property. To purchase the property we are believing for about 2.2 million.

Through the past nearly 3 years we have had several outdoor music evangelism outreaches ministering to whoever passed by or was on the beachfront within hearing distance of our sound system.

We have seen great fruit from these outreaches and people coming up saying they are glad we are here shining the Light to this community and they love the treasure chest. We need our family in Christ to step up and help us more now than ever and we need this Venice FL. community to get involved to help keep this mission going and going strong for future years to come.

We can do nothing except by His amazing grace and power. He is Worthy!!

The Sabbatical/Prayer room is available again and ready for Ministers, Missionaries and Prayer Intercessors to take Sabbaticals. Just give us a call for details make your reservations and enjoy long walks on the beach with Jesus and tuck yourself away with Him and His Word for a while. (see pics)

The garage area that is used for outreaches and extra living space for Sabbatical guests has been newly stained and the ceiling and walls have been repainted and new remote lighting installed.

Our desire is to replace the garage door with a new one in front that has a large window that allows beautiful views, along with some indoor/outdoor furniture that is comfortable and functional for our guests to rest and study yet easily movable to locate in another area in garage for our times of bringing in music equipment for the live outreaches that are to be scheduled when guests are not there.

This indoor/outdoor area needs a few good pieces of furniture and some finished polishing decor' touches ...but is almost ready.

The Bible says that money answers all things. We see a great value here for money being used to reach many precious souls. It is like the field the Bible talks about that contains the one precious pearl of greatest price. Let's buy this field together and keep using it for Gods tool to reach thousands of lost for Him!!

Our 1st goal is approximately $50,000 to get us ahead on operational expenses, rent paid up and ahead, repairs finished, air conditioner upgrade, primer, paints, replacing unsafe deck and steps , garage steps covered, paving stain finished , general upgrades, kitchen and 2 bathroom remodels, painting, furniture etc.,.

Another goal is approximately $2.2 million to purchase and another sum of money do total remodel on main house and possibly build an extra guest house that will also generate an extra income to well cover all future upkeep, taxes and insurance costs. With our Holy Almighty God nothing is impossible. This is the vision will you read it and run with it ? We need you to get involved in Jesus Kingdom building here with us. Will you please answer this urgent call today or very soon and send in your support? Jesus will bless you I am sure of that!

CURRENT UPDATES : Let's primer, paint and finish the back bottom wall and north side wall with the Rapture Blue paint and do all trim ini white to complete My Fathers Lighthouse soon.

Studio Sabbatical Prayer Room (Fully Remodeled Room)

Below are some pics that show the "before" shots of front driveway and partial exterior painting of My Fathers Lighthouse.

this a shot of the "after" pic

Gary putting up one of our evangelism banners for the beach goers to clearly see for the day.

a "before" pic of the house when it was grey

the beautiful Rapture blue "after " shot of the Lighthouse

a "before" shot of garage

an "after" shot of garage floor

shot of the Jesus sign that stays up in front of this house day and night ( spot lights on it at night )...We need a new one Please!

road side treasure chest ...very popular and effective!!

inside of treasure chest view ...we need help to keep this filled Please!! we are currently out of "Jesus loves you" toys . Will you Please help quickly?

shot of a past outdoor outreach

outdoor outreach

this is ready for the new carpet or vinyl covering ...will you help?

Gary repairing the ceiling in garage remodel

more repair shots in garage

before paint in garage

shot of "after" painting of walls

nearly finished garage indoor outdoor space and outreach cover for music equipment

outreach shot

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older news:

Good and perfect Blessings to you in Jesus name! Thank you for reading this. We are Gary and Rhonda Petzoldt of Lilyband Psalmist and Jesus Generation Ministry. In the year 2004 we sold our house and left it all behind as we responded to the call of Jesus in our lives to be full-time ministers and Psalmists. Then for 10 years from 2004-2014 we travelled itinerantly on the road. 

We ministered in various Churches, stayed with friends, strangers and sometimes rented hotel rooms as well as short term apartments to have area revival and worship meetings. During this time we lived solely by faith in God for our provisions from day to day only having our musical gear, some necessities, and an overpacked older Nissan Xterra that was donated to our ministry by a loving couple. What a joy to see people worship and come to Him for all they need! We simply love to minister to the Lord Yeshua and Holy Father YAH in true worship singing His Word to Him and pouring our hearts out to Him.

Now we are 17 years+ in full-time ministry and by His grace we have reached well over 100+ countries and over 5 million+ people with His Glorious Gospel during our public meets, various social media accounts, iTunes, CDs, MP3s and websites. We are still going strong, praising the Lord and encouraging others with His new songs from His Word in His truth and love as we continue to grow by the grace of Jesus. 

How My Father's Lighthouse Vision Came:

While we travelled itinerantly we saw many miracles and people came to Jesus. After many years of travel at times we became very tired and needed our own home, a place of rest. A precious Sister gave us a stay in her beach cottage, it was an answer to prayer and we were in awe. During our stay the Holy Spirit gave us the vision and mandate to find and establish a house of prayer and worship with a private retreat space for ministers along the coastal waters in Florida. We rented a wonderful house near the beach in New Smyrna and had a house Church and internet broadcast ministry 1-2 times per week for aprox. 4 years.

In this year of 2021 by the direction of the Holy Spirit we located and secured a different property on the Gulf coast. We have now started renting it with an option to buy. HalleluYAH!

This coastal house of prayer and worship is known as

“My Father’s Lighthouse”. It is located on beautiful Venice Island Beach Florida and has gorgeous views of the Gulf of Mexico with its exquisitely beautiful turquoise blue waters. 

The rental contract is a long-term 5 year and renewable agreement that gives us the first option to buy when the property is for sale, Good Lord willing within the next 5 years. In addition, a portion of our monthly rent money goes toward the future purchase price.

The recent rental agreement was inspected by our friend and ministry attorney to make sure the verbiage was correct. Furthermore our attorney friend was present during the signing with his wife a Notary to have it legally documented and notarized. These extra legal steps give protection to secure the contract and protect all future Kingdom financial investments concerning the property. 

The two story 3br/3ba home was built in 1985. It is a fixer-upper cottage style home with much need of deep cleaning, remodeling, some repairs and basically full repainting both inside and out. The family that has owned the property gave us the opportunity to rent the beach house “as is”. Renting by “as-is” basis secured the lowest amount of monthly rent they needed and we have the full liberty written in our contract to remodel the entire property as we please. 

Currently good furniture and major appliances are needed in the home. We were using coolers, but now have a small mini fridge. All the previous appliances are being removed and need to be replaced soon as they are not in good working condition. We are temporarily using a new airbed to sleep on. Bedroom and bath furniture is needed in the studio apartment downstairs and the additional room upstairs too along with sofas, chairs and tables. We are asking, believing and so thankful ...and God is providing. 

Some of our first major goals we are working on are: 

• deep cleaning of entire home 

• the two central air conditioning units working properly - hopefully both central air conditioners only need a recharge to start properly cooling - we are using a couple of window air units now until central a/c is working 

• repaint the worship area, supply w/ sofa, chairs, decorate

• both outdoor wooden stairs to 2nd floor worship area replaced

• repaint and remodel the first floor private studio apartment with new flooring, cabinets, sink/faucet, shower head, mirror, furniture, appliances, decorate

• fix and replace master bath sink /faucet, shower head

• lawn care with landscape, flowering trees, shrubs, flowers and mini palms

• wooden deck around house repaired or replaced

The studio apartment on the first floor provides a completely private guest space with kitchenette and private entry. This room will be for Christians who need a vacation, sabbatical or worship retreat on the beautiful coast. 

The guest studio repair needs are:

• New flooring installed

• 2 twin beds, appliances, decor and linens

• new furniture 

• new entry door 

• bathroom remodeled with new flooring, updates to the toilet, new cabinets, sink, mirror, etc... 

• repair to damaged ceiling and wall areas 

The guest studio room will provide our retreat guests with beautiful front line Gulf Of Mexico views. Their access to the beach is a very short and safe walk on a sandy pathway. From the front window view in the studio our guests will see gorgeous turquoise blue waters and the magnificently stunning coral and blue sunsets across the golden sands of the beach.

Our guests can enjoy walks and talks with the Lord on the beach and the rest they need during their retreat. This will help them to be revived in spirit and health for their journey ahead. They are also welcome to attend the weekly worship and prayer times held on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 P.M.

Other various projects need to be finished quickly to ”My Fathers Lighthouse” such as: 

• deep cleaning in every room and garage areas

• new or refurbished kitchen countertops, sink, faucet, some lighting replaced 

outlets and switch plates replaced 

• kitchen cabinets need to be replaced, upgraded or painted 

• inside walls and ceilings painted

• complete outside painting of home 

• new flooring in all 3 of the bathrooms and new toilet seat upgrades

• upgrades for bathroom sinks 

• all bathroom cabinets replaced or refurbished 

• some of the outside wood decking and stairs need to be refurbished and safe or torn down and replaced

• New replacements, additions and upgrades for musical, sound and lighting equipment, some that are now 14 years old and kind of beat up from being on the road for 10 years

My Father’s Lighthouse and grounds will serve these purposes and more:

• Local house of worship and prayer weekly meetings - stewarded and Pastored by Gary & Rhonda Petzoldt of Lilyband Psalmist

• Sabbaticals, retreats or vacations for Christian Ministers, prayer intercessors & missionaries (in downstairs private studio guest room w/ kitchenette)

• Online broadcasting and office space for Lilyband Psalmist - Jesus Generation

• Evangelistic outreach with the Word and worship music (beachfront & other key areas) We are in view of a public beach front park area and we are planning to hang up banners or flags about the love and grace of Jesus and God. We envision them hanging from the house for all to see. This will be a great evangelistic outreach in itself as well because it will be visible from the beach and the road in front of the house that is used by walkers, bikers and good neighbors driving through to their homes or to town. 

Example of banner: “Jesus loves you... Jesus saves, heals and delivers”

• Psalmist music training school online and in person workshops.

• Tribe Of Judah Bamboo Flute Ministry (making bamboo flutes in garage workshop ) we have over 10 years of experience making flutes for worshipers to the glory of God.

We started the My Father’s Lighthouse “gofundme” page because a few loving friends and family in the ministry suggested it. And we want to give other precious people like you an opportunity to help the Lord build His Lighthouse. Will you help?

With great joy and an overflowing expectation of God’s promise to fulfill the vision we set the Phase 1 fundraising goal at $50,000 for the start-up costs and several months rent for “My Father’s Lighthouse”.

The Phase 1 goal will provide our initial renovation costs for:

• the private studio guest room remodel

• all furniture, chairs, beds, linens, kitchen appliances, cooking utensils, dishes and any repair necessities that (God forbid) could possibly come up in future.

landscaping renovations and lawn care

• provide and cushion the rental expenses for a few months to give us a good amount of time and head start on planting and growing the local Church, the Psalmist school and scheduling retreat guests in

• hire professionals to help with some of the renovations. We have done a lot ourselves yet we simply do not have the skill nor the extra time needed to do some of the renovations.

Our goal is before July 1st 2021 to have the guest studio and worship area ready for the grand opening. God’s glory be! By His grace all the rooms will be professional remodels with beautifully modern decorated spaces. 

The Phase 2 vision and goal 2.5 million for the Lord’s glory is for this ministry to have debt free and full ownership of this current home. The estimate to purchase and build onto this property or a larger one is 2.5 million dollars, possibly more. Good Lord willing we also envision several coastal small modern guest houses that will serve as private retreat houses for 1, 2 or several people to take sabbaticals or used by prayer groups for a get away. 

Phase 3 includes a large public worship center with ceiling to floor walls of windows allowing views of the beautiful sky, ocean waters, palms and flowers while we all worship the Lord and hear His Holy Word growing together. This phase for the large public worship center is on main retreat grounds located along a beautiful coastal location with additional retreat housing for many guests. It may be a prime condo or hotel-like setting for Christians taking a worship retreat or sabbatical. Estimated funding goal for phase 3 is estimated at 10+ million dollars.

Will you please contact us at our website JesusGeneration.tv  if you can help in a magnificent way of giving coastal land, houses or funds to purchase them for the Lord’s glorious Houses of worship and retreats for His people? Thank you very much! and in Jesus Almighty Name be extremely blessed back too!!!

We are also welcoming those who have the leading of the Lord and the pro remodel repair work skills experience to help us physically do the work of deep cleaning and remodeling at this time. 

If you are led by the Lord in becoming a monthly partner with Jesus Generation ministry you can do so by visiting our secure giving page at our website JesusGeneration.tv There are monthly expenses so having your faithful monthly support is very valuable and so appreciated. We believe that the Lord will bless you greatly for building His Houses of Worship. Thank you. 

Jesus Generation is registered as a Church and non-profit organization in the state of Florida.

Will you quickly share this “gofundme” link with all your social networks and contacts who would be interested in helping? Sharing will help us reach our goal in this fundraising rally much faster. 

Thank you so very very much again and the Lord Jesus bless and multiply back to you in His good and perfect generous ways what you cheerfully give to His Kingdom work here for the purpose of reaping in the harvest of souls, building up His body of believers and equipping, training and encouraging His Ministers and future Psalmists.

In Jesus perfect love and peace,

Pastors & Psalmists Gary and Rhonda Petzoldt

Lilyband Psalmist - Jesus Generation

Psalm 103 and Phil 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians Chapter 9