Lamplighter Ministries started from a desire to teach The Church about worship & prayer. Realizing the depth of God's love for us & longing to expand The Kingdom of God & raising up ones who deeply loved God in return. Twenty plus years ago doors opened for us in various countries & with missionaries longing to go deeper in The Word of God. Those missionaries had many needs and ministered in areas with great needs. We quickly realized the gospel going forth was connected to working with the needy of the earth. Some are called to the wealthy, so far we have been called to the poor of the earth. For 20+ years we have been allowed to teach, lead, follow, grow with some of the most hidden ones who are rich within the eyes of God. We see Lamplighter Ministries as a giant Godly puzzle with each piece showing part of the glorious story line! We all have a role & this website is an attempt to tell many of the stories of our incredible journey.
in 1994 when we founded Lamplighter Ministries our key scripture was Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine..." after 24 years we are certain that our lifelong pursuit has been completely about going after the prodigals, the forgotten, the lost, the ones who are hidden. We have longed to express our LOVE for Jesus Christ as an overflow to those in need.
ISOM Bible School
Over 100 men & women have been & are currently being trained in Biblical Studies. We train both established pastors and lay leaders in Biblical truths and practical service in northern Uganda.
Training & Educating
We host camps, seminars, worship schools, and house of prayer training in the nations. For years we have provided finances to educate children and send young adults to universities & Bible schools.
Gospel going forth
The reason we do all that we do is for the gospel to go forth to the nations. We have seen many come to a point of salvation, water baptism & the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Meeting basic needs
We provide pastoral & physical support to local leaders. We also provide access to a full range of medical care for those in our feeding program. Every year we help around 40 with medical transport & needs, including assisting adults and children battling HIV.
Lamplighter Ministries has always been about family. We have always traveled with our kids and raised them to respond to needs with a gospel response. Carla moved to Uganda as a single woman & has rallied an amazing growing family that ministers together. We are not the "Jim Hester ministry" or the "Carla Etheridge ministry"- we are a representation of the Body of Christ all working together needing each other. We love that over these last 20+ years we have been able to join with so many families on mission. We are especially thankful for introducing many families to missions.
The Hesters
The Hester family currently lives in Kansas City.
Carla Etheridge
Carla resides in Northern Uganda with her growing family.