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About UsWe are a community of students striving to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and spread His glory on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University. We invite you to spend time in fellowship and worship with other students here in Maryville, Missouri.
We meet on Monday nights at 6PM for a free dinner, and again on Thursday nights at 7PM for Real Life, our weekly Worship service. We also have weekly gendered Bible studies (Life Groups) on Mondays and Tuesdays, and various group hang outs and activities. Our goal is to help connect you with a community of believers and engage you in a personal walk with Jesus Christ. Come Join the Family! |
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Meet the Staff
Left to Right: Beth McDonald, Andrew McDonald, Carter Abbott, Renee Abbott
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Andrew McDonaldAndrew McDonald is originally from Gower, Missouri, and first came to Northwest in the fall of 2008 on a baseball scholarship. After an injury halted his playing career, he was left with a void in his life that he tried to fill through many different things. But in the second semester of his sophomore year, a friend invited him to what was then called the BSU (now The Lighthouse) for a weekend getaway. Immediately, he knew that all the BSU had to offer was what he needed:
primarily, a deeper walk with Jesus. Over his time as a student he served in various leadership roles before fully surrendering to the call to full-time ministry while on Mission in Haiti in 2012. In the three years that followed, he served as a pastoral intern, a staff member at the BSU, and even had a year on the NWMSU baseball coaching staff. In 2016 he answered the call to leave Maryville to teach high school bible and coach baseball at St. Joseph Christian School where he worked for 10 years. He and his wife Beth met at the BSU (back when it was still called that) and were married in 2017. They have 5 children: Judah (7), Boston (6), Jonathan (3), Emelia (1), and Knox (newborn). In his spare time he enjoys bow hunting, golf, and spending time at home with his family. Andrew also serves as the bi-vocational head pastor of Hopewell Baptist Church where his family has attended the last 8 years. |
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Carter & Renee AbbottCarter did his first year of college at Northwest, but then transfered to Spurgeon College where he graduated in 2025 with a Christian Ministry degree. He led worship bi-vocationally for nearly four years before coming on staff at the Lighthouse. During that time he led worship in two SBC churches, as well as the Lighthouse, and was ordained as a pastor at FBC Savannah, Missouri.
This is Carter's second year on the staff team, and in addition to continuing to lead worship, he is in charge of Monday night dinners, oversees the Prayer and Service Teams, and will be preaching a few times throughout the school year. Renee came to Northwest in the Fall of 2019. After completing her undergraduate degree in English Education with a minor in Spanish and marrying Carter in the Summer of 2023, Renee returned to Maryville for graduate school and to be on staff at the Lighthouse. This is Renee's furth year on staff, however she is also a full-time Research Librarian at Northwest Missouri State University! Renee's current role on staff is oversight of the Lighthouse budget, and she continues to meet with girls for one-on-one discipleship. |
