- About Us
- Ministries
- Junior High and High SchoolCollegeYoung adult/post-grad~30+ singlesParents of Youth Group-Aged KidsEmpty-nesters, Parents with Adult ChildrenBaby boomers and retirees
- Resources
- Events
- Giving
Well, it’s official. On Wednesday night, October 21, Torrance’s Planning Commission voted 6–0 to approve the Conditional Use Permit for our new building at 529/531 Van Ness. Thank you for praying. God is so much kinder to us than we deserve.
If “Conditional Use Permit” still sounds like a form you’d fill out at the DMV, here is the short version. Our new building sits in an industrial park, and a church is not something that zone allows by default. The CUP is the city’s permission to use that space as a church. Without it, we would just have a very nice warehouse that we’re allowed to meet in.
The hearing started with the city’s staff report, which is just a way of saying the city described our project out loud: a church use within an existing 36,045-square-foot industrial tenant space, 225 fixed seats and 668 non-fixed seats, and the 180 parking spaces the code requires for a worship room that size. (For the spreadsheet people among us: yes, we have the parking.)
Then Tony Torres, one of our architects from Visioneering, started our presentation, asking Pastor Gavin to share who we are. Gavin’s remarks are below in full, because they are an excellent reminder that our story is God’s story. In about two and a half minutes he told the commission our whole history, from a middle school cafeteria to a warehouse on Van Ness, but the center of that story is our great God.
The commissioners had no real objections, save for one question about our weeknight hours and how they might impact the residential neighborhood to the south. So for all you folks playing volleyball at 1:30 a.m., make sure you keep it down on your way to your cars!
No one from the public had questions about the item. The commission closed the hearing, approved the permit 6–0, and then adopted the formal resolution, Resolution 2026-043, by the same 6–0 vote. Then our small but mighty contingent of Lighthouse people in the back clapped the way we do on Sundays: not very loud on the outside, but loud on the inside, where it matters.
Right after the vote, we gathered in the hallway outside the chamber and prayed. What else can we do? God is so kind. And he’ll continue to be kind.
Pastor Gavin Kajikawa
To the Torrance Planning Commission, October 21, 2026
Good evening, Planning Commission. My name is Gavin Kajikawa, and I’m the Executive Pastor of Lighthouse Community Church. I’m a Torrance resident and have the privilege of representing the church by briefly sharing who we are.
Lighthouse opened its doors in April 2003 in the cafeteria at McGregor Middle School. After spending about half a year there, we moved to Torrance High School, where we enjoyed a wonderful partnership. For eight years we had our Sunday morning services, had children’s ministry, periodically held picnics on the campus, and yearly did beautification projects on the campus.
In September 2011, God allowed us to convert a warehouse on Van Ness Avenue, where we have called it home since.
The church’s mission is: Lighthouse exists to make gospel-centered disciples who exalt and proclaim Christ. In order to fulfill the mission, we continue to have multiple services on Sundays for adults. We have a kids program for little ones, age one through fifth grade. A distinctive of our church is that we have a ministry for kids and young adults affected by disability. We get to care for and love them by pointing them to Jesus Christ, while their parents and siblings get to worship and fellowship with the church family.
On Thursday and Friday evenings, we have groups for careers, singles, junior high, high school, college, international students (college-aged), and there are many other ministries that are fulfilling the mission of our church.
We have entered the campus expansion because God has kindly allowed our congregation to grow over the years. Our current building is maxing out with three services on Sunday, ministering to over 1,000 adults and 200 children.
The word “community” in our name was intentional. We wanted to be a church in our community and a part of our community. The majority of our members live in Torrance or the surrounding South Bay cities. Out of the 34 pastors and church staff, 28 are Torrance residents.
We count it a privilege to serve the community where our church started, like hosting a fall festival on Halloween and Easter egg hunts open to all, and shopping at the local businesses and restaurants. We provided different supplies to those who live in Torrance’s temporary housing village. We’ve helped support our junior high and high school students who are part of the Christian clubs on their Torrance campuses.
We’re so thankful to God that we get to call Torrance home as we minister to the South Bay and beyond. Thank you.
Our CUP was our next step, and there’s still a long road ahead. We have a lot of work between here and the first Sunday at 529/531, and we’ll keep you updated as we keep moving forward on our campus expansion.
COMING UP