If you find yourself with the opportunity to sit down with new Herndon Campus Minister, Jeff Bell, and hear all the things God has been up to in bringing Jeff and his family to Summit, you should absolutely take that chance. I say that up-front because I know I won’t be able to do the story justice, but, as Jeff told me, “It would be impossible to discredit the providence of God in this.”
Read MoreAdults of Summit, lend me your ears. Something pretty wild is happening, and, if we’re not careful, there’s a group of teenagers that may just take the reins from us when we’re not looking and start running our church.
Read MoreNo one expected a call from O.J., the Lake Mary Campus Minister, that Saturday afternoon. No one expected that we wouldn’t be able to occupy Lake Mary’s building the next morning for services. The band wasn’t anticipating setting up in the breezeway, and Teaching Minister, Jim Keller, was prepared to preach from a stage, not a sidewalk. No one expected to have church in a parking lot that day, but that’s exactly what happened.
Read MoreOn Christmas Eve, Summit Church is full of family, friends, and guests all celebrating when God came down as a helpless babe to begin the greatest rescue mission ever known. Sharing the good news of great joy together as a community is one of my favorite times of year. As a member of the Local and Global Partnerships team, each of these services holds an extra bit of excitement for me because we get to share with you another story about what love—on mission—can do. Each year, we give our Christmas Eve offering to a partner organization that has a God-sized mission to alleviate suffering, build up communities, and restore all that is lost.
Read MoreThis has been one of the toughest decisions my wife and I have had to make—tougher than leaving a great career in banking to join Summit staff, tougher than choosing our kids’ names, tougher than spicy or regular chicken at Chick-fil-A. It’s been tough because we felt God calling us to leave a church that we love greatly. A church that, for the last seven and a half years (five of them on staff), has loved our family so well. We knew that saying yes to God was going to cost us something.
Read More"What would it look like for us to make meaningful and long-term commitments to relationship in Africa that would—God willing— result in life transformation?" A few years ago, we set out out to answer that question. Quickly we learned that God was going to lead us through relationships and connections that he brought forward.
Read MoreYesterday was a pretty great day in the Parker Family. Eleven years ago Brandy and I arrived home with Mulunesh and Samuel. Mulu, then three and a half, wanted nothing to do with me and Samuel had spent most of the thirty some hours of travel sitting on my lap and urinating. We were exhausted, I smelled like a truck stop bathroom, and we couldn't have been happier.
Read MoreThe meal is ready. A prayer has been spoken. So what now? Well if you are one of the amazing parents who served at the Summit Students Thanksgiving dinners, you roll up your sleeves and serve. Why? That is a really good question!
Read MoreA week ago, I was baptized in a Christian church.I spent nearly 15 years mocking the very faith I was brought up in. I have 15 years worth of friends who have never known me to be a Christian. I spent 15 years opining on the absurdity of a religion that denies our humanity. (There were definitely some things I misunderstood.)Yet, a week ago, I was baptized in a tin tub in the parking lot of a Christian church.
Read MoreThis past Saturday, our Summit family participated in our 30th niceSERVE. During these 30 events, our church has invested over 100k hours of our time into the local community and served hundreds of local nonprofits, schools, and other churches. Each hour given has been a very public testament to our belief that God has invited us into building his kingdom by tending to all of creation and loving people well.
Read MoreA few weeks before a niceSERVE event, a collection of words goes into the bulletin that says “Mark your calendars! niceSERVE is [insert date here].” As the person who writes bulletins at Summit, I sure want to believe that there are real people out there who actually do excitedly mark their calendars, but I just didn’t know for sure and now I do.
Read MoreThe sun was shining through our windshield and I could hear the giggles coming from our backseat. I looked in the rearview mirror and caught a glimpse of his big smile and bright green T-Shirt that read “niceSERVE.” I couldn’t help but smile in that moment and release all nervousness I was carrying about not knowing what to expect.
Read MoreStepping into that neon green, loud classroom for the first time was a little overwhelming. Kids were laughing and yelling—some playing at the air hockey table, while smaller groups gathered around the foosball table or played board games on the floor. I was told that I could just observe what happened in The Lodge, and not to feel pressured to participate in discussions. So I kept my distance and watched as fourth and fifth graders danced to songs, played silly games, and learned about Jesus.
Read More“Sometimes God asks us to break things, to put things down…in order to create space for him to create something new, something more beautiful…” As I sat and listened to my husband and Herndon Campus Pastor Garry Abbott speak these words to the students during the first large group session of Edge Goes to the Beach this weekend, I couldn’t help but smile.
Read MoreA week of change can be a bittersweet thing.
At home, my plans for the end of last week included soccer practice, Connect groups, and getting the kids to school. Under the threat of a major hurricane, they were replaced with clearing the yard, shopping for storm-supplies, playing board games, and lots of jumping on inflatable mattresses while our family of seven slept in one room together. This was a beautiful, unexpected time with my family…
Read MoreLast week, our community braced for the worst as Hurricane Matthew was seemingly heading straight toward us. While we are extremely fortunate and grateful that, for the most part, the hurricane caused little damage in Orlando, we recognize that it has had a great impact on several local families...
Read MoreWhen Kathryn and her husband decided to make Summit their church home, they knew it would be all or nothing. This was going to be their community, their family, or they weren’t going to be here at all. The path to finding that was clear to Kathryn from the beginning; she wanted to serve, and she wanted to serve with students.
Read MoreI was following Jesus and I knew it and the people close to me knew it and anyone who asked me could know it, too. But that gnawing feeling, the voice in the back of my head that kept getting louder, the obvious pull toward baptism… Those things didn’t go away.
Read MoreWaiting on the bus for my first trip to Surge at Southwind, I had no idea what to expect. My excitement and anticipation for the weekend was shared by many of the 6th grade students I lead, some who had never spent more than one night away from home. One of those first-timers took a seat next to me, neither of us knowing how great of an impact the weekend would have on each of our lives.
Read MoreThis past Vision Sunday, we celebrated our 14th birthday. It was 14 years ago that we officially opened our doors in order to fully engage with God’s mission in the world through his church. One of our core values as a church is making the most of our place in history. It is this value that has always resonated deeply with me.
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