2022 Year End Review

Summit Family,

Here we stand, fast approaching the close of another year. As children of God we are instructed “…to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Ps. 90:12) That God-given wisdom teaches us to maximize each day by pursuing God as our greatest need and highest treasure (Ps. 73:25). It also teaches us to do good to as many people, in as many ways, as we have the opportunity to do so (Heb. 13:16). We don’t live like this to try and gain God’s approval or favor, but because we are already approved in Christ. And so, we live in response to the good news of the Gospel.

This God-given wisdom is also expressed in a posture of gratitude to God for all that He is and all that He has done. We want to be people who seek after the Lord, serve the Lord and give thanks to the Lord because we are fully convinced that “…the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Ps. 100:5)

As disciples of Jesus Christ, and as the collective Summit family, we have so much to thank the Lord for. As we close out this year, we don’t want to miss the opportunity to pause and consider all that the Lord has done in our midst, what He has granted to us, and the myriad of ways He has demonstrated His goodness and faithfulness.

To encourage you, and to highlight the power and glory of God, we want to share with you some of the specific ways the Lord has been at work in and through our church in 2022. The things we have captured are not even close to the complete story. But we pray it is enough to both stir your heart with gladness, and cause you to worship the Lord.

Our area and many within our covenant community were radically impacted by Hurricane Ian. Still, through that storm, we have seen God’s grace on display in a powerful way. Many of you have given, prayed, volunteered, housed people, and participated in working with our ongoing relief efforts. We cannot thank you enough for your genuine display of love and service to our community.

Proverbs 11:25 states “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” We have found this proverb to be true throughout the life of Summit Church and we pray it’s a posture we maintain for years to come. God has been so gracious to not only provide for us but to allow us to be a vessel that waters and enriches others. So much good has been done this year, and so many lives touched, blessed and served in the name of Jesus Christ and for the glory of God. But there is still so much Kingdom work to be done.

As we have done in past years we humbly ask you, as a part of this family, to help us finish 2022 strong. We already have a strong sense of where the Lord is leading us in 2023. The mission of bringing the Gospel to every man, woman and child has not changed and our passion to be fully engaged in it has not diminished.

Summit Family, we humbly ask you to please join us in prayer and consider making a year-end gift that will help us not only meet our budget, but surpass it as we have in past years. Any funds received above our budget will help us address some pressing needs, further fund some of our mission partners, and seed some future missional endeavors in the coming year. We cannot thank you enough for your continual support, prayers and partnership in this ministry and mission. You are a blessing and we are truly grateful for you.

Multiplying DISCIPLES

Average Weekly Attendance 1922

Since accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my life has been different in so many ways. He has not stopped pursuing me, in fact He has opened so many ways for me and my family to know He is taking care of us.”

Lauren

Baptisms 38 New Members 115

Average Weekly Kids Attendance 350 Weekly Summit Kids Volunteers 63

Over the last six years at Summit through the teaching and the relationships I’ve developed with Christians who seek to live out the gospel authentically, I’ve seen growth in my relationship with the Lord and in my family. I have always said that I want to get baptized alongside one of my children when they make the decision to follow Christ and praise God, that day has come.”

Jessica

The Distinctive Value of Family

Jesus has shown me how easy it is to love him when you see how much he loves you. He has protected and healed the most broken parts of my heart in last handful of years. He has shown me what true love is and the true meaning of giving him control over my life.”

Madison

Before Christ, I was a sinner without direction or spirit. Finding Christ, I was a sinner who listened and felt Jesus’s presence in me. My faith in our Savior has grown over the years as I learn more about His teachings. I am still a sinner, but by following Jesus Christ, I know I am forgiven.”

Grant

In the fall of 2022, we introduced our 5th Distinctive Value. The Value of Family. We are a family; we are brothers and sisters in Christ, sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. What’s more, we belong to a specific people in a particular place; the local church, where we tangibly express our familial commitment to one another in response to the gospel. We often say we are a God-glorifying, gospel-centered, missionally-driven, and disciple-making people. But what if our identity as the family of God was the distinctive that provided the context for us to truly embrace these values?

FAMILY:

We are committed to resting in our identity as adopted children of God, caring for one another, and living in biblical community.

Community Groups

Community Groups 39 Participants 600

Hundreds involved in Men’s and Women’s ministries, Discipleship Groups, Story Groups, Mentorships, and Recovery Groups

I came to these meetings a little shy, insecure, and wondering if I would even “measure” up as a man. Listening to the grace stories that were shared and the stories of the men sitting around my table, it became abundantly clear that I was right where I was supposed to be. I am super thankful for the grace, love and acceptance I experienced during this time and I look forward to continuing to grow.”

Jeff

Even though I followed God’s word, I realized I didn’t know what it meant to be His child. I thought I could only be His if I was perfect. Through Summit Church, Summit Students, and being discipled – God is graciously showing me otherwise. God is kind and wants to rescue the lost, so He sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay for my sins and to rescue me.”

Drew

Revive Us

This past year, we held a recurring 4-day event that we call Revive Us. A time to gather and worship the Lord, crying out for his reviving Spirit to move. We sat under the Word of God from guest teacher John Onwuchekwa, we heard stories of gospel transformation, we prayed, we celebrated baptisms, and we worshiped our great God together.

2 Gospel-Centered Camps

God used Wake Student Camp to help me through so much. What we did helped me to look to Jesus and see myself in new ways.”

Pamela, Student

I saw my peers worshipping God, pursuing Him, and opening up to others. Personally, God used Wake Student Camp to show me my family and home away from home.”

Olivia, Student

Ministerio Summit Español

Ministerio Summit Español kicked off weekly Sunday gatherings in 2021 and have continued to grow throughout 2022.

This year my family was able to see and experience the healing of my husband Julio through the fasting and prayers of Summit Español. We cried out to the Lord and He healed him.”

María

IGNITE College Ministry

Ignite ministers weekly to more than 240 students through our Tuesday gathering, community groups, and outreach.

“Ignite has been a blessing by bringing me relationships with other people my age who are also running after Jesus, as well as by challenging me to grow in my own personal walk with the Lord through intentional discipleship.”

Brandon, Student

Multiplying

Community Group leaders 95 Ignite Ministry Interns 5 Worship Ministry Interns 4 College Students in Leadership Development Track 32

Church Planting Resident 1

Multiplying

LEADERS CHURCHES

We believe that what God wants to do in the world, including in SWFL, he wants to do through all of Christ’s people, as we see disciples and churches multiplied so that every man, woman, and child would have repeated opportunities to respond to the good news of the gospel.

That’s why we partner with and start other expressions of Christ’s Church; for gospel saturation, and ultimately for the glory of God.

SWFL Church Planting Initiative

God has used Summit to be a catalyst of a new movement called the SWFL Church Planting Initiative, which is a collaboration of local churches seeking to saturate our region by planting other gospel-centered churches. We are actively planning to plant at least 2 new churches together in 2023.

New Creation Fellowship Harbor Network

After much planning and prayer, we joyfully sent out church planters Ike Todd and Rechab Gray and their families to plant New Creation Fellowship in Orlando, Florida.

We joyfully partner with Harbor Network, who exists to launch, lead, and multiply thriving churches. Through Harbor, we are connected with 120 churches in 28 different states, all striving to take the gospel to every man, woman, and child. Through our giving, resources, leadership, and church planting assessments, we’re supporting new churches being planted around the country each year.

Our time at Summit was a time in our lives we will never forget.

The Summit family welcomed Ari and I with open arms from day one. We were able to start the healing process we much needed and we learned a ton from the wisdom of the leadership; especially in terms of faithfulness and endurance through difficulties.

The generosity of Summit Church is on another level. I’ve watched them come around people in other countries, pray for neighboring local churches and love on individuals in the community. I was sent out from Summit with more than enough resources for my ministry but my favorite resources are the personal relationships.”

Ike Todd, Church Planter

Learn more by scanning the QR code.

Since joining Harbor in 2016, (Summit Church) has been a faithful model akin to the Philippian church in the first century, “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ,” sharing with us in “both giving and receiving,” and “amply supplying” so many of our needs over the years. I thank God for this church and their partnership in the gospel!”

Dave Owens, Executive Director - Harbor Network

Learn more by scanning the QR code.

We want to be a church that, if we ceased to exist, our community would actually miss us. Not for the name and glory of Summit, but for the glory of God and the work of His Kingdom. One way we seek to represent Christ is our through our partnerships with 12 different local schools. Each year we provide school supplies to needy students, pray with our teachers, hold Christmas outreach events for families, and provide breakfasts, lunches, and smoothies to bless our educators. We do all of this in order to build relationships and represent the love of Christ to families in our community.

“Our students and staff are blessed to have your love and support year after year. Thank you for all the backpacks and treats. We appreciate you!”

“…to see you all pray outside the office was powerful and comforting. Also- thank you for bringing the healthy, delicious snacks!”

Through the counseling ministry at Summit and the power of God, I was blessed to experience healing and restoration I did not think possible. My worth and identity were rebuilt on the Rock of my salvation, unchanging and steadfast. I now walk in freedom, no longer enslaved by that which once took so much from me – almost my life itself. To God alone be the glory.”

Counselee

“Thank you for praying over us.”

“Everyone was so thankful and wanted me to pass on our most sincere written appreciation!”

“We are so very grateful for your generosity! Our teachers were delighted! The treats were absolutely perfect!”

Hurricane Cleanup

We are committed to the ongoing work in our area, including offering financial support for trauma counseling and soul care. We are also working on strategic partnerships to enable us to engage in the long-term rebuilding of our city.

of thousands of volunteer hours

raised to go directly to those impacted by the hurricane

Hosted and housed scores of volunteers from all over the country. Millions of dollars in restoration work done.

“Thank you to those who helped my father today at his home in Naples. Amazing group of people.”

Kathleen

Every Child Initiative (ECI)

volunteers from Summit 500+

We would like to thank you so much for help in cleaning out our home. Please extend our sincere thanks to your church members for us. I don’t know how to ever repay you for your wonderful kindness.”

Nancy and Jerry

Without the help of your magnificent volunteers, we would never have accomplished all we did in such a short amount of time. May our Lord bless all your church as you have blessed so many of us by being His hands and feet.”

Pat and Bob

The Every Child Initiative exists to glorify God by envisioning, equipping, and empowering disciples to have gospel impact in the lives of vulnerable children.

$90,000 given to launch similar initiatives at 6 other churches.

in adoption grants Given over $46,500 to ECI ministry partners Given $3,882 in wrap-around support in 2022 children adopted by Summit Families in 2022

families licensed for Foster Care or Better Together 20 volunteers serving in wrap-around care 170

families in the process of licensing 6

churches 6 individuals participating in ECI cohort 27 individuals trained in trauma-awareness

local and national churches beginning or expanding their orphan care ministry in partnership with ECI

ECI Discovery Lab

We are officially eight months into our foster care journey here in Florida and I am finally stepping up out of the trenches. It has been hard, but God. That’s all there is to it. God has been so generous with us lately. He has met me at my weakest moments and revealed Himself SO clearly. Not only has God reminded me of the amazing opportunity we have to share Christ’s love with these children but He’s given us the chance to share it with their families. Life in foster care can absolutely test your faith. My encouragement to other families would be to stay connected and ask for help. Don’t let the enemy fill you with doubt and isolate you. Remember, if the Lord calls you to it, He will surely see you through it.”

Jenna

Year End Giving

Part of stewarding what God has entrusted to us means partnering with and resourcing other churches to care for the vulnerable. Throughout 2022 we have engaged 16 different local and national churches who are starting or continuing to build a ministry to care for vulnerable children. It’s been amazing to see the vision spread here in SWFL and around the country!

You can learn more about how the Every Child Initiative is spreading by scanning this QR code.

Give online by scanning this QR code. www.summitlife.com