Hurricane Helene | Relief Efforts
If you’ve been watching the news or paying attention to social media, you’ve likely seen some of the tragic images coming out of the southeast in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Many in our congregation have family and friends affected and our hearts are grieved over the scenes that continue to come out of the Florida Gulf and southern Appalachia regions.
There are two ways we can be a part of the relief efforts for those affected by Helene: by donating and by praying. Below, you’ll find ways you can do both.
Let’s Connect: Blog Edition!
You’ve likely heard from Summit stage about the Olympic Watch Party over the summer, or about a hangout at A La Cart, or have been invited to Bunco Night at Lake Mary! Our Let’s Connect events are a fun connection point for people in different life stages at Summit. But, what you may not have known is that these events are all volunteer led!
One of our Let’s Connect events was started by two friends, Jillian Koeblin and Sydney Daniels, who shared a similar passion to see something fresh at Summit for people their age. We had the opportunity to sit down with Jillian and hear about the beginning of the Summit Orlando’s 20-30’s Young Professionals Let’s Connect events.
Our Favorite Sunday of the Month
At Summit, the fall is already in full swing, and Base Camp Live! (BCL) will be having its first show this Sunday, September 8th. For those who might be new, BCL is something pretty unique to Summit, and it’s also pretty awesome. It’s a monthly 25-minute live family production that elementary-aged kids and their parents can attend together after service. In BCL, families learn about God’s Word all while munching on popcorn and laughing at hilarious, lovable characters.
Building Lasting Connections
In our recent “Called to More” series, we challenged everyone to find places to connect and serve this fall. One great place to do just that is in Base Camp, Summit's Children's Ministry. We caught up with the Kline Family who has a story to tell about how connection and volunteering can go hand in hand! Nate and Deb Kline have served at Summit for well over a decade across various ministries. Their kids Addy (13) and Judah (15) grew up here and now serve as Junior Volunteers in elementary classrooms!
Kailey’s Rooted Journey
Summit Connect groups have long been an integral part of Summit’s DNA, but that doesn’t mean the process and experience can’t be improved from time to time. In fact, our own Culture and Teaching Minister Kailey Newkirk recently took part in a pilot “Rooted” group for a new initiative within Summit Connect that began with exactly this goal in mind, and we recently had the chance to sit down with her to ask a few questions about her experience.
Michael’s First Trip to Kenya
After becoming Summit’s new lead Pastor in 2023, Michael Hinton knew that part of the gig would be traveling internationally to meet with our Global Partner Organizations. It would be something new for him, but also exciting! Well, at the end of May, the time finally came. Michael, John Parker (our Local and Global Outreach Pastor), and Bishop Sylvester Robinson from Love Fellowship, a Summit Partnership church, all boarded a 16-hour flight headed for New York, then to Paris, and finally to Nairobi, Kenya. Michael was excited to experience the church outside of an American context for the first time.
If It Matters Here, It Matters There
Recently, we got the chance to sit down with John Parker, Summit’s Local and Global Outreach Pastor, and what he had to say about our four upcoming trips to visit some of Summit’s global partners was inspirational. John’s insight into the importance and strategy of these key engagements reminded us how important this ongoing kingdom work in Kenya, Malawi, and Ethiopia is and how blessed we are to call Summit home.
The Rest of the Story
Genesis 1:31-2:3
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
We All Have A Story
Everyone who steps through the doors of Summit has a story. It can be easy to take that for granted, but God is working on each one of us. Each person who sits next to us during service, serves in Base Camp, or flips the dispenser on the coffee in the lobby is on a journey with God.
Find & Follow
If you ever happened upon the “Who We Are” page on our website or attended a Summit partnership class, you’ve likely heard the full set of values we’ve used to describe what we’re about. It’s a long list, but a good one.
Christmas Eve Offering: Love Made Visible
Every year, on Christmas Eve, we dedicate our entire offering to an organization doing God-honoring work in our world. This year, we’ll be giving our offering to Love Made Visible, specifically to their Vineyard initiative that will provide housing and familial support for teens in foster care in the Central Florida area.
The 15%
Our founders believed it was important for Summit to model what it looks like to go above and beyond regarding giving. In fact, you’ll sometimes hear our speakers call the ten percent tithe “the radical minimum standard” when citing reasons to give to the local church, our church’s budget has modeled this principle since day one.
So, where does this 15 percent go, and who decides? These are great questions all Summit partners should be asking! After all, 15 percent of our church’s budget is a significant chunk of change!
Consistency is a Superpower
If you’ve attended a service at Summit Orlando in the last decade, Barbara Cooper has likely been a part of your story whether you know it or not. As a member of our Worship Tech Team, Barbara has been running slides in our tech booth in the back of the sanctuary once or twice a month, consistently since 2012! She also has been coming in on Wednesday mornings for almost as long to load visuals and proofread lyric and scripture slides ahead of Sunday.
Summit Students in the DR
Recently, we caught up with Chad Buel, Summit Lake Mary Student Minister, to get the scoop on Summit Students’ latest trip to the Dominican Republic. For years, our brave Student leaders have been taking groups of High Schoolers to Barahona, DR, to serve alongside our friends at Children of the Nations (COTN)—one of Summit’s strategic global partnership organizations. Chad said this particular trip was special, though.
Parent Seminar Blog
This summer, Base Camp welcomed parents and caregivers to For Parents: A Seminar, to glean wisdom from a professional counselor we had the honor of hosting. Brianna Edwards is an Orlando-based Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Registered Play Therapist (RPT), and TBRI Practitioner (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) specializing in children and teens (ages 3-18), trauma, and attachment and parenting.
Backpacks and Promises
If you’ve been around Summit for more than a year, you’ve likely seen our Backpack Drive promoted as we near the end of summer. Over the years, we’ve promoted the drive with fun videos and even heard firsthand testimony of how the drive has benefited lives. Most of us associate the mountains of backpacks that pile in the lobby with local schools and our ongoing commitment to supporting vulnerable children in Central Florida. What many people don’t know, though, is that some of these backpacks go to AFCO (Africans Family and Community Outreach)!
Growing Through Service
Recently, we caught up with some of our Student Ministry volunteers, Nathan and Alexis Meeks, two dedicated volunteers in our Student Ministry, who shared their stories of growth and impact. Over the years, they’ve poured their hearts into mentoring students, and this time has been particularly meaningful for them. Along the way, they got married and started a family, welcoming two daughters into the world, but their commitment to serving never wavered. Nathan and Alexis's journey is a testament to the transformative power of investing in others and the profound impact it can have in our lives.
Measured In Stories
From volunteering to giving to praying, partners at Summit have made an impact on our church, our community, and our world. When it comes to being the hands and feet of Jesus, we all know that sometimes the impact of our time and resources is best measured, not in numbers or statistics, but in stories. So we invite you to take just a few minutes to join us in celebrating some of the ways God has been working over the last several months through our church family.
Living out B.L.E.S.S
The Great Commission is daunting, but B.L.E.S.S. gave us some basic pathways to follow Jesus’ leading in our modern context. Now, summer is almost here, and we’re hearing story after story about how these practices are changing Summit for the better. Angela is a Connect Group leader who, after reading through B.L.E.S.S., was inspired to make some changes in her life, but one was just a subtle change in how she attended Sunday services...
Dreaming of Prayer
Each week, at the end of service, we hear our ministers say, "To the right of the stage, there will be volunteers that would love to pray with you...", and if you’ve ever lingered in the sanctuary after service, you’ve seen our Prayer Team in action. These are volunteers who faithfully show up and step into the stories of our congregation, meeting them where they are, ready to intercede.