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. Check out just a few of those stories below:
UA Ants: a Bit of the 15%
One of Summit’s long-held desires is to leverage the resources entrusted to us to make a difference not only within our four walls, but outside of them as well. Part of how we do that is designating 15% of our budget to serve outside of our walls. One of the latest organizations that your giving is impacting through that 15% has quite the unique name. It’s called “UA Ants!” They picked this name because, “When you step on an anthill, the ants often scatter, but they always regroup.” UA Ants is a Christian organization providing aid to the 14 million vulnerable men, women, and children displaced due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
When we see videos and photos of a crisis like this halfway across the world, it can be hard to know how to help, but UA Ants is on the ground in Ukraine, providing shelter, housing, and food to refugees. They’re organizing vehicles and accommodations for mothers and children crossing the border. They’re also helping people evacuate hotspots and find refuge in safer cities. As God’s hands and feet to the world, we should never turn away from hardships but lean in to see where we can offer support. Through your giving, we’re doing just that as we become a part of UA Ants’ story restoring lives in this war-torn area of the world.
Jonathan Herrero: Impacts Over Generations
No one at Summit would likely be surprised to hear that volunteers are a vital part of our story, but in the latest chapter, we’ve begun to see more and more of the legacy of this culture of service. Jonathan Herrero is one of those crucial volunteers serving in important ministry roles who also grew up being served by some of those same roles. From a young age, Jonathan was poured into by numerous Base Camp volunteers as he grew up attending Summit’s Children’s Ministry on Sunday mornings. Then, when he was ready to leave Base Camp and begin middle school, he quickly became a junior volunteer in Base Camp, working alongside some of those same volunteer roles that grew his love of Base Camp to begin with.
Now, if you were to drive by Summit on a Sunday afternoon, you’d likely see the now-high-schooler Jonathan just outside of the Summit student space playing four square with some of middle schoolers he now leads! Jonathan has moved deeper into the world of volunteering and is pouring into the lives of middle school students at Summit. Recently, he heard that a student from the middle school group that he leads had made the important decision to get baptized, so even though he already had conflicting plans on the day of baptisms, he dropped everything to be there for them. This story is a shining example of the type of church we want to be for the coming generations. While the number of volunteers can always be counted (and is quite impressive!), the real measurement of volunteers at Summit are the life-changing stories they are a vital part of.
JD Hartley: You are not Insignificant
JD Hartley had long since self-identified as a “troublemaker.” Attending any church, much less one that meets in a park was nowhere on his radar. But a near-tragic car accident on Christmas Day 2021 compelled him to reconsider his life’s trajectory. He had been stuck in the thought pattern that his life was insignificant, but the mere thought of potentially losing it made him consider if God might have more in mind for him. JD learned that his friend Hannah’s dad was a Minister. He was the Riverside Minister—one of the expressions of Summit that meets each Sunday in a park in the Lockhard community. JD didn’t wait to be invited, he found out where the church met and showed up.
JD was worried about how he might be received due to his past but soon found a home, and started learning about the God who he now believes brought him specifically to this place. He continued to show up, learn, and ask questions of Doug and other adults at Riverside. Then, JD was finally ready to publically acknowledge his faith and trust in Jesus and was baptized. He got to meet more of his larger church family as all of Summit’s locations gathered together and stood on the beach cheering for him. We know that, ultimately, it's God who calls us by his Spirit from the rocking waves of our past into new life, sometimes even through mysterious ways. And we can all marvel at the fact that, behind each and every baptism we get to gather together and cheer on, is a story. Some very much like JD’s, others completely different, but each has so much to share with this world as a picture of our God’s redeeming grace.
Sandra Graham: Growing in Prayer
Sandra Graham felt led to go to seminary. She didn’t know exactly why God had called her there or where he would lead her when she had finished, but she had faithfully followed God’s leading and was depending on him for her next step. She had been praying for a while about how best to serve the Church and was feeling more and more pulled in the direction of prayer. Little did she know that God had placed a desire and a passion for expanding spaces for prayer on the hearts of some of Summit’s staff at the same time.
Today, Sandra’s passion and drive has brought her to a leadership position in the some of the prominent areas of prayer at Summit —monthly Prayer Nights at Summit Orlando and on the Prayer Team. There is now a growing community locking arms, going before the Lord on behalf of Summit and each other. Stepping into these sacred and personal spaces with one another has not only connected Sandra’s story with those around her, but is facilitating a connection between a multitude of stories—stories of struggles, victories, joy, sorrow, and everything in between. When it comes to prayer, oftentimes it truly is best measured in the intimate connection of stories.