Leading with Integrity: Introducing Summit’s Newest Board Members
Summit’s Governing Board is an intentionally built team of Summit partners whose responsibility it is to ensure that our church is being led with integrity. Integrity refers of course to moral integrity, but it also speaks to financial integrity, directional integrity, leadership integrity, etc.
Their job ultimately is to make sure we have the right leadership, with the right priorities, taking us in the right direction as we live out the vision of Summit. The formal way of stating their role is to say that they govern by Executive Limitations, which are essentially 10 arenas of organizational integrity that they ensure we meet.
Needless to say, the Board is very important, and I am deeply grateful for their leadership. Jeff Kern, Andy Simonds, and I sit on the board as representatives of the staff and pastoral leadership of Summit, but the majority of our Board is comprised of people who volunteer as a member of the team for a term of three years. The three-year terms build in a natural rotation on the Board and allow the existing Board to continually build a remarkable team of remarkable individuals who love Jesus, love those at Summit, and are active in living out the vision as partners in this church family.
Amanda Ober, Brian Grandstaff, and Leigh Ann Horton have served Summit for years including six years on the Board. They are wonderful people and leaders and have had a profound impact on our church and in my life. But this year, three new individuals will be joining the existing team and replacing these dearly loved Board members who have termed out (served two consecutive three years terms).
The new members will join the other non-staff Board members (Eddy Moratin, Bob McAdam, and Heath Hensley) in guarding the integrity of Summit and lending their wisdom and unique gifts to our church over the next three years. It is my honor to introduce them to you.
Ann Miller - Ann is currently a professor of communication and Interim Director of UCF's Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning. Before beginning at UCF, Dr. Miller and her husband Jim (also Dr. Miller!) were missionaries in Kenya, training emerging Kenyan leaders both in university (Ann) and seminary (Jim) contexts. Ann has served at Summit in numerous ways over the years and as I have sat on other leadership teams with her, I have come to greatly respect how she engages ideas with wisdom and a ton of very insightful questions. She is for Summit and not afraid to push an idea around, which is a gift to us.
Joan DeRango - Joan and her husband Dan have been partners at Summit for a very long time and have been a source of wisdom and encouragement in whatever capacity they have served. Joan is very gifted and wise, which are certainly gifts to the Board, but she is also a person that prays. That is not to say that other Board members don’t pray, but we all know there are people who pray and then there are people who PRAY. Joan is the latter and is an example for me and will be a valued member of our team.
Rene Vazquez - Rene began at Summit after following his girlfriend (now wife) Monica here in college. Already passionate about making an impact in vulnerable communities, Rene quickly found a home at Summit shaping what would become niceSERVE. Rene worked closely with me on staff for several years before joining the staff of International Justice Mission and serving in Guatemala and at IJM’s headquarters in D.C. Now returned home and working for LIFT Orlando, Rene will bring a wealth of wisdom and experience to the Board as well as the unique perspective of having spent six of his early years in ministry at Summit.
Over the years, I have seen how God has brought the right leaders to the Governing Board for every season. I am excited about where Summit is going and grateful for the entire team that will be safeguarding the integrity of Summit as we boldly move forward in living out our vision as a church.
P.S. If you are curious to learn more about Summit’s leadership structure, you can always email me (jparker@summitconnect.org) or you can attend a Partnership Class at any of our campuses.
John Parker is the lead pastor at Summit Church. He enjoys woodworking and boats and dreams of building his own boat in the coming years.