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.
Celebrating Black History Month
February is Black History Month! We’ve been celebrating by learning about some of the many Black leaders who have impacted the history and development of the Church in America. We hope learning about these influential leaders in church history can help inspire further research into history that may not have been widely taught or known. And we’d encourage you to continue listening to Black voices and looking into the influence these and other cultures have had in our world and faith throughout history.
Living Hope
We can’t control the masses, we can’t control a pandemic, we can’t control others, and we are spinning to grasp onto something. It doesn’t have to be that hurt, habit, or hang-up. We can control what we reach for—even though no one is looking. Maybe you reach for your Bible, maybe you reach for your phone (not to scroll the news or social media but to FaceTime a friend or send a nice text to someone else), maybe you reach for help, maybe you reach for community.
Global Partnerships: A Conversation with OneLamb
This marks the eighth and final installment of our global partner check-ins. We will hear from Ciru Mutura, Founder and Executive Director of OneLamb in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2011, Ciru sensed God’s initial prompting through a CNN Freedom Project documentary about human trafficking. She did some research and learned it was occurring in her home-city, which led her to begin taking action to rescue girls facing exploitation in a local informal settlement (also referred to as a slum) in Nairobi.
Global Partnerships: A Conversation with the Kirisuah Family
As we near the end of our global partner check-ins, we return to Kenya to hear from Josiah and Sarah Kirisuah. Part of the Maasai tribe in southern Kenya, they became the first Christians in their community many years ago and sensed a call to share their faith with their village and surrounding community.
Global Partnerships: A Conversation with Tazama Nia
We’re continuing in our series of updates from our global partners and what’s been in store for them throughout 2020. This week has us with Tazama Nia in Kenya. Founded by a Summit family, “Tazama Nia” is Swahili for “looking ahead with anticipation.” Living in a distressed community of Nairobi, this concept is this mindset they strive to lead with and inspire in others as they walk with vulnerable people in following Jesus.
Global Partnerships: A Conversation with Children of the Nations
We’re continuing in our series of updates from our global partners and what’s been in store for them throughout 2020. This check-in takes us to Malawi with Children of the Nations, which has a stated vision of “raising children who transform nations.” In the interview, we hear from COTN staff members who work in the village partnership program and sustainability and engagement.
Global Partnerships: A Conversation with Africa Windmill Project
We’re continuing in our series of updates from our global partners and what’s been in store for them throughout 2020. In this week’s check-in, we get to hear from Africa Windmill Project. Founded by a Summit family, Africa Windmill Project seeks to establish food security in Malawi by educating farmers on irrigation techniques and sustainable agricultural practices.
Global Partnerships: A Conversation with Children's HopeChest
We’re continuing in our series of updates from our global partners and what’s been in store for them throughout 2020. This week we learn more about our partnership with Children’s HopeChest, which works to support orphaned and vulnerable children and communities in multiple countries.
Worshiping God in a New Normal | The Vision, Part 5
“Before God, the main focus was doing what I thought we needed to do, and now I do what I think he wants us to do,” says Scott Read, from the Waterford Campus, about what worship means to him. … In the spring, Scott and Briana opened up an opportunity for friends and family to worship together over Zoom and watch Summit’s online services together, reaching people from different parts of the country.
Global Partnerships: A Conversation with World Relief
We’re continuing in our series of updates from our global partners and what’s been in store for them throughout 2020. This week we have the opportunity to hear from our friends at World Relief. World Relief is a global organization that empowers local churches to serve the most vulnerable in their communities. Since 2013, we have partnered with them in Malawi.
An Outstretched Hand | The Vision, Part 4
During his time on earth, Jesus’ ministry with people was never transactional. We know that he healed, he resurrected, he fed. But when you dig deeper into those same actions, you’ll also see that he touched hearts, he cried, he conversed. Jesus connected. With love deeper than oceans, he has always met us where we are with grace and an outstretched hand. And what a gift it is that we get to take the love and connection God has given us and share it with others through our acts of service!
Global Partnerships: A Conversation with Nairobi Chapel
In this interview, we hear from Bishop Oscar Muriu, leader of Nairobi Chapel in Nairobi, Kenya. He shares all about their ministry as a church community, how they have been navigating COVID-19, and how we can pray for them at this time.
Something More | The Vision, Part 3
When it comes to God's truth, many of us assume we know what's in the Bible. But maybe we need to take a closer look. Engaging with the Bible isn't easy, even for people committed to following Jesus. When we love God, we genuinely desire to have a deeper relationship with him. But cracking open the Bible can feel like a chore. I think this happens for one of two reasons (or, more likely, a combination of the two).
Together | The Vision, Part 2
“I was just excited to get to ‘spend time’ with this amazing group of people that I definitely wouldn’t have been able to get to know otherwise...” I was so excited to hear about this virtual Connect group that formed after staying at home became the norm earlier this year. What could seem on the surface as an obstacle became for them what made it easy to “meet” together. And this being together, in prayer and in community, became so sweet in the hard months of this year.
Lost and Found | The Vision, Part 1
If you are a follower of Jesus, you once were lost and have been found. And like many of us, you will remember how far away you were from hope. And most of us, even after being found by Jesus and experiencing the new life he offers, still go through seasons where we get turned around and feel lost. It’s a reality of life—an effect of the great lie of sin found at the beginning of the story of creation. It’s a separation and a break from the giver of life. But the greatest hope we have is knowing that God came to us on a rescue mission, sending his own Son to prepare the way for us to come back home, to have new life, real hope, and to be found and pointed in a new direction.
Go Ahead and Write Your Letter
I don’t know about you, but the word “distance” has become a regular part of my vocabulary. I have no idea how often I used the word back in January, but I can assure you that my daily use of the word has at least doubled, if not tripled, throughout the spring. And while not only is the use of the word but also the actual practice of the concept of “distance” in my daily life pretty different now, there is one marked area of my life where it’s not such a new practice.