The 15%

For many of us who have gone to Summit for a while, we know our church to be a pretty special place, and over the years, we’ve stood out for a variety of events and ministries. Did you know we were the first church in our area to host seasonal service events like niceSERVE or a recovery ministry like reGROUP?

If you’ve ever seen Base Camp Live, you know a high-energy production like our team puts on that’s also fun for the whole family is almost unheard of. Our Teach Team has even become a unique feature in recent years, leveraging various voices and backgrounds. Summit’s variety of worship styles might even be a highlight brought up with friends and family. Perhaps the most unique thing about Summit, though, is something that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. So, what is it?

Well, it’s the 15 percent. It’s the 15 percent of all the money that comes in our doors that goes directly back out toward meeting needs outside the walls of our church!

Our Founders' Vision for Giving

When our Lead Pastor, Michael Hinton, was first getting to know our church, this was something that stood out right away. He said he’d never known a church to do such a thing but quickly fell in love with the concept.

See? 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!

First of all, our Local and Global Ministry Team is responsible for assessing prospective ministries and organizations in hopes of making the greatest impact. Then, we have a well-respected team of non-staff Summit partners that review the local and global ministry goals for the church annually and provide feedback on the research and assessments presented periodically by the Local and Global Ministry Team.

Supporting Vulnerable Children

Years ago, we decided to focus our efforts locally on helping vulnerable children in the Greater Orlando area. So, you’ll likely notice that theme amongst the organizations that fit into our first three main categories: Foster Care-related, Schools-related, and Refugee-related.

When our leadership realized how severe the crisis in the Central Florida Foster system was, they knew we would need to partner with a robust organization with boots on the ground that understood the nuance and hardship Foster families face. Commission 127 has been that ministry partner for us. C127 exists to strengthen and support foster, adoptive, and biological families in crisis by creating community and equipping churches to launch and lead Family Advocacy Ministries (in which Summit also actively participates).

When it comes to School-related partnerships, we’ve come alongside Colonial High School, which is statistically underfunded when compared to other schools in the area. We also support YoungLife Light of Orlando, Florida Christian Athletes, and CrossTown Ministries downtown.

We also support refugees in our city through a specialized Refugee Care Team, AFCO, Bethany Christian Services, and Lutheran Services. These organizations help refugee families in crisis by providing basic needs, transportation, and other quality social services.

Other Organizations We Support

There’s also a myriad of other organizations we support under a further initiative to help vulnerable populations in the greater Orlando area and beyond. Samaritan Village, Grace Medical Home, Orlando’s Children’s Church, IDignity, Christian Service Center, Rescue Outreach Mission, UP Orlando, Samaritan Resource Center, SAFE, US Hunger, and Jobs Partnership would all be on that list.

Samaritan’s Village exists to provide a safe place where women who have been trafficked can heal from trauma, recover from addiction, and reclaim their lives to become catalysts for change in their communities. Grace Medical Home hopes to reflect the heart of Christ by offering the highest level of health care to those in our community who need it most. Medical workers donate their time here to help those in need.

Orlando’s Children’s Church provides a program for vulnerable youth in the Greater Orlando area. IDignity was created to help the underserved in Central Florida through the complex steps of obtaining personal identification.

The Christian Service Center, Rescue Outreach Mission, UP Orlando, and the Samaritan Resource Center all exist to prevent homelessness in Central Florida in various ways. US Hunger is committed to providing healthy meals to those in need.

In addition to all of these organizations listed above, we also support a couple of church plants here in Orlando through Doug Foley, another in Radiant City, Florida, and even a church in London. Our team has seen these opportunities as meaningful ones with a chance to expand God’s kingdom through connections that sprouted up organically within the walls in which we do ministry.

Get Involved and Spread the Word

At Summit, there really are so many reasons to be proud of our church, but the 15 percent might be the most important. Take some time out of your day to look up one or two of these organizations and see the good work they’re doing in our world. If you have time, look for ways to get involved further, and if anyone ever asks what makes your church different again, this time, be sure to mention the 15 percent!