Tecla: Art, Circumstance, and Identity
Tecla refuses to be merely a product of her circumstances but has taken ownership of her life and lives from her identity as a child of Christ. She expresses this contrast of circumstance and true identity in her art.
Welcome Aboard
It’s still scary to trust God sometimes. Committing to be a partner at Summit doesn’t mean my relationship with God is perfect and life is super easy now. There’s no switch on the control panel that makes everything great; there’s no autopilot. But I can sit knowing that he is for me and never against me.
Cherishing Our Tribe
Alongside seven bright girls and two incredibly wise leaders, I learned (or at least took a stab at) what it takes to thrive in a family, and how to follow God’s commandments regarding honoring mine.
Author of Our Stories
The Edge Retreat was all about identity and why it’s important to tell your story truthfully. So after the retreat, we asked the students how they would introduce themselves to the author of their biography and what it means to them to know that God is the author of their story.
And this is who they are.
Breaking the Cycle
She realized that her debt was trapping her in the day to day struggles. She wasn’t able to look ahead to the future because she was placing so much effort on managing her finances today. This was just not the life she wanted—not for herself and certainly not for her daughter.
The Ripple Effect of Kindness
We had no idea what to expect, but we knew we weren’t committing to this alone. As our friends and family found out about the opportunity, they rallied around us and offered to help welcome Martin in any way they could. A member of our Connect group put it this way: “Your ‘yes’ is not just a ‘yes’ for you—it’s a ‘yes’ for our community.”
An Unconditional Savior
Like most of us, Sheri longed to live in a world where she is loved, she isn’t alone, and where goodness proves to be more powerful than evil. But what would that require of her? Since humanity was first exiled from the Garden of Eden, God has longed for his people to be restored to glory, free from the snare of sin and death, and living in his presence. What would that require of him?
God Shows Up
2018 focused on the life of Jesus—who he is, his actions, and his teachings. During this year in the life of Jesus, we were challenged to follow the Gospel Reading Plan, a tool to use to learn more about his life.
Plans to Give Hope
This year, the entirety of the offering collected at Candlelight Services will be given to One Lamb in Nairobi, Kenya. One Lamb began in 2011 when Ciru Mutura was called to meet the needs of vulnerable children. The organization works toward ending the exploitation of children due to poverty in their communities. One Lamb’s programs give these young girls resources and skills to benefit their lives while also sharing the truth of God’s grace and love.
Sounds of Christmas
The very essence of Jesus’ time on earth was dotted with pain and joy, with laughing and grieving, sometimes in the very same breath.
Jesus Works Miracles
We asked a handful of artists at Summit—designers, painters, photographers, and writers—to take a simple prompt, “Jesus works miracles,” and to use their medium to express it. To take a truth about Jesus and use some of their God-given materials to share it with the world. Just as God uses his creation to reveal himself more fully to each of us, we, as image-bearers of God, can choose to use our creativity to show the world who he is.
A Piece in the Puzzle
When people ask me about my trip to the Dominican Republic, it’s hard to come up with a response that best fits the description I’d like to give. Most of the time I end up answering with “it was cool” or “it was super fun,” but these statements hardly cover all that I want to say.
Why Should We Care
Why do we care when someone is hurting? Why do we care when a child goes hungry or a single mom can’t make ends meet or when people are mistreated? Why do we care? The Bible has an answer for those questions and it comes in the first chapter of the first book. Genesis 1 says that people are unique in creation as being made in the image of God.
Running to Repentance
The cold winter day started just as every day did for John Smith—with an early morning run. This morning in particular, it was out at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs with an old friend, a former high school athlete, who still calls John “coach.” The pair used to see each other every day when John was the track and cross country coach at Ocoee High School, but these days they only see each other about once a year.
Yet Here I Am
In a couple of months, I get to marry the man God had in mind when he thought me up. I delayed announcing the engagement on social media, partly because I wanted to relive the joy of announcing it in person as many times as possible and partly because I didn’t know what to say. I always have something to say, but the thought of making the happiest announcement of my life to 1,500 of my closest friends left me speechless.
Undercurrent
On April 29th, 2018, Nikki Blanton walked into the water at Bethune Beach and—moments before she was baptized—her eyes filled up with tears. Nikki, who grew up in South Africa and attended an Anglican church every Sunday, explains that while she had a foundation of faith growing up it “always kind of felt like it was out there, not in here.”
Father, Son, & Holy Spirit
In Ephesians 1:17, Paul tells the Ephesians he prays for them as follows, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” There you have it: Father, Son and Holy Spirit all working together for the Ephesians’ (and our) benefit.
Baby Steps
College student Evan Holsonback does not like fake stories, and none of his friends seem to, either. So to honor them, I’m going to tell you a real story: theirs.
We Need Story
Of course Jesus was a storyteller. He is the one who created us for story. He knew we would need stories to pass down his wisdom from generation to generation. He knew we would need stories to build depth of relationship in community. He knew we would need stories to make sense of this broken world.
Godspell: Come See Jesus
When I first learned that Summit would be producing Godspell, my response was simple. I Googled it. Sure, I had heard the name “Godspell” before and had a general idea of what the show was about (God…?), but beyond that I didn’t have much to go on. For anyone who, like me, missed the memo on this popular, almost 50-year-old musical, the premise is simple. Based on the Gospel of Matthew, Godspell follows Jesus and a small group of friends as they bring his teachings to life.