The past two weeks have been spent preparing temporary accommodation and gathering everything the families might need. Donations have poured in from many Summitviewers and generous community members. We have rooms full of furniture and household goods for these families! Apartments have been found for the families to rent, at least for the first 5 months.

We prayed for the Lord to personally match families with our teams. After lengthy applications, our first team has been matched with a young family with a 4 year old girl and a 9 month old boy! They arrived this past Monday, Valentines Day. The family was welcomed with great excitement and fondness. 

We learned that they have already been unsettled for many months. They spent the last 80 days in a large heated tent along with 120 families on a military base. The husband had a good job in Kabul working for the US military, speaks proficient English, is humble and friendly. The wife is also educated and speaks some English. They are appreciative of what they have received.

The teams have worked really hard and have had a lot of joy watching the Lord pull it together. It has been amazing to see the variety of gifts and talents in each team. New relationships have been formed and strengthened in Summitview. We are excited this has come together so quickly. 

Please be praying for these teams and families in their care as they adjust to a very different life. Specific prayer requests include:

• healing for the children who have deep coughs
• smooth applications for government services such as Medicaid
• safe arrival of work permits
• smooth arrival of the second family
• second hand cars
• jobs that can support the families
• provision of translators and counselors
• genuine faith conversations and cross-cultural wisdom

Our two sponsorship teams are doing an amazing job in preparing for these families, but it takes an entire church to pull this off. Thank you for uniting in this effort!

The post Refugee Update appeared first on Summitview Church.

Jesus described the kingdom of God using images that communicate subtle but steady growth. A mustard seed begins small but then becomes the largest of garden plants. A small amount of yeast works through the whole batch of dough. Seed sprouts while the farmer sleeps, though he doesn’t know how. Basically, God often accomplishes his work in ways that aren’t very flashy and don’t seem like they’re doing much. But later, when you stop and look around, you see something extraordinary.

That’s how we often feel when we look at the church at the end of the year. Throughout the year, we plod along, trying to faithfully honor God, and wonder if much is happening. But come December, when we reflect on the year, we see that subtle nature of kingdom growth. Just think of what has happened through Summitview Church in 2021.

• A team was sent to Severance to plant a church
• Christmas gift bags were created and distributed to 62 families through our Christmas drive-thru event
• Summitview missionaries sowed gospel seeds in Japan, Hong Kong, Central Asia and the Middle East
• The Summitview Benevolence fund supported dozens of people experiencing financial hardship
• College students were trained intensively in the gospel over the summer and now gospel conversations happen on campus every week
• United prayer happened regularly through Sunday morning prayer meetings
• The CSU Moms have renewed their ministry of caring and praying for CSU students through the fall semester
• Summitview Kids maintained a vibrant children’s ministry in the middle of a pandemic and brought grace and truth each week to young, impressionable hearts
• Service Saturdays mobilized dozens of volunteers to serve people in our church family
• Two new next-generation hires were made to minister to high school and college students
• New carpet and a new front sign were installed
• Corporate worship happened to an even greater degree through regular worship and prayer mornings
• The DTC summer youth conference strengthened teens’ faith in the reality of God and the reliability of His Word as teachings focused on apologetic arguments
• Backyard Kids Clubs took the gospel to neighborhoods throughout the city
• God’s truth was delivered through teachings on Acts, Jonah, John and even a special series on social justice
  
  

And that’s not to mention all the unseen discipleship that happens in small groups and in everyday interactions. Truly, the mustard seed has grown.

So as the year comes to an end, we invite you to prayerfully consider giving to your local church. Not out of compulsion and obligation, but out of an enthusiastic desire to unite with the extraordinary work that God accomplishes through the church.

As a reminder, any tax-deductible gifts for 2021 must be received or postmarked by December 31. You can give via cash or check at the tithe boxes in our lobby or just inside the office entrance, or you can give online at summitview.com/give. 

Thank you again for your faith,
The Summitview Pastors

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And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:8-14 

If this were any other story, it would be “old news.” But what makes it still fresh today is the fact that you have personalized it, and that this former newborn baby is now the King of the universe and is living in your heart! Not in some sentimental, nostalgic, or metaphorical way, but literally, personally, and objectively! These first witnesses of his birth could not even begin to imagine such a privilege, and yet they responded with great joy, praising and glorifying God. How much more should we?

There is so much to awe and attract us to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Gospel writer, John, said that the world could not contain all the books needed to describe all that Jesus did. As Jonathan Edwards wrote, Jesus has “an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies.” 

For example, he is a lion and yet a lamb, glorious and yet humble, just and yet merciful, majestic and yet meek, equal with God and yet reverent toward God, sovereign and yet submissive. He stumped the scribes with his wisdom and yet enjoyed the company of simple children. He stilled a storm and yet refused to get himself down from the cross.

Or St. Augustine describes him this way:

Man’s Maker was made man that He, ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused by false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Fountain be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.

Reflect

What paradoxes of Christ strike you most deeply? 

Worship is the only rational and appropriate response to such a Savior. Take some time to pray and sing some good, gospel-saturated Christmas carols with others.

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For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 

John 3:16-19

Love is the supreme virtue. It’s the only virtue that God explicitly uses to define himself (1 John 4:8). Unlike our fickle, fleeting, and feelings-oriented love, God’s love is an unwavering, covenantal love, and his divine love is behind every aspect of redemptive history: 

Creation (Ephesians 3:9, 19), predestination (Ephesians 1:5), incarnation (1 John 4:9), crucifixion (John 15:13), resurrection (John 10:17), salvation (Romans 5:8), redemption (Revelation 1:5), adoption (Ephesians 1:5), revelation (John 14:21), inhabitation (John 14:23), preservation (Romans 8:39), unification (Colossians 3:14), protection (1 Thessalonians 5:8), sanctification (Hebrews 12:6), and glorification (2 Timothy 4:8).

Indeed, love is what life is all about! It’s the main thing that God wants to perfect in us, as it says in 1 John 4:16-17, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us…” Loving God and loving our fellow man is the sum of all God’s commandments. It is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit, which means that we cannot accomplish it without him.

Reflect

Love is a dwindling commodity. As time goes on, the Bible says that the love of most people is going to grow cold (Matthew 24:12). Would you say that your love is on an increasing or decreasing trajectory? Why?

Romans 5:5 says that “God’s love has been poured (literally flooded) into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” When we don’t feel that, what should we do? What can make God’s immeasurable love tangible to us, 2000 years after Christ’s ultimate expression of that love?

In Revelation 2:4, Jesus reproves the church of Ephesus for having lost their first love (meaning Christ). When your love for God is waning, what can you do to rekindle it? What has helped in the past?

The post LOVE appeared first on Summitview Church.

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Luke 1:39-45

Most of us think of joy as something that periodically punctuates our life, but the Bible offers a different perspective. Acts 13:52 (NASB) says that “the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Is it hard for you to imagine being continually filled with joy? How is that even possible, given all the ups and downs in this fallen world?

We know from Galatians 5:22 that joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and that it is not necessarily a function of our circumstances, well-being, or comfort. It’s deeper than that. Amazingly, John the Baptist leaped for joy while still inside his mother’s womb! His joy was the sole result of his mother, Elizabeth, hearing the voice of pregnant Mary, who was filled with the Holy Spirit. That filling was so powerful, that not only did Elizabeth exclaim blessings upon Mary and Jesus, but so did her Spirit-filled unborn baby (see Luke 1:15)!

Our expressions of joy are often muted and dulled by personal inhibitions, social pressure, familiarity of biblical truth, or simply because we’re not continually filled with the Holy Spirit, as Ephesians 5:18 commands us to be. Many Christians have a hard time even smiling in public, because it’s just not a cultural norm to do so. Joylessness is terribly contagious, but fortunately, so is joyfulness! 

Will you choose to walk in the joy that God has purchased for you at so high a cost, or act as though it’s really not that big a deal?

Reflect

Are you an emotional chameleon, conforming to your surroundings, or do you live by faith, in the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to transform the mood of your surroundings?

Does your heart leap for joy when your Savior draws near? What things inhibit you the most when it comes to expressing your joy more fully and consistently?

Psalm 16:11 says that in God’s presence is “fullness of joy.” In prayer, acknowledge God’s presence and take time to enjoy it! Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, yield your control to him, and express your joy to God for Jesus leaving heaven and coming to save you from your sins. (Hint: It should far exceed your expression of joy when your favorite team wins the Super Bowl!)

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“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” 

Luke 1:68-79

There’s a progression of thought here, but it’s somewhat jumbled. If we put it in order, we can see a beautiful chain of events: 

1. God promises salvation from of old (v. 70)

2. The people sit in darkness (v. 79)

3. God remembers his covenant (or oath) to Abraham (v. 73)

4. God has tender mercy on his people (v. 78)

5. God sends a prophet (John) to prepare the way before the Lord (v. 76)

6. God raises up a Savior from the line of David (v. 69)

7. The people experience mercy (v. 72), light or truth (v. 79), redemption (v. 68), salvation from their enemies, (v. 71), forgiveness of sins (v. 77), and peace (v. 79)

8. The people serve God without fear in holiness and righteousness (v. 74-75) 

9. Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, blesses the Lord God of Israel (v. 67-68)

10. Luke records this prophecy for our benefit, and of hundreds of future generations. 

Reflect 

What kinds of peace are included in this passage spoken by John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias? What are the results? What kinds of peace have you experienced as a result of your salvation? 

Reflect on how your own personal testimony of salvation mirrors this progression. 

Read Psalm 139 and take time to bless and praise God for all the benefits you’ve received through his salvation.

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For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:8-13

Every great initiative in world history has had a common ingredient: Hope. So it should be no surprise that the greatest initiative in world history promised the greatest of hopes: eternal redemption. And it was initiated by God himself.

There are not a lot of Old Testament verses on hope, but the concept was certainly there. Before Christ, the nations are described as dwelling in darkness – deep darkness (Isaiah 9:2, 60:2). In other worlds, they had no revelation of God beyond the general revelation of Creation, and thus, no hope. Romans 15:9-12 offers multiple Old Testament passages that foreshadowed the day when all these lost nations would finally have a reason to hope. Their opportunity to hope in Israel’s promised Messiah would change everything.  

Today, our hope is not backward-looking, toward Christ’s first coming, but forward-looking, toward the certainty of his second coming. Hope is more than an expectation; it is a longing and yearning for something, or rather… Someone. 

Romans 15:12 above says that God wants us to not merely have hope, but to “abound in hope.” How? Not by mental gymnastics or or personal will-power, but “by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Christ is coming, but what do we do with that information on a day-by-day basis?

Here are some passages that can help us focus on the hope that we have in a more concrete way: Matthew 24:29-31, 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, 2 Peter 3:3-13, Revelation 21:1-8.

Reflect

When was the last time you felt hopeless, or despairing? What difference can the thought of Christ’s second coming make in our present difficulties?

How does our daily relational closeness (or distance) from Jesus make a difference in our ability to hope?

How would your life look different if you “fixed your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13)?

The post HOPE appeared first on Summitview Church.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

We have our marching orders. Each one of us is called to share the good news of Jesus Christ. There is a sacred space we enter with God when we’re sharing that good news with someone. The Holy Spirit comes in power, gives us the words to say, and softens hearts to hear. But sometimes that same gospel is met with hostility. Sometimes we end up way outside our comfort zone. But the call remains. 

The book of Acts is a document constructed on a three phase plan that Jesus set forth in Acts 1:8. The first phase was Jerusalem. There we see the disciples, waiting for the promised Holy Spirit, who then comes like a violent wind. The movement of the church begins as Peter preaches the gospel. His words carry supernatural power and 3,000 are saved. 

The gospel being preached arouses hostility in the ruling class and the church is warned not to speak of Jesus in public. But in Acts 6 we’re introduced to Stephen, a man full of the Holy Spirit, and he just won’t quit preaching. He’s brought to trial and the council’s hostility escalates to his execution, instigated by a man named Saul, who then begins persecuting the church. Persecution scatters the believers. Adversity becomes the catalyst that propels the mission of the church into phase two. 

Phase two, as Jesus predicted, would be Judea and Samaria. But the church hadn’t made the jump yet to preach the gospel to these local, yet ethnically and culturally different people. But now, while literally running for their lives, ordinary men and women boldly speak about God to the Samaritans and the Greeks. And as Luke writes in Acts 11, the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number of gentiles believed and turned to the Lord in Antioch. 

But the emphasis of Jesus’ plan was for the church to get to phase 3, the ends of the earth. It takes a supernatural push, and we see Jesus knock Saul to the ground on the road to Damascus. Saul’s life takes a complete U-turn. He begins to preach the gospel, finally arriving in Antioch where the Holy Spirit sets him apart in Acts 13 and phase 3 begins – he and Barnabas are sent off to reach the very ends of the earth. 

This week we’re kicking off a sermon series about this third phase of God’s plan, specifically focusing on the Holy Spirit empowered ministry of Saul (also known as the Apostle Paul) in Acts 13-28 and his call to reach the Gentiles.

Perhaps the most thrilling part of God’s plan is in this present moment. The Holy Spirit is still here with us, and we’re still in phase 3 of Jesus’ plan. God is still advancing the gospel and raising up more laborers for his harvest. But yet again the church faces adversity in this season of COVID-19 and political unrest. Could it be that God will use this trial as a catalyst to revive the church and spread the message of Jesus Christ further into the world? 

We each have unique gifts and graces from God. He wants to strategically involve each of us as he reaches every person on the planet. Sometimes it will be challenging and it won’t feel natural. But we can believe in God’s ability to work as he sovereignly moves each of us to the places he wants us to go. 

As we go, God will extend to others the same grace he showed us on the cross. And you may be surprised to find that as you communicate the gospel message, you also will be refreshed and empowered by God’s Spirit. The message that Jesus Christ offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who would believe is like a cup of cool water in the desert. And it refreshes and energizes not only the recipient, but the giver. 

Holy Spirit, come like a rushing wind, and advance your kingdom through us, to each one. 

The post To Each One appeared first on Summitview Church.

We are excited for the opportunity to all gather together this Sunday, August 23rd! Some of us will be gathering in our building, while others will be joining us from home. It’s obvious that you are also excited; many of you have already RSVPed to attend the service. If you haven’t RSVPed (perhaps due to forgetting or seeing full numbers on the registration page) please do so now as we are seeking to accommodate all those interested.

The service will begin at 9:30 a.m. If you are gathering in the building, please plan to arrive by 9:15 a.m. If you are joining us from home, please have communion ready for those in your house.

In terms of entering our building for the service, we will largely follow the same protocol we detailed for our July 19th service, which a couple fresh adjustments.

Here are details for the service on August 23rd:

Please gather up in the parking lot early with your house church/household. We encourage you to catch up together, with a mask off or on (optional outside). Wait to enter the West Doors until you are ready to be seated with your entire house church/household. If you enter apart from your house church, you will likely not be able to sit with your house church.

Due to high interest in this gathering, we have an overflow room for extra space. If your reservation says “Overflow Room” you enter the building through the gym door nearest the West Doors, and join the service via a livestream setup in the Gym.

Hospitality volunteers, wearing bright orange bandanas (and smiling behind their masks) will direct you to a pew where you can sit with your house church, but socially distanced from others. Please respectfully follow their instruction as they are serving our church family.

You will be directed into one of the three middle doors (instead of just the very middle door as we did last service).

To better seat everyone at a comfortable distance from others, please DO NOT reserve pews for others ahead of time. Last service, this led to some being seated too close for comfort to others. 

While many rows closest to the stage will be used for general seating (green highlighted section – see image below), we have two sections for special cases. If you anticipate needing to leave the auditorium during the service (perhaps some families with small children), please request to sit in the back rows highlighted in yellow. If you desire to be further back/away from others due to preference or health concern, please request to be seated in the red or yellow highlighted sections.

We get to take communion together after the sermon in the same room for the first time in over 5 months! For those in the auditorium, you will find an individually packaged bread wafer/juice in the cup holder in front of you (you’ll of course slip off your mask briefly to take communion). For those in an overflow room, you will find the same on your chair.

At the end of the service, you will be dismissed by hospitality volunteers to the closest door (West or Drake or Ramp). You’re welcome to take off your mask when you exit the building, as masks are optional outside.

We encourage you to keep walking until you arrive near the playground, which is on the east side of the parking lot. This will enable us to see the entire attending church family, and not get separated in two different clusters.

We’re looking forward to sharing this upcoming time together with you!
-The Pastors of Summitview

The post Large Gathering Service on August 23! appeared first on Summitview Church.

But all this brings up questions about how we, as Summitview’s pastors, are viewing government-imposed restrictions. After all, we’re currently only meeting once a month, which is less than what we could be. Does that mean we’re seeing state guidelines as appropriate, and to even give some room between ourselves and the line they’ve drawn? Is that acquiescing to government overreach? Should we instead join with those California churches who are defying state orders? Well, let us try to explain how we’re seeing things, and hopefully provide a little clarity for any of you who are confused about our position.

Perhaps the first thing to understand is that our current decision-making is not primarily guided by government-imposed restrictions. That is, we haven’t been first asking, “What can we do?” Rather, we’ve been asking, “What’s best for our church in this current situation?” Let’s unpack that, beginning with a summary of our general attitude towards government at the moment.

How should we respond to government right now?

To sum up, we don’t currently think it’s appropriate to openly defy local restrictions. That may change at some point, but right now, we could put forward at least four reasons why we think it’s reasonable to adhere to the guidelines we’ve been given.

First, we do not believe our local restrictions are excessively stringent, and local government has shown willingness to work with churches. Larimer County is currently operating under a variance that allows houses of worship to meet in groups of up to 175 people. That variance could have even been rescinded by now. Originally, the variance was to be removed if the county recorded three days of 25+ new COVID cases within a 14-day period. We have already exceeded those three days several times over, but the variance is still in place. This demonstrates a willingness on the part of the state government to make efforts of accommodation.

Second, we don’t think that the state is currently targeting churches uniquely. As we have mentioned in recent sermons, we believe the New Testament provides a general encouragement to submit to governing authorities (Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, Titus 3), unless there is clear and concentrated discrimination that results in the prohibition of core church functions. Although there are questionable decisions to keep our eye on (e.g. leniency towards liquor stores, dispensaries, casinos, etc.), in general we do not believe that churches are being singled out here in Larimer County. We may be able to describe current government activity as an overreaction, but we have not yet been convinced that the state has crossed the line into a form of direct persecution that necessitates disobedience. What’s more, we do believe that we are still able to carry out the core functions of our church, either through larger meetings of 175, smaller house church meetings, or through a variety of other means. Also, we are in ongoing conversations with churches in the Fort Collins Church Network, and this view has been the general consensus.

Third, we seek to wisely pick our battles, based on if/when the government would require us to clearly disobey God and the Bible. Honestly, we think there’s a reasonable likelihood that state persecution of churches could become a reality in the future. If it becomes evident that the government is specifically and intentionally restricting churches because they’re churches, then we would most certainly respond. If or when that time comes, we want to be resolute in our stance and not have it diluted by previous times of crying wolf.

Fourth, we would like to first pursue dialogue with governing officials before open defiance. Prior to being granted the variance, church leaders in Fort Collins were in contact with the governor, and considering what to do if restrictions remained for an extended period of time. Once the variance was granted, there was not as much of a pressing need to press for leniency. If restrictions became more stringent, we would first likely pursue, along with other local church leaders, an open conversation with governing officials in an effort to contribute to the shaping of policy.

So currently, we do not believe it’s appropriate to reject government guidelines. Now, could that all change at any time? Yes. Perhaps we will feel the need to cross lines that the government has drawn. We just don’t think that time has come yet. And for more in-depth discussion, you might check out the following articles to dive deeper into issues related to church and freedom: “Further Reflections on Recent Conversations about Christian Freedom” by Jonathan Leeman and “Covid, Christians, & the Civil Magistrate” by Keith Mathison.

So what are we doing?

Still, you might ask if we’re being overly cautious. You can understand submitting to the government, but we’re not even meeting as much as is allowed. So what’s our rationale behind our current large group meeting schedule?

Well, for the last five months, our goal has been to try to understand what God is specifically intending to teach us through our situation. We believe that God crafts life circumstances, even the hard ones, to produce something good in his church. What might God be trying to shape in us right now?

First, we think this is a fresh opportunity to cultivate church community life in smaller, more intimate settings. After several months of house church meetings, we were somewhat surprised at much of the feedback we received that told of how much life was being found in house churches. Although it’s not the universal experience, many people discovered a depth of fellowship that they had not been previously experiencing. As we observed that, we sensed that God wanted to renew an emphasis on smaller communities. Now, that’s not to say there’s not great value in the large group meeting. We believe that a healthy church balances both a large and small group expression. We just felt that for these months, God was intending to refine some small group values and practices, and we have been excited to let him do that. Besides, as we look ahead to the future, we wonder if the Christian church in general will need to be ready to “do church” in smaller settings.

Second, we have been weighing the cost-benefit of meeting as a large group in our current situation. Meeting as a large group right now certainly requires some work on the part of pastors and staff. We’re definitely willing to put in that work, but we also have to gauge whether or not there’s a substantial return on that investment, and whether or not staff time can be used more effectively elsewhere. As we have been in discussion with other pastors whose churches reopened early, the consistent report has been that those churches have been experiencing one third or less of the attendance that they were previously experiencing. Anticipating that we could experience something similar, the main question we have been wrestling with is whether or not it’s worth it to break up our house church model, which has seemingly been very fruitful, in order to pull off a service that may still only touch a smaller portion of our church.

All that said, we don’t believe that this current arrangement is going to last forever, and it may change in the very near future. Our hope is to take what we’ve learned in recent months related to the small scale, to incorporate it into our normal practices, and then renew and bolster the large group expression as well. As for now, though, we invite you to join us in trying to receive God’s instruction in this time, and not to first ask questions of what we can or can’t do, but instead what God wants to teach us in a specific, focused way.

And if it comes down to it, maybe we’ll add some slot machines to the lobby to expand our meeting capacity

The Summitview Pastors

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