"All human beings are counselors, whether wise, foolish, or mixed. All Christians are meant to become wiser counselors." – David Powlison

David expanded on that idea by pointing out that even if our advice is messy or flawed, we are still constantly counseling the people around us by how we listen, react, and speak into their lives. He challenged readers that even if you are shy, aggressive, or completely ineffectual at counseling, "you are still a counselor." His aim was to encourage everyday Christians to realize this responsibility and intentionally grow into wiser, more grace-giving ones.

Angela and I have seen it and felt it in our own lives and in the life of the church. Because we saw our need for greater help in counseling, Angela and I began pursuing a structured path toward offering more sound biblical care. And that pursuit has had a significant impact upon our church!

Angela and I began a certificate program through Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF). I completed the two certificate programs available through CCEF and Angela began with CCEF and then transferred to Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) to complete her Master of Counseling (MAC) degree. In addition to the two of us getting help, both Jeremy and Tiffany completed their two certificates with CCEF, Mike Weyand also finished his, and Carol Barclay and Cristina Castillo are about one class away from completing theirs. In addition, we have numerous people who have taken multiple classes (I think there’s about 15 people who have taken Dynamics of Biblical Change at Summit). Many who have pursued becoming better counselors. And we have a few folks considering pursuing their own MAC degrees from WTS! It is really quite remarkable and encouraging!
(If you would like to pursue becoming a better counselor in your life, let us know. We would love to help direct you… and if it’s through CCEF, there is a discount for students when we have 5 or more people in a class.)

Part of my reason in sharing these fun facts and background is because this next week Angela and I travel to WTS in Philadelphia for her to graduate after completing her 61 hours of rigorous Biblical classes! She has faithfully pushed through, semester after semester, plugging away with perseverance and teachability. I have had the blessing of being on the front row of watching Angela grow and walk alongside many who are suffering. I have watched her grow in listening and offering Biblically sound advice along the way. I have seen her draw closer to the Lord and watched it overflow into her care. It is an exciting milestone for us in celebrating the work accomplished and all that the Lord has taught us over the years! (Well done, Angela!)

This is all about our desire to offer better care for our church. The elders kindly commissioned her to pursue this training so that we would be better equipped to care for our church. This is an answer to many years of prayer!

In our desire to provide sound Biblical wisdom to all areas of life, we have a Hope page on our website to help direct folks who are wanting specific help and discipleship in areas of their lives.

Life is hard. There is sin within that repeatedly trips us up, there is suffering that comes at us, there is grief, and there are places we find ourselves that feel unbearable. This is how life often is this side of Heaven. We want to provide rich, Biblical care for each person we walk alongside. What encourages me so much is that I see that happening more and more!

To God be the glory!

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

We live in the greatest of times these days – they are like none other in history. Thankfully, in days now far gone we used to have to well… wait. I remember being a young child and putting a Hungry Man TV dinner in the oven and… waiting before I could eat it. We used to have to rewind our VHS tapes before returning our movies to Blockbuster – what an inconvenience! I recall writing to Angela while I was deployed on ship and awaiting for weeks to get a response from her. There was a day when I had to get around my pool man job with a Thomas Guide Roadmap for the 50 houses I would service a day. Ugh! So many U-turns back in the day. Back in the day, we had to wait for the next episode of our shows to come out on TV. We had so much that we had to wait for, so much that was inefficient, many ways that just didn’t have answers for us. We had no ability to get fast and accurate answers. These were hard days.

Today looks very different. We are far more efficient, far wiser. We have consistent paychecks (hopefully), groceries that get delivered, endless gadgets, pretty much whatever we want from Stuff-mart. What drives us today? Instant. Self-sufficiency. Personalized algorithms. Consensus with others who agree with us. Curated profiles.

In today’s wonderful world we can get answers about parenting in a moments notice. We can get medical diagnosis’s instantly. We can watch what we want, when we want and on the platform we want. We can talk with those we want to, and block those we don’t. We can find a mate with so many available apps. We can get help for a troubled marriage instantly online. We have Google, ChatGPT, Facebook, TikTok, X, and YouTube to relieve that terrible feeling of boredom and ignorance. We love AI!! We love that AI “gets us” (even though we say we don’t like that our information is everywhere!) We still love it!

There used to be a day when we had to trust in the Lord, when we had to pray… and wait. There used to be a day when we were dependent on God to answer and guide us. But rest assured, those days are long gone. We have our answers at our fingertips, we have Amazon Prime, we have omniscience. We can declare 2026 as the Year of the Death of Prayer! We no longer need Him in the day-in-day-out stuff of life. Sure, for the BIG stuff, for the times we really get into a pickle we can call out to Him, but no need to wait for an answer. After all, if He doesn’t agree with our prayer, then why pray? He’s far too slow. He says “no” far too often. We have been freed from such archaic times.

And Satan loves today! He champions the death of prayer in our lives! He loves our self-sufficiency and our ultra-efficiency, as well as the trivial pursuits of anything we want. Anything to keep us from praying and seeking the Lord’s direction. He hates our dependency on Him. Don’t wait for Him, you can get your answer far quicker today. We don’t need God, he would tell you that we are now like Him (Genesis 3:5).
But are we actually free from God? Is Satan lying to us? Does Satan have our best interest in mind? Is it possible that we’ve forgotten our real dependence on God, that He provides our very life and breath? Perhaps James 5:16b, “The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect” is still just as true today?
Jesus did say this: “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him.” [Emphasis added.]
Perhaps we aren’t as far along as we feel? Maybe, just maybe, we need to be dependent upon Him today. If so, it’ll probably be good to start with repentance and asking Him to forgive us for our self-sufficiency and how we have treated prayer like a gamble that we hope we win instead of surrendering to Him.

That’s where I am going. Come with me.

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

Church, I am pleased to report that we as an elder team have established two new roles that we have needed as a church for greater care and service to the church body: Deacon of Facilities, and Deacon/Deaconess of Care.
[Below you can see the full descriptions of each role.]
 
Deacon of Facilities:
Having our own building now, it comes with the need for greater attention and someone to organize a team of helpers for various tasks that come up regularly. Mike Weyand has kindly taken up this vital role for us. Mike has proven himself as one who walks with God, loves people, and has such a servants heart. He is helping to take ongoing care for what the Lord has given us with our building. This is a huge role that relieves me personally from this to be able to focus on the other areas He has given me to care for. I have already felt the relief! (Thank you, Mike for taking this on!       
Deacon/Deaconess of Care:
This role of care is also vital for us as a church. As we have grown, we have noticed the need to ensure that people are not falling through the cracks as much as possible. Terry and Lynn Sonnenburg are leading this area of ministry. They become the hub of information and can distribute the care to a team of people to offer care for those who are suffering at Summit. Terry and Lynn also have proven themselves as walking with the Lord and their love for people. They have in many ways already been fulfilling this role, now it is simply better organized. Here, church, is another example of what servants of the Lord look like!
     
So welcome Mike, Terry and Lynn to their new deacon roles. They are an answer to prayer for us as staff and elders. This is good. This is how the Lord has kindly answered us to care well for the church as we grow. Thanks be to God!

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

I think I am officially “old”. I know, age is relative, but it hit me the other day when I was talking to a friend about when Angela and I moved back from New Zealand in 1997 and he responded, “I wasn’t even born yet”! Well, that stung. It reminded me that I am a child of the late 70’s and 80’s. I grew up in Southern California and loved my church friends and much of the freedom I had (although too much at times) to run around our neighborhood with friends. I also have fond memories of the impact of Christian music upon me. This is at the peak of time during the “worship wars” and when drums and certain beats in church were seen as demonic. Thankfully, I wasn’t a part of one of those churches. Instead, I was deeply influenced and shaped by the music I listened to.

I can remember listening to my first Christian rock vinyl record laying on the living room floor using my mom’s record player. It was Undercover. And it was the album title “God Rules” that gave me a beginning understanding of God’s sovereignty.

Shortly after that album came probably the most impactful band, The Altar Boys with their song, “Life Begins At The Cross”. It was that song that inspired me to get that title tattooed on my leg as a young adult.

I can also remember driving with my friend, Matt Bridgeford, in his white Toyota truck with the windows down blaring Keith Green, “He’ll Take Care Of The Rest” and, “I Can’t Wait To Get To Heaven” from his tape deck. (A very different genre from the Christian rock I also enjoyed.) I love the hard-hitting lyrics that still speak to me today.

On the complete opposite side of Christian music genre from Keith Green was The Crucified. I think it was the first concert Angela and I went to together where she got to see me crowd surf and mosh. (It was also her last Crucified concert sadly to say.) I was introduced to Galatians 2:20 through them. Songs like, “Back To The Cross” (I suppose we can’t add this into our songs, right Scott and Heather?) and “Pillars Of Humanity” had such an affect. They also inspired the rest of my leg tattoo with the cross and thorns.

I feel like I would not be loyal to the other bands that really shaped me and my faith without mentioning: The Lifesavors, Steve Camp, Rich Mullins, Whitecross, Petra, Newsboys, and Steven Curtis Chapman to name a few.

My point is not so much a journey down memory lane – as enjoyable as that is for me – but to point out how important music (and my inputs) were to my faith and walk with Jesus over the years. Like Proverbs says, Proverbs 13:20 – "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." Or 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Although 1 Corinthians draws out the negative impact of bad company, I have found the inverse to be true: good 'company'—in the form of the lyrics and artists I listened to—strengthened my character and kept my faith grounded.

What we take in can greatly shape us – more than we realize. I thank God for bringing the bands into my life when He did, for I was so mold-able and needed solid input. It was a great tool the Lord used.

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

Someone recently asked me what my typical week looks like. The question got me thinking about a number of times that I have gotten that question, often it’s something like, “What do you do the rest of the week besides Sunday?” Sometimes it has the idea of, “Since Sunday is your day of work, what do you do with the rest of the time?” I chuckle at that. But I do realize that my week (and Pastor Jeremy’s for that matter) may seem a bit cloaked in mystery. So I thought it would be fun to share a typical week-in-the-life of Pastor John.

Angela and I have a daily morning routine. Mondays through Saturdays we are getting up around 5:15. I have those adjustable lights to set our morning routine a little lower than the bright day. So with lights a little lower, a scented candle going, and a cup of coffee in hand, we set about praying together for the day ahead and particular people who are on our minds. Then we dive into our individual reading. We both have different places in the Bible we are reading (I am currently reading the New Testament chronologically in 90 days) and various books. I am currently reading a book on Humility (the one I am going through men with in a small group soon), and one or two other books scattered in there. Then around 7:00 we are up and heading into some exercise and breakfast and getting ready… by 8:30 usually.

Mondays and Tuesdays tend to be more of my “meeting and counseling” days. I am usually having a meeting, counseling appointment, or preparing for one on these days (whereas, Monday-Thursdays, Angela has various counseling meetings and class work as she finishes her Master of Counseling degree this year). Tuesdays are also when I have pastor’s prayer time when Pastor Jeremy and I pray for you and the church. And, I am in a prayer cohort with a group of men on Tuesday mornings currently too. Wednesdays and Thursdays are my primary sermon work days. But, to be honest, they are usually scattered with other meetings that happen. Then in the evenings we often have either small groups, or I have an elder meeting, or another meeting which fill about 3 to 4 nights a week. We also try and get to bed around 9:30 where we read for 30 minutes before falling asleep (sometimes I only make it about 7 minutes before I am falling asleep. Haha).

Fridays are our day off. We try and guard that as much as possible. It means time for us to get done the chores and shopping we need to get done. It also means we have our Friday nights together for something I am grilling or smoking and a show we enjoy together.

Saturdays are final sermon prep days, meetings or counseling and then we try to be off by 3. We often spend time with our daughter and grandkids -   sometimes Saturday afternoons/evenings, which is a joy.

Sundays we start our day at 4 to get ready and pray and for me to prepare for the day at church. After a hearty bowl of oatmeal, we get to church around 7:15 and make sure we’re ready for the guests. Then, if I don’t have a meeting or Discover Summit after church, we are home around 1 and I will try getting a rugby game in during the season. I also get my bread making hobby going and make sourdough bread to bake on Monday mornings.

Overall, we find that about 50 different people make their way through our home each week. Angela and I have various check-in points each day – the best is when we have a cup of tea in the afternoon with two maple cookies. We find that we pray numerous times throughout the day as things are happening. I also almost always have the sermon brewing from Sunday afternoon to delivery on the following Sunday.
That’s a typical week. Blessed. I love shepherding our church! Angela and I count it a true pleasure to open our home to people and share life.

If questions come to mind that you would like to know about my week – please don’t hesitate to ask. It’s a privilege the Lord has given us to know you and walk with you.

I hope we can worship together tomorrow! We are in Philemon – and who knew there was so much in there!?!

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

There were many posters that went up during World War II for the dire need for
service. In my garage hangs the poster below along with some other memorabilia.

It motivates me. The simple call, “Ready” calls one for action. (I know, I am
partial to the Marine Corps messages of course.)

The call I want to invite you to join in is not for the Marines, but actually, something far more eternal – His Church! We find ourselves in a place where we need
more folks to volunteer and more who would be willing to do a bit more.

Let me explain: Every Sunday we have two services that require a total of 66
volunteers (not including about 7 people on the band). We have Children’s, Prayer, Hospitality, Safety, Sound/Tech, Parking and counters for giving. Needless to say, it’s pretty significant! And… we aren’t getting enough volunteers every week. For one good
example, we cannot open one of the much needed classrooms one of our services because we don’t have enough volunteers… but I assure you we need this classroom!

Here’s my ask of you: Would you consider volunteering? And, for those of you
who serve one service a month, would you consider volunteering at least one more
service time a month? In fact, I know in Children’s ministry that if everyone who serves just one time a month would be willing to add one more service that all the classrooms would be fully covered! That’s not just true in Children’s but in most of the other ministries as well.

I am simply just asking you to pray and ask the Lord if you should. You may
need to say no to something else in the week to make space for this, but I think it’d be worth it… you would bless the church… and be blessed personally.

So, as the Marines poster says, “Ready”? And at the very bottom it says, “Apply, or write, to nearest recruiting station”. We need you!

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

PS – We have our annual pastor/elder retreat this week from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday. Would you pray for us as we gather? We will be taking serious time to pray for you as well.

The annual church meeting held some exciting conclusions for the Cooper family and the youth ministry at SRC.
 
First was the extraordinary and incredibly encouraging resolve of the church to give me a sabbatical this year (and every three years following). Words can't express how honored I am for our elders to recognize the benefit this will be to my family and me, and for their initiative to extend that blessing beyond the senior pastor. That time to prioritize my family, health, rest, and home needs promises to be a powerful help with some much-needed balance and recovery.
 
The second exciting update from the annual meeting makes even more sense in the light of the sabbatical.
 
Question: what is the impact on youth ministry when the pastor of discipleship and youth takes four weeks off in the summer? That is a bit of a pickle. And it is simply a more extreme version of a problem I have experienced for years. Many of us experience, in working world, a startling natural phenomenon in which time is multiplied: you take two days off, and somehow end up four days behind. How can I even take three days off in the middle of a week and still have a sermon to preach for youth on Sunday?
 
I can work ahead, and pack the extra writing and soul work into the weeks leading up to planned time off. Or I can work with one of our youth volunteers through the study and writing process. To put in enough planning and work ahead to allow a sabbatical would be quite an undertaking.
 
Enter Susan!
 
The approval of the church budget at the annual meeting meant a green light to bring Susan Muehleisen on as our new Youth Assistant. Her role is something like a hybrid of a youth intern, an administrator, and a deputy youth director.
 
And maybe you don't know her well, but Susan is a great fit for this role. Tiffany and I know her as the pastor's kid (Susan's dad has been a bi-vocational pastor) who mentors our own daughter Adele along with the other girls who have followed her like the pied piper for the four years she has served as volunteer youth staff. She's been one to offer her help for camp planning tasks unprompted, and is always helpfully reminding me of some aspect of ministry that falls into one of my blind spots. She has a background in education and has been a great last minute stand-in teacher for youth on a few Sundays over the years.
 
In the few weeks she's filled the role, she has been giving some hours each week to tackling tasks that I am capable of but which take up my bandwidth. As she collects dates and publishes calendars, does the legwork of pricing out event options, researches ways other churches have found to encourage youth serving in their local body and community, and plans better games than I typically put together for youth nights, she is both saving me time to be used on other things, and improving the quality of our youth ministry.
 
I meet for individual counseling and discipleship with both youth and adults, lead a hope group for men's sexual integrity, lead the special youth small group we call "Discipleship Group", oversee our small groups ministry and meet with our small group coaches, prepare an age-appropriate expository sermon for youth each week, meet with youth's volunteer staff, and tend to other various odds and ends as Pastor John and I naturally distribute tasks according to our strengths and availabilities. This is a manageable weekly load, but adding something like a camp to prep for, Week of Fun, a parent equipping event, or a couple extra trips to Walmart and Sam's Club for supplies can mean I'm over the edge.
 
With Susan putting in a few hours a week to these planning tasks, being a "gopher" to pick up the chips and pizza, and having an administrative mind reminding me she just needs a decision about that upcoming event so we can publish details for parents means these things are not only doable but done well, with minimal impact on my normal scope of pastoral ministry. She will be invaluable in the summer facilitating a smooth sabbatical while helping to ensure a great few weeks for the youth group while Tiffany and I are out.
 
So, join me in expressing gratitude for the volunteers and administrators working behind the scenes that make it possible for our church to function! I pray you would appreciate the Tiffanys and Susans in your own life, welcome "blind spot mirrors", and share an encouraging word with our church staff (Tiffany is doing the church's taxes this week!) And thank you, those who call Summit your church family, for the giving and support that makes these good things possible. May Christ be honored in all that we do.

In Him,

Perhaps you have a hard time staying focused during the message, I know I have challenges in that at times.

Tim Challies began one of his blog posts with this intro: “It is one of the strengths, or perhaps one of the weaknesses, of the human mind that it can have different “tracks” playing at the same time. Even as one series of words is emerging from a person’s mouth, an entirely different series of words may be flitting through his brain. He can have an entire monologue playing internally, even as another is playing externally. Preachers are especially familiar with this phenomenon and become accustomed to saying one thing even as they think another.”

He then proceeded to list seven examples of things that may flit through the preachers mind. Some apply to me, some don’t. But it was insightful, nevertheless. In an email dialogue I had with him I wrote this, “My goodness did you hit this one on the head for me as a preacher. I've been the senior pastor of a church in Las Vegas for 18 years now and have grown in preaching, but that second (or sometimes even third voice layer) is active and true. I wrestle with many of these thoughts (usually negative, and ones I need to bring to the Lord in "arrow prayers" right then). Oh, that the Spirit works through such weak men is astounding and spectacular! Thanks for sharing. It was encouraging to me because I rarely (if ever) hear of how others wrestle with this too.”

He ended with this comment: “What’s important for congregants to understand is that it is not only listeners who need to remain undistracted, who need to battle to keep their minds focused and their thoughts directed. The preacher fights the same battle, though at the front of the room and much more in the public eye. So, just as we pray for undistracted minds for those who listen, we would do well to pray for undistracted minds for those who preach. For the battle rages in the pulpit just as much as in the pew.”

My invitation is for you to pray for the one preaching as you pray for yourself to be focused on gleaning what the Spirit desires us to receive. We get to give it a go again tomorrow – I am looking forward to that.

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

With 2025 behind us and we enter into a new year, it’s the natural place to share highlights of the past year where God has been at work and invite you to join us for our Annual Church Meeting that is coming up. In just over a week we will gather on January 11th at 4PM for this all-important meeting. If you can join us, you will hear from our ministry leads and from me over the past year. We will communicate our financial update and what it looks like for us in this year. We will also look to affirm John Schlothauer as our new appointed elder as we say thank you to Terry for his six years of service as an elder. After which we will celebrate all together with dinner from our favorite Taco lady.

2025 was significant for us as a church. The answer to years’ long prayers for a new facility we can call our own was answered by the Lord. And it is a beautiful facility and I think we’ve utilized the space well for what we have – a beautiful answer to prayer! We also celebrated our 25th anniversary as a church! I smile as I think of that special service we had in thanks to God for His kindness to us!

We also found difficulties, challenges and disappointments that marked the year. Moving into a new place brought with it a neighboring church who has fought to see us not there… or at least not be able to park there. The year also saw us remove Marc as one of our pastors. That was difficult and miserable.

But then I think too of how the Lord was kind to us as we walked with Him… We sent a team to Macedonia for a prayer trip of God’s work there. We expanded Pastor Jeremy’s role to “Pastor of Discipleship” as he took on the role of the discipleship in our Small Groups. We also had a few podcasts we recorded (new one coming next week!). We counselled many folks in hard places in life. We had a beautifully unified elder team and growth in prayer. We have been grounded afresh in the foundations of what we believe as a church on Sunday mornigns. We’ve also seen growth as a church numerically, we now average 333 on a Sunday (from 309 last year). We have 185 members (from 173 least year). And we have 140 members serving on Sunday’s from 124 last year. This is encouraging. Small growths – that’s the best growth I think. It allows us to not outgrow our ability to care for folks.

So here’s a few of the ways I have seen God at work in this past year. We’ve seen many ways we have been blessed, and we’ve seen ways we have been stretched and drawn to Him. That’s good! God is good!

Without wanting to be trite in this… I truly hope and pray that we will walk with the Lord in all the more dependence in this year. I want to look back at the end of this year and see how He held us and drew us all the more fully to Him. I hope that we get to do this year together, church.

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

Merry Christmas church family! As we come to the end of another year we have the annual gift of being able to think on the greatest of all gifts given – Jesus Christ the Lord! Luke 2 tells us of an angel of the Lord declaring, “I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” A gift for all people, a Savior for us! What a gift! I look forward to looking at this more fully on Sunday.

As Christmas day comes, Angela and I were thinking about ways folks have responded to the holiday’s… and how sour it’s gone at times. There are traps that can steal the joy from the season. This is a list of ways we can keep the sweetness of the holiday and avoid souring it.
·     Don’t overschedule your calendar: Leave some "white space" on the calendar. Burnout is a fast way to lose your holiday spirit. Sometimes the best memories happen during unplanned downtime.
·     Don’t threaten your kids with taking away their gifts: I know, you may be frustrated and downright mad in the moment, but threatening is not the most productive way to respond. This won’t help in the long run I promise.
·     Don’t emphasis the Elf-on-the-Shelf or Santa as watching your kids: (You may even decide not to do them at all, which is good too.) Enjoy the fun that can come with these things, but it’s not the emphasis. Don’t let your kids think it’s all about these things at the expense of Jesus being the focus!
·     Don’t expect the Best-Day-Ever: It’ll be a setup for being really disappointed and can steal your joy when everything doesn’t go like your internal script.
·     Don't compare your situation to another’s: It’s a snare to compare. What someone else is doing or getting and what it looks like from the outside to you… it’s a danger to judge them and come to conclusions based on a post or picture you see.
·    Don’t prioritize pictures over presence: It’s okay to capture a few photos, but don’t spend the whole event behind a screen. Being fully "there" is the best gift you can give your family.
·    Don’t use the dinner table as a courtroom: Avoid bringing up old grievances or divisive topics. Choose connection over being "right" for these few days.
·    Don’t expect others to change just because it’s a holiday: People are generally the same in December as they are in July. Accepting family members as they are—rather than how you wish they were—prevents a lot of frustration.
·    Don’t abandon your healthy habits entirely: While it’s a season of celebration, try to keep up with a little movement or decent sleep. It’s hard to be "merry" when you’re physically exhausted.
·    Don't deny all Christmas treats. But…
·    Don't throw reason out either: Don’t think you can eat whatever you want without any affects. 
·    Laugh when things go "wrong": The burnt dinner or the lopsided tree often becomes the favorite family story ten years down the road. Embrace the imperfections.
I imagine you can add to this list from your own experiences as well. These are just little things to encourage you to not miss what our celebrations are ultimately intended to be. I do hope you can enjoy numerous times this season.

Let me encourage you to join us as well on Sunday the 28th for our annual dedication service. We will spend time as a church family worshiping, praying, celebrating communion, and rededicating ourselves to the Lord in 2026. I hope you will join us.

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

What speed does Jesus travel at?
Ever wondered how fast He is?

We can certainly pull from numerous theological perspectives. We may think of Jesus’ two natures (the Hypostatic Union). We may think of Jesus simply being “in the midst” of the disciples after the resurrection. We may think of God’s omnipresence. After all, we have to say – He is without limits!

What I want to do though is slow us down and think of it from the perspective of two points… 1) Jesus’ speed at which He traveled while here on earth. And 2) How it seems to us from our vantage point.

First of all, Jesus traveled at about 3 miles per hour. Just like you and me. It’s the average pace of walking, simply, 3 miles per hour. His ministry was slow, local, and relational. We see in Jesus that He saw people, He stopped to help and minister to them, He loved them and felt compassion toward the people He encountered. Most of His life was in the same region, traveling at 3 MPH.

Secondly, we would say that He doesn’t travel very fast when it comes to our life. He is not caught up in our frenetic pace of life. He is deliberate, and allows the time necessary for change and the work of the Spirit in our sanctification. Quite frankly, it feels like about 3 MPH as well. He’s not rushed, urgent, impetuous, hectic. No. He is orderly, patient, purposeful, unflustered. And He is at work in our lives in such a fashion.

I was brought to thinking about this from this video (Godspeed) my son, Josiah, pointed me to… I had to watch it twice. It’s had me thinking for a few months now on this.

I want God to move faster. I also want to move faster than I do. But I also want to be more like Jesus. I want to slow down and see people, to see people and feel compassion. I want to minister in the place God has me. I want to let Him do the work in me necessary that brings about repentance and rest in Him.

As we are in the frenetic pace of life, as we dream of being somewhere else than where we are, as we wish things were different than they are… like you, I want to rush to the “better”. But He has us here, in this place, in this time. What if we looked around and went at God speed?

What an idea, He travels at 3 miles per hour. 

Held Abundantly By His Grace,

Pastor John

We have no king here in America. That was what the Revolutionary War was about (among other things) – we wanted our independence from the tyrannical reign of a king. We even had a flag emblazoned with, “Don’t Tread On Me” across it.

With the Declaration of Independence we largely did away with the phrase, “Long live the king”. And now almost 250 years later the idea of having a king is not only foreign but repulsive to the independent American culture.

 That American independence has created a disability for our mindset to consider the richness that comes from being under a kings reign. Whenever we think of kings today we probably think of the King of England – who, for the most part, is a figurehead without much authority.

I want us to try scratching the image of the king of England from our minds for the sake of how God’s Word addresses the kingship idea.

Recently I was able to listen to an interview with a Christian man from Jordan and his thoughts about having a king rule over him. I was enraptured by the new concepts. For instance, “would he put a sticker on his car about voting for a new king?” He laughed at such a foreign thought! He said to the interviewer, “You can put it on, but I wouldn’t… and no one else would.” Followed by, “But doesn’t it bother you that the king can’t be replaced and that he has such power?” He said it was perfectly normal and good that he had complete sovereignty over the land, it brought peace. This man loved the thought that if he could get a letter to the king, or a meeting with the king, how big that would be because he knew he’d have the kings attention who can actually answer his issue. And what got me was the final question: “What if the king asked you to do something?” His response: “It would be an honor to serve the king!” This man was so struck by the idea of being able to serve the king and what an absolute privilege it would be.

It certainly caused me to pause. That’s not how I think of having a king. And I don’t want a king to tell me what to do. But then I am struck by a few places in His Word that tell us about our Lord and Savior.
 
Revelation 19:16, “And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Psalm 95:3, “For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.”
Isaiah 43:15, “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”

We, as Christians, do have a king, and His name is “Jesus”! And it is an honor to serve Him, and I don’t want to vote Him out, and He does reign sovereign over everything. I don’t acknowledge Him as “king” often as it is such a foreign concept to me. But perhaps you too will be left to contemplate the truth that we do have a king and we are under His reign.
The truth that we have a King over us is to bring us peace.
We have access to our King all the time!
And it is an honor to serve Him.

Finally, I look forward to the day when I can be face-to-face with my King, lingering, with a long gaze in my King’s eyes and the satisfaction that I am home.
Love Being Under the Reign of Our King,

Pastor John

“You have three choices in world missions: be a joyful, sacrificial goer, be a joyful, sacrificial sender, or be disobedient.” - John Piper
  Do you remember that old song “I’m in the Lord’s Army”? 
  I may never march in the infantry
Ride in the cavalry
Shoot the artillery
I may never fly o’er the enemy
But I’m in the Lord’s army!
  I hate that song. Now, before you get offended and think I’m going to disparage fond memories with your favorite Sunday school teacher (shout out to Mrs. Nixon), relax. This is not a hill I’m going to die on. If I hear you singing that song with your child, I won’t say a word. In fact, I’ll probably join in with a salute and a hearty “YES SIR!” at the end. But the fact of the matter is, many people feel they are “bench warmer” Christians. They know they are on God’s team, but probably aren’t going to see any playing time. They don’t really think they have an important role to play when it comes to advancing the Gospel of Jesus. They live out their Christianity largely in solitude and just try to get out of the way for other “more mature” Christians to do the leg work of fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). And speaking of global missions? Forget it! 
  Respectfully I say, NO! The Great Commission was a command given directly to the disciples, but indirectly is just as much a command for us today. God did not intend for there to be any bench warmer Christians. Be encouraged, dear brothers and sisters. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is living inside you (Romans 8:11), and rest assured He is not satisfied to let his power sit idle. 
  You may say, “Steven, I feel totally unqualified and inadequate to be used by God to fulfill the Great Commission.” To that I say, GOOD! You should feel that way, because you are. But the beauty of the Great Commission (and the Christian life in general) is that the last thing Jesus says is, “...And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus did not give us this command only to let us figure it out on our own. No, we have the triune God of the universe on our side. Through the love of the Father, the salvation of the Son and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we can (as we sang last Sunday) cause the bowels of hell to shake.
  Even still you may say, “Steven, I’m not called to go to Africa and be a missionary. My mission field is right here in my backyard.” To that I say, AMEN! Keep laboring in that mission field. However, just because you’re not called to go to a foreign country to be a missionary doesn’t mean you don’t also have a role to play in global missions. All the geographical circles from Acts 1:8 apply to us, not just one. Put in a modern day context Jesus might say, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Las Vegas, in all Nevada and the United States, and to the ends of the earth.” 
  Every Christian has a role to play in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Just like in the church we all have different gifts that perfectly come together (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), so too in the Great Commission we have different roles that perfectly come together (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). Like John Piper said, if you’re not called to go, then you’re called to send.
  So if we are not called to go, how do we be joyful, sacrificial senders? Let’s think about the O’s. They are a family that was called by God out of our church to be goers to Macedonia. The Apostle Paul (one of the first missionaries) has some suggestions on how we can support them. One way is by supporting them financially and sending them gifts. Paul received so much in the way of material needs from local churches (2 Corinthians 11:9, Philippians 4:15-16, 2 Corinthians 8:1-5). Another way is by going to see them. Paul loved being with people from his supporting churches for encouragement and help (1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13, Acts 13:5). A third way is by praying for them. Paul clearly wanted his supporters to pray for him (Romans 15:30-32, 2 Corinthians 1:10-11, Ephesians 6:18-20, Philippians 1:19, Colossians 4:2-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:25, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). 
  Our church has a special opportunity to support the O’s starting next week. Seven of us from SRC will be headed to Macedonia to visit the Os and serve alongside them for a week in their mission field. We will be prayer walking through the city of Gostivar for the Lord to soften hearts and open doors for the proclamation of the gospel. We hope that through our few days there, the Lord will pave the way for other believers like the Os to take the gospel into this city that is composed of nearly 99% muslims. Would you also pray for us as we go? Pray for Pastor John and Angela, Tiffany Cooper, Tricia Coblentz, Mike Weyand, and my wife Danica and me that we be an encouragement to the Os, a blessing to the people of Macedonia, and obedient to follow how the Holy Spirit leads us while we are there. Your prayers are so important. Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater works; prayer is the greater work.” Would you commit to being joyful, sacrificial senders with us?
  In Him,
Steven Henry
  P.S. If you enjoyed hearing my dad preach at SRC this summer, and you would like to learn more about how to be a good sender, check out episode 21 of the Learning Laborers podcast titled, Providing Pastoral Care for Missionaries with Steve Henry. 

Eight years ago, Eric and I began the preparations for church planting among the Turks - not knowing that we would change countries, expand our vision, and meet people who called us to be more creative and more strategic.  One such man is Eno.  
 
Among the 60 different Turkic people groups, Eno, a Turkish man, was called by God to raise his own people to be church planters (CP) and make disciples of as many as possible.  As we prepare for more strategic prayer and CP work among the villages in Macedonia, we had a call with Eno whose training center is five hours away from us and who uses DMM (the same strategy as us).  At the training center, new Turkish church planters are trained for two months and at the end of their time, they return to Uzbekistan, or the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kosovo and more, to put their training to work.  
 
Their first assignment is Luke 10 missions into cities and villages with no known believers. They go out two by two with no money and no change of clothes to prayer walk, look for people of peace, bless the town, and heal the sick.  
 
Eno has brought prayer teams into Macedonia for 20 years. Many years ago, Eno and his two friends were walking up a hill into a village here and a Yoruk Turk, came running up to him and said, “come into my house right now”.  In Muslim culture, men do not run, and the expectation before any business talk is tea.  This man didn’t even begin to prepare the tea but said, “last night in my dream, three men came walking up a hill to see me and they had a book for me”.  Eno and his friends told the man, yes, we are here to bring peace to your house and we have brought you a book.  Unfortunately, the man didn’t remain with Christ but Jesus prepared him to hear from this team. 
 
While we were on the call, we told Eno that our church in Las Vegas (you all), was preparing to arrive in three weeks, as a Luke 10 team to prayer walk through the city and surroundings of Gostivar.  He couldn’t believe it.  He told us that there have been prayers for 20 years that long term workers would come and reach the Turks of Macedonia.  
 
As you send Pastor John and Angela, Steven and Danica, Tricia, Tiffany, and Michael, they will be asking many of you to join their “Prayer Shied”.  Each person coming to Macedonia has been asked to try to raise up 10 people who will commit to praying daily for them and for their Luke 10 mission.  That means that at least 70 people will be praying daily!  Will you pray that people in Gostivar would begin to have dreams about this Luke 10 team coming to bless them?  
 
If you know anything about us, you know that we believe prayer is the most important work of any ministry, strategy, and vision.  Your friends are coming with Christ’s battle cry to begin to take back this land and its souls for Jesus.  Send up your battle cry, SRC!  Cry out to the Lord of the Harvest to make His glory known among the Muslims in Macedonia.

~ Laura

Three watts of light is not very much. In the daylight we probably wouldn’t even recognize a little 3-watt bulb that’s lit. A 3-watt headlamp would never sell. To make my point of how dim a 3-watt night light is… on average they produce about 240 lumens. For context to how small a night light is, a car headlamp produces about 3,000 lumens. All that to say, a 3-watt night light is not very much light at all! But that night light is just enough when it’s dark. If you are in a dark room and there is a little 3-watt night light shining, it will save you from hitting walls or furniture in the room. It is just what you need!

When it comes to our own lives, it seems as though God often shines like a 3-watt bulb. How often we want the light of our lives to be more like the bright headlamp of a car to illuminate the way for us, but He usually gives just enough light for us to see the next step ahead.

I am reflecting on Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” He rarely illuminates numerous steps ahead for me, it is far more common that I have just enough to take the next step. And I believe it is because He wants me to trust Him in each step. I know I have a tendency to try getting ahead of Him. I need to slow down and trust Him more.

Proverbs 3:5-6 comes to mind in all this too: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

These verses in Psalms and Proverbs captures it for us. He will light our path – just the amount we need – as we trust Him and really know Him.

I know we want more light. But trust Him, He will light your path as you lean into Him! It’s His promise to us.

                           

Hello church! We are back home! We have had an impactful time away on sabbatical. Every time we have had a sabbatical and been able to get away for these times and stretches it has proven to be meaningful to us and the church. So we are incredibly grateful for having had this time. As God always knows, we had this at just the right time. (I will likely share more of our time away and thoughts in our next newsletter.) As Angela and I return home we are on the brink of a number of upcoming events for us as a church. For instance, we are celebrating our 25th anniversary. We’re also moving into a new location that we have been praying for over the last seven-plus years. These are significant for us! I am also eager to continue to shepherd our church family toward Jesus all the more. I am so thankful to the Lord for our staff and elders as we head into this new season as a church! We are also beginning a new series tomorrow that has been stirring in my bones for weeks now! In my 18 years of preaching at Summit I’ve never walked us through, in an orderly manner, what we believe as a church and as Believers. I’ve seen that in a culture of confusion and fast-changing values, we need more than opinions—we need truth that anchors our lives. So we have a new series entitled, “Foundations: Know What You Believe” which will be a 25-week journey through the core doctrines of the Christian faith, designed to ground us in the unchanging truths of God’s Word. From the character of God and the beauty of the Gospel, to the purpose of the church and the hope of eternity. We’ll unpack why sound doctrine isn’t just for theologians—it’s for you. It’s for your worship, your family, your decisions, your struggles, your calling, and your joy. [You can see a breakdown of our series HERE.] As I read through Isaiah again, I was reminded of chapter 40:8, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.” His Word has been given to us personally. In other words, we aren’t left to our own ways, but He’s provided a means to know Him and follow him! And we have the great privilege to hear from the Lord – what a gift we’ve been given! We begin tomorrow morning. I look forward to seeing you all face-to-face, to worshiping our great God and to opening up His Word together. One request I have for you, bring your Bibles with you during our series (your paper Bibles if you have one, not just your electronic ones). It’ll be good for us to actually open our Bibles and see His Word on something other than a screen. God willing, I will see you tomorrow. May His Light Shine Through,