In just over a week and a half, on August 13th, we will be re-launching our Saturday night services at our University Campus with a new time of 6pm. We are very excited to be going back to three services on the weekend. As a staff we see the need to offer a third service as a true blessing from God and as an opportunity to continue to move His mission forward.
We continue to be amazed God’s activity and thankful to Him for His continual blessings and faithfulness to us and to our ministry. We are seeking and trusting God for greater things (Eph. 3:20) in this next season of ministry, for the good of our people, our community and for the glory of His name alone. As we get ready for this re-launch there are a few things we want to keep in front of you and ask you to consider….
#1. First, as we move forward with this re-launch we want you to keep in mind that our Saturday night service, like all of the other services we offer at Summit, is first and foremost about worshipping God in Spirit and in truth. When we gather, we gather with the aim and chief desire to exalt the name of Christ. When we gather it’s about engaging the Lord through His Word, as we sit under its teachings with a desire to be taught, challenged, lovingly corrected and transformed by it through the power of God’s Spirit. It’s about being encouraged, renewed and sent out for God’s mission. Recognizing that the power of our gathering is seen through our scattering as we live sent lives for the sake of the Gospel. Our gatherings are about creating a space where those who are outside of a relationship with the Father can come in and have the opportunity to hear the saving message of the Gospel and hopefully respond to it’s life-giving claims. So with all that stated, as we get ready to re-launch our Saturday night service, let’s remember that this gathering is not primarily about freeing up chairs on Sunday and it is not to be a thing of convenience for ourselves, but may we hold with great intentionality the purposes of why we gather as the church. May we see Saturday night as both an opportunity to engage a living God, as well as an opportunity to press into the mission He has given us.
#2. Secondly, if Summit University is the campus you attend would you prayerfully consider making Saturday night “your service.” We would love for you to be committed to attending that service with a true missional spirit and intentionality. Filling seats is not our goal---the mission is “to glorify God by making disciples who will represent the Gospel to every man, woman and child.” So not only do we need and want many of you to make the switch to Saturday night, we also want you to do it with an eager and expectant heart. We want this type of focus and commitment to be reflected in an attitude of service.
#3. Third, if Saturday night has been or becomes your service, then get involved from jump. Connect into an area of service. There are plenty of opportunities within our different age-based children’s ministries, Big Enuf and KidZone. There are also opportunities to serve on the Host Team or our AVL Team. One of the ways in which we grow in our spiritual maturity is through service. Joining one of our service teams not only connects you deeper with the body of Christ but it also moves you closer to the center of God’s redemptive activity and mission. So make the move to Saturday night, but don’t just attend, get engaged in what God is doing and what He desires to do.
#4. Lastly, if you can’t make the move to Saturday night or don’t feel led to, or you attend one of our other campuses, here is something we ALL can do and must do, and that is PRAY, PRAY, PRAY. What we have been called to and what we are trusting the Lord for must be bathed, grounded and fueled through prayer. Leonard Ravenhill, an old time preacher, says in his book, Why Revival Tarries “the lack of prayer from God’s people is a subtle yet bold declaration that what God has initiated by His Spirit we now think can be accomplished our own strength…” May this never be the case for us as the people of God who call Summit Church home. May our dependency upon God through prayer grow and grow and grow in this next season. And may our prayers be filled with thanksgiving, intercession for the lost, accompanied with pleading for God to pour out more of His Spirit on our communities that results in a revival of Gospel proportions.
Thank you Summit for your continual commitment to the mission. We love you guys and look forward to seeing many of you on Saturday night.
- Orlando Cabrera