Family Gathering Recap
During last week's Family Gathering we gave some important updates from our leadership team and some updates from Summit members who are preparing to leave for long-term missions overseas (7:13 in the recording - note: some sections have been removed to protect the safety and security of those individuals).
Over the past few weeks of prayer and fasting we've received clarity on how to proceed with our building project (15:34). We are glad to share that:
due to God's faithfulness and your generosity the church is doing really well financially during this time.
we received an abundant amount of clarity over our time of prayer and fasting that God's past faithfulness gives us confidence in his future provision.
we are moving forward with the building project and hope to break ground as soon as possible this Fall.
The second thing we were asking God to provide clarity on was the future of our Sunday Gatherings (22:50). We realize there is no perfect solution and there are many tensions to manage, but we’ve grown increasingly burdened by the reality that it is difficult, if not impossible, to care for the spiritual needs of our people from a distance. With that in mind, we are moving forward with Sunday Gatherings happening in three different environments:
Online - We know that it’s important for many in our church family that we continue offering an online worship option, so we plan to continue doing so. The biggest change to our online worship environment will be rather than watching a pre-recorded video of the service, we’ll be live streaming a service on Sunday morning.
In-Person, at the church building - We’re excited to begin worshipping together in person on Sunday mornings at the church building. Initially, we'll have one gathering each week capped at 50 people. If you'd like to join us you'll be able to reserve a spot through an online reservation system. There are still many details to be worked out that we will update you with in the weeks to come but we plan to begin these in person worship gatherings on Sunday, September 6.
In-Person, in homes - We'd love to provide a smaller in-person worship environment for those who aren't able or ready to attend Sunday gatherings at our building. This would look like small groups of people getting together in someone’s home to watch the live stream together and share in a time of ministry with one another. Again, there are many details to work out here and we'll be updating you as those take shape.
We wrapped up our time by considering 5 characteristics that we're asking God to cultivate within us during these unprecedented times (34:00). As we look to the future we are believing that God will continue to give us abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine!