Find & Follow

We just started the year with a service where Lead Pastor Michael Hinton, along with the rest of our Pastors, took the stage and guided us on a stroll down memory lane, reminding us of who we’ve been as a church. Their goal was to inspire us with the journey we’ve been on, all the hours of service in the Central Florida area, and all the different faces of Summit across multiple campuses and now multiple generations.

That wasn’t all, however. Michael also presented our new mission statement, which is (...drum roll, please…) “to inspire people to find and follow the way of Jesus.”

Why Do We Need a Mission Statement?

If you ever happened upon the “Who We Are” page on our website or attended a Summit partnership class, you’ve likely heard the full set of values we’ve used to describe what we’re about. It’s a long list, but a good one.

Summit is a church that values being transformed into the image of Christ for the sake of others, forming relationships around a common purpose, investing deeply in local and global service, cultivating beauty in our world, making the most of our place in history, reflecting heaven’s diversity here and now, and bringing holistic salvation to all that is lost.

See? I told you it was a long list. These values are still great, though, and they aren’t going anywhere for a long, long time. It was brought to our leadership’s attention, however, that we may need a simpler mission statement to propel us in this next season. That’s right. We didn’t even have a mission statement, really.

Michael Led the Charge

One of the first things Michael did when he came on staff last year was to ask our Governance Board and Executive Leadership Team to begin praying about a singular focus, a direction we believe God has made clear for us to move toward. The hope was that this new mission statement would somehow sum up the values stated above, incorporate the entire Summit DNA, and also be a galvanizing phrase to propel us into the next era of Summit Church.

At the end of Jesus’ time on this earth, he gave us what’s known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20), saying, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When it came to deciding on a new mission statement, it was important to our leadership that this new phrase aligned with what God and the Church have been about for thousands of years. It had to align with the Great Commission. “Inspiring people to find and follow the way of Jesus,” checked that box.

“Find and Follow” was also a phrase that was close to Michael’s heart as a similar mission statement was used at the churches where he grew in his call to ministry. The new mission statement was ratified unanimously by our board because it summed up our values and our DNA and had this element of personal connection with our new Lead Pastor. Buy-in and passion are going to be things we need in this next chapter.

“Find and Follow” Is a Lofty Call But One That Will Make Us Better

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, truth, and the life.” We acknowledge that it can be tough to accept Jesus as the way to live or as the truth for your life. We believe, though, that the life we find him is the best one we could live.

We hope that as this mission statement becomes synonymous with Summit, Summit becomes even more of a place that’s safe to wrestle and bring tough questions about faith and God. This will certainly be a mile marker in our church’s now 22-year history, but our hope is that it’s not as much of a change of direction as it is a culmination. “Find and Follow” will help to unite our Teaching Team and all of our other ministries, for that matter. It’ll be used in ministry decisions and budget decisions. It’s that important.

Our hope is that in everything we do, both as a collective and as individuals, we measure it by these same words. Just imagine how our lives might change if we asked ourselves before we did anything, “Does this inspire people to find and follow the way of Jesus?” It’s a lofty call, but it’s one we believe can make us better and one that can help us better live out God’s vision for Summit in this next season.