We believe every person is made in the image of God and carries sacred worth and dignity.

Because of that, Summit believes unborn life matters deeply. We believe the unborn should be protected, valued, and treated as human life worthy of care.

At the same time, we also believe women matter deeply. We do not want to speak about abortion in ways that ignore the fear, pressure, trauma, complexity, or pain many women experience. Some women face overwhelming circumstances, lack support, carry shame, or have been wounded by others. We want to respond with compassion, truth, and practical care.

Our desire is not to control people politically or reduce this conversation to a culture-war issue. Our desire is to reflect the heart of Jesus by advocating for both women and the unborn.

We believe the church should be a place where life is honored, women are supported, men take responsibility, families are strengthened, and people facing difficult decisions are met with dignity, love, and help.

We also recognize that many people carry pain connected to abortion. If abortion is part of your story, we want you to know that shame does not have the final word. Jesus offers mercy, healing, forgiveness, and restoration.

Summit seeks to hold this conviction with humility and compassion. We want to protect life, care for women, support families, and walk with people toward hope and healing in Jesus.

We believe followers of Jesus should live with wisdom, self-control, love for others, and sensitivity to conscience.

Summit does not teach that all alcohol use is sinful. However, Scripture clearly treats drunkenness, addiction, recklessness, and the misuse of freedom in ways that harm ourselves or others as sin.

Because we want to create a welcoming, wise, and distraction-free environment for ministry, Summit is a dry campus. Alcohol is not served or consumed at official Summit gatherings or on Summit property.

Faithful Christians may reach different personal convictions on alcohol. We encourage people to make wise, Spirit-led decisions that honor Jesus, protect others, and reflect maturity.

We believe baptism is an important act of obedience for followers of Jesus.

Summit practices believer’s baptism by immersion. Baptism publicly identifies a person with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, and celebrates the new life we receive through Him.

We recognize that faithful Christians differ on the timing, mode, and meaning of baptism. While our church practices believer’s baptism, we want to approach this conversation with humility and charity toward the broader body of Christ.

We believe communion is a sacred practice given by Jesus to His Church.

When we take communion, we remember Christ’s death, proclaim the gospel, examine our hearts, and celebrate our unity in Him.

Summit welcomes followers of Jesus to participate in communion. We recognize that faithful Christians differ on exactly how Christ is present in communion, but we agree that this practice should be received with reverence, gratitude, and faith.

Summit is an elder-led church.

We believe qualified elders are called to shepherd, guard, teach, and lead the church under the authority of Jesus, who is the true head of the Church.

Elder leadership is not about status or control. It is about responsibility, accountability, humility, and care.

We believe healthy leadership should reflect the character of Jesus and should never be used to manipulate, shame, or control people.

We believe God is the Creator of all things and that creation is good because it comes from Him.

We believe humanity is uniquely made in the image of God and that Adam and Eve were real historical people who play a meaningful role in the biblical story of creation, sin, and redemption.

Faithful Christians differ on the age of the earth, the length of the creation days, the mechanisms of creation, and how to understand the relationship between Scripture and science.

Summit does not require agreement on one specific creation model. We affirm that God created, humanity bears God’s image, Adam and Eve are historical, sin has corrupted the world, and God is redeeming and restoring all things through Jesus.

We believe marriage is a sacred covenant designed by God to reflect faithfulness, love, sacrifice, and unity.

Because of that, Summit does not approach divorce casually. We believe God’s desire is for marriages to be marked by faithfulness, repentance, forgiveness, healing, and reconciliation wherever possible.

At the same time, we recognize that Scripture gives serious categories where divorce may be permitted because of sin and brokenness, including sexual immorality, abandonment, and situations involving abuse or danger.

We do not believe anyone should be pressured to remain in an unsafe or destructive situation. Protecting the vulnerable matters deeply.

When divorce has occurred, remarriage requires wisdom, honesty, repentance where needed, pastoral care, and careful discernment. We do not treat every situation the same because every story involves real people, real pain, and real complexity.

Our desire is to honor the covenant of marriage, pursue reconciliation where it is possible and safe, protect people from harm, and walk with individuals and families toward healing, restoration, and faithfulness to Jesus.

We believe Jesus will return, evil will be judged, the dead will be raised, and God will restore all things.

Faithful Christians differ on many details related to the millennium, tribulation, rapture, Israel and the church, and the timeline of Revelation.

Summit does not require agreement on a detailed end-times system. We hold these details with humility while remaining anchored in the central Christian hope: Jesus is coming again, and He will make all things new.

We believe Scripture should shape what we teach, not merely support what we already want to say.

At Summit, our teaching is often “expositopical”. That means we may address a topic, question, or theme, but we do so from a primary passage of Scripture and seek to let that passage lead the message.

We value both biblical depth and real-life application. Our goal is not simply to give information, inspiration, or advice. Our goal is to help people understand Scripture, see Jesus more clearly, and follow Him faithfully where they live, work, study, and play.

Sometimes we teach through books of the Bible. Sometimes we teach through themes or topics. But in every case, we want Scripture to set the agenda, shape the message, and form us into people who live like Jesus.

We believe Jesus is Lord over every part of life, including how we think about justice, power, citizenship, and public life.

At the same time, Summit is not aligned with any political party. Our allegiance to Jesus must be deeper than our allegiance to any earthly nation, party, ideology, or platform.

Faithful Christians may disagree on specific policies and political strategies. We want to engage culture with biblical conviction, humility, courage, and love.

Our goal is not to form people into a political tribe. Our goal is to form people into the likeness of Jesus.

We believe every person is made in the image of God and should be treated with dignity, compassion, honesty, and love.

Summit holds to the historic Christian view that marriage is a covenant relationship between one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy is designed by God for that covenant.

We recognize that some thoughtful Christians interpret Scripture differently on this issue. Our current position reflects our elders’ best understanding of Scripture and guides our teaching, leadership, and pastoral care.

People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or who carry questions around sexuality and gender are not projects, political issues, or problems to solve. Every person is welcome to move toward Jesus in community with us.

We will not mock, shame, demean, or dehumanize people. We will also not hide what we believe.

As people move into leadership, we ask for increasing alignment with Summit’s doctrine, mission, values, position, and posture.

We believe the Holy Spirit gives gifts to the Church for the purpose of building up the body of Christ and advancing the mission of Jesus.

Summit does not believe Scripture gives us reason to conclude that all supernatural gifts have ceased. At the same time, we believe spiritual gifts should be practiced with humility, order, maturity, discernment, and submission to Scripture.

We believe spiritual gifts operate best in relationships where people are known, trusted, accountable, and where their gifts can be recognized and affirmed over time. For that reason, we encourage spiritual gifts to be practiced and developed in environments such as small groups, ministry teams, prayer groups, discipleship relationships, and pastoral care.

Anonymous or disconnected expressions of manifestation gifts — such as prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, healing, or deliverance — can easily lead to confusion, disorder, or harm when practiced without relationship, accountability, and discernment.

Because of that, we want to create environments where the Spirit is welcomed, people are cared for, Scripture is honored, and gifts are practiced in ways that strengthen rather than distract from the body of Christ.

We want to avoid both neglecting the work of the Spirit and overemphasizing spiritual experiences in ways that become confusing, manipulative, or unhealthy.

We believe final judgment is real and that rejecting God carries eternal consequence.

Faithful Christians differ on how to understand the exact nature and duration of hell, including eternal conscious torment, annihilationism, and other orthodox discussions.

Summit does not require complete agreement on every detail of this doctrine for belonging or most leadership roles. What we affirm clearly is that sin is serious, judgment is real, salvation is found in Jesus, and eternity matters.

We believe men and women are equally made in the image of God, equally loved by God, equally filled with the Holy Spirit, and equally essential to the mission of Jesus.

Throughout Scripture, women lead, serve, prophesy, teach, disciple, pray, give generously, show courage, and play vital roles in the story of God’s people. We want women at Summit to be honored, equipped, empowered, and released to use their gifts for the good of the church and the mission of Jesus.

Summit has women serving in significant leadership roles, including pastors, directors, ministry leaders, teachers, and staff members. We are grateful for the wisdom, leadership, and spiritual gifts women bring to the life of our church.

Summit currently practices male eldership. We recognize that faithful Christians and faithful churches have reached different conclusions on this issue, and we approach the conversation with humility, care, and respect.

Our current practice reflects how Summit has historically structured elder oversight and how we currently function as an elder-led church.

At the same time, this issue remains an area of ongoing elder discernment. Because we are committed to Scripture, humility, and faithful leadership, our elders continue to study, pray, listen, and seek wisdom about how best to structure leadership in our church.

We also want to be clear about what eldership is and is not.

Eldership is not about power, status, privilege, or control. It is not a platform for personal authority or a position of superiority.

Eldership is a call to self-sacrificial service. It is a weighty responsibility to shepherd, protect, support, teach, pray, and care for the church under the authority of Jesus.

When men serve as elders at Summit, we do not view that as a perk or a higher value. We view it as a responsibility before God to serve the church with humility, tenderness, courage, and accountability.

This includes a responsibility to honor, support, protect, and advocate for women, children, marriages, families, and every person entrusted to our care.

This does not mean women are less gifted, less valuable, less spiritual, or less important to the life and leadership of the church. Women are vital to Summit’s ministry, discipleship, leadership, and mission.