Page 19 - Cedarville Magazine Spring 2013 Volume 1 Issue 1

Cedarville Magazine | 19
Caring for others’ needs evenmore than your own has always been a distinguishing mark
of God’s Church. At its core, the Church is made up of people who have been providentially
scattered into every sphere of life — people with unique gifts, roles, and personalities;
people who have been forever transformed by the Gospel; people who intersect the needs
of the world every day.
The mission of Summit Church in Greenville, South Carolina, where I am a teaching
pastor, is to give every man, woman, and child repeated opportunities to see, hear, and
respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ without having to come or go anywhere. That is less
a theological statement about whomGod will reach than a statement about how we believe
He will reach them. We believe the Gospel will go everywhere God wants it to go because
it goes in you, in me, in us ... it goes in His Church. The Spirit of God — through the Word
of God in the people of God — can alter any geography, any sociology, and any economy.
A thorough understanding of the Gospel changes everything: how we view our
relationships, physical bodies, time, money, resources, family, careers ... all of life. If we
truly believe that everything we are and have is a gift from God, we should manage that
With so many people feeling anxious about the
economy, there is a powerful place and an urgent
need for Gospel-motivated generosity.
by Kyle Estepp ’01
gift in a way that glori es Him and puts
the Gospel on display for the world to see.
Changing Our Thinking
Equipping the people of Summit Church
to care for others’ needs in a depressed,
uncertain economy flows naturally from
our mission. It fits the rhythm of life in our
ministry. Summit is just over 500 people
spread through three campuses in upstate
South Carolina. The upstate is 10 counties
with a population of nearly 1.4 million
people and a growing diversity of cultures
moving into the area every year. It is one
of the top five relocation cities in America
— in a very real way, the world is moving
into this fusion of urban and rural South.
Our particular ministry is led by six
elders and a very lean, sacrificial staff
committed to our mission and the centrality
of the Word of God. We care deeply for the