Dear Akron,
Happy 200th birthday! You don’t look a day over 100. We don’t know how you did it, but keep it up!
Our church started when you were around 101 years old, over on Noble Avenue. A few decades later, we moved to our current location on S Hawkins Avenue. The entire time, we’ve been big fans of you.
Many of our members over the years have worked downtown. Others have been educators in the schools around the city. Our kids have been on the sports teams and we’ve frequented the libraries, museums, and events in the city. We’ve opened up our building and grounds for things like baseball parades, drive through nativities, and block parties.
Do you know why we’ve done it? It’s because of something that Jesus said. He looked at his followers over 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem and gave them this commandment:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35, NIV)
Don’t get this wrong: it’s a command, but it’s not something we do begrudgingly. It’s something we do enthusiastically because we’ve experienced a selfless and sacrificial love that has changed our lives. It’s what marks us as a group of Jesus followers.
It’s this love that has inspired us to serve constantly. It’s this love that has drawn us into making this city better for everyone. We believe that by doing so, we are exhibiting the love of Jesus in a real and tangible way to you.
Therefore we are ecstatic to be here. We are planning some things for the future. Things will look different for us, perhaps, but it will be for your benefit. We want to be a group of people that are so selfless and loving that, if our group were to suddenly cease to exist, you would notice. We want to be (and hopefully already are) a group of people that you can trust to have your best interests at heart, even if you’re not in the whole Jesus thing. We think that following Jesus makes everyone’s life better, but we want to show that to you by how we live instead of just talking about it.
So we write this letter to say, simply, that we love you and are here for you. We’re on your side. We hope that you can stop by sometime and check things out for yourself over on S Hawkins Avenue. Even if you can’t, we hope to see you anyway as we’re out and about in this city.
Happy 200th. Here’s to walking together into the future.
- Summit Christian Church
What’s Ahead
MOVIE NIGHT AT LIFESPRING CHRISTIAN CHURCH - July 11
LifeSpring Christian Church has invited Summit Christian to their movie night that is being held on Friday, July 11, at 6:00 pm. The film chosen is The Forge. All are invited!
SUMMER PARTY - July 13
We will be having a Summer Party, complete with burgers and other great food, this Sunday after service. We hope you stick around!
BOARD AND ELDERS MEETING - July 15
The board will meet on Tuesday, July 15, at 7:30 pm on Zoom. Board members should make plans to attend. Ministry leaders are welcome to join to deliver their reports or send them to sean@summitchristian.church. The Elders will meet directly after the board meeting, also on Zoom.
Don’t forget: we have online giving! Donating helps us fulfill our mission: to lead people to be fully devoted followers of Jesus. We’ve already seen the impact that your generosity can have in the lives of people. This is why we are so comfortable asking people to give - it helps fund ministry! You can go to this link to support Summit Christian Church financially. Thank you for your financial gift!
See you this Sunday at 11:00 am!