house church ~ cell church ~ open church ~ simple church ~  underground church ~ kinship  
mini church ~ living room church ~ home fellowship ~ summit fellowship...

Columbia/Willamette

Simple Church Cooperative

Summit Interactive

EPIC Wineskins 

Journey

Catalyst Project

PDXbible 

Old Growth

 

Wilderness Voices       (c/wscc newsletter)

September 2007

May/June 2007

April 2007

January 2007

December 2006

Oct/Nov 2006

August 2006

July 2006

 

 

Challenge

The Vision

Revival

 

 

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The greatest influence on a person's life will be that institution or set of institutions on on which the person feels most dependent for survival and support. As long as most Christians are more dependent upon the powers and principalities of the world for their survival and security than they are upon the Christian community, the church cannot do anything other than conform to the world. We must see through biblical eyes that our lives and our very spiritual survival, personally, economically, and politically, must be centered in the Christian community. The community of the local church must become the most important and central corporate reality of our lives, the daily environment out of which our lives are lived, the fellowship of people that sustains and supports us. The church must represent a body of people who have committed their lives to one another in Christ, a communion of faith and trust in which everything is shared, a place where our lives and society are seen through the eyes of biblical faith, a corporate sign of the transforming power of the gospel kingdom in the world. 

Jim Wallis
Web hosting    © 2007 Summit Fellowships, Portland, OR   

Summit Fellowships - together in a church without walls...

Why "Summit Fellowships?"

Summit Fellowships are a community of small-group churches in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. Typically numbering about 12 to 20 persons, they meet in neighborhoods, businesses, college campuses---wherever a small group of people can congregate. Each small group is a functionally autonomous congregation that is voluntarily interdependent with other fellowships of similar vision. The term "summit fellowship" refers to the style of meeting in which all present are free to participate and contribute within the scope of their gifting and comfort level (1 Corinthians 14:26). Other terms that reflect a similar style include "open church," "cell," "home church." and "Simple Church." 

Such congregational life has been practiced in one form or another since the first century, often becoming prominent during times of renewal in the church. The Wesleyan revivals are a good example of such a resurgence. We have borrowed the term "summit" from a movement among institutional church leaders called "Pastor's Prayer Summits." In these gatherings, pastors from diverse backgrounds and traditions, go away together for a four day, no agenda, prayer time during which they worship, pray, minister to one another, and share meals together. Many who have attended such gatherings report that their understanding of the church is being transformed by the experience. 

"Summit fellowships" translate that "open church" dynamic to a congregational life that encourages the free participation of every member as part of the priesthood of all believers, regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or gender (Galatians 3:28). We do not recognize a system characterized by a clergy/laity distinction. Summit-style gatherings typically include a shared meal, friendship, informal discussion, prayer, and worship. In addition, there may be a formal teaching, group ministry, and "reunion/celebration gatherings" where several fellowships assemble for a larger group celebration. Sharing the covenants of communion and baptism are also a part of life in and among the groups. 

Furthermore, as a network in the Columbia/Wilamette Region we want to...  

 

  • Encourage, build up, and cooperate with the "church of the city."  
  • Provide start-up help to "open churches" (summit-style churches). 
  • Provide linking opportunities for existing summit congregations. 
  • Serve as a point of contact between summit congregations and the broader Christian community. 
  • Serve as a clearinghouse for resources that compliment open church goals.
  • Identify, encourage and recommend equipping gifts (Ephesians 4) as needed among the churches.