How Summit Christian Church Is Growing by Welcoming Everyone

Feeling understood, loved and accepted by others is at the heart of the human experience. Co-Lead Pastors Bryan Smith and Alex Berger at Summit Christian Church in Sparks, Nevada, lean into this reality by creating a highly accessible, authentic entry point for newcomers and nonbelievers.

“Everyone wants … what was that Cheers theme song?” Smith asks. “You want to go where everybody knows your name. And so, we want people to feel at home. Come with your doubts, come with your baggage, come with your hurts. We’ve got plenty of room for all of it.”

And what he means by that is creating space for the “messy” parts of life—not a celebration of their faults—but an acknowledgment that they don’t have it all together.

He continues, “We’re going to be a messy church. I can’t fix me, you can’t fix you, so let’s look to Jesus who can fix us.”

It’s that belong-before-you-believe culture that is fueling the growth Summit is currently experiencing and makes it a place the unchurched love to attend. 

Joshua Harris and his wife were far from God when they decided to walk through the doors at Summit. Both spent many years struggling with drug addiction and looking for a sense of belonging in all the wrong places. After some soul-searching, the Harrises were finally at the end of themselves and decided they needed a better way forward for their family. The years of prayers and seed planting by Joshua’s mother brought them to church one Sunday despite his fears of how they would be received, tattoos and all.

“It was our coming-to-Jesus moment right there,” Joshua says. “I was just embracing everything, crying at the music. I thought, This is crazy, man. This is God.”

And while God’s presence was impossible to deny, it was what happened next that made a big enough impression on the couple to keep them coming back to Summit. A volunteer named Dennis made a beeline to where the Harrises were seated and greeted them with what Joshua describes only as unconditional love.

He continues, “We’d never had any love that wasn’t contractual, that didn’t have something behind it. And so just walking into the church and being accepted, it was amazing.”

With Dennis’ guidance, the couple gave their lives to Christ right then and there. He also gave them $40 out of his own pocket so they could afford gas to return to church the following week. And so they did.

Smith believes that the genuine love people experience is what makes Summit unique. He and his team intentionally foster that culture, though it ultimately flows from their own experience of God’s love for each of them.

“It’s not about how much you know; it’s about how much you love,” he says. “Information without transformation just leads to stagnation.”

However, he says that church growth is not the be-all and end-all. It’s the natural result of a church body that is thriving in community and growing spiritually. 

Smith continues, “Growth isn’t the goal. Health is. If a tree isn’t growing, you don’t force it to stretch—you look at the roots.”

And out of a healthy culture is a desire to bring others into the fold. The church’s “one more” strategy gives regular attendees the mission of praying for and inviting just “one more” person to church. 

“We aren’t asking you to convert your entire neighborhood by next Sunday. We’re just asking, ‘Who is one person in your life who needs hope right now?’ Start there,” Smith explains.

The increase is happening, but it doesn’t end there. Staff connect new believers to deeper spiritual community through small groups and their “Rooted” discipleship classes—an immersive 11-week journey that emphasizes practical application, confession and breaking strongholds.

“Our weekend services are just the front door. If people don’t find a living room—a small group where they are actually known and missed when they aren’t there—they’ll walk right out the back door,” Smith says.

And that’s exactly what the Harris family discovered at Summit. They found the belonging and acceptance they were looking for and needed so desperately. 

“From the tech team to the campus pastors to the lead pastors—everybody just loves people, and it’s so contagious,” Harris says. “You can’t fake that kind of thing because people see right through it.” 

Over the past two years, Harris’ relationship with his family has flourished, and he started working on staff as a facilities team member. If it weren’t for the genuine love he felt that first Sunday, he isn’t sure where he’d be today, but he’s sure the outcome wouldn’t be a good one. And that’s exactly the type of “messy” Smith is talking about.

“We don’t clean up before we take a bath,” he says. “So why do we expect people to clean up their lives before they come to church?”

SUMMIT CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Sparks, Nevada

Pastors: Bryan Smith/Alex Berger

Website: SummitNV.org

Denomination: Independent Christian Churches

Founded: 1998

Fastest-Growing: 73