WHO WE ARE
a church of people...
who have questions...
who crave community...
who long to love like Jesus...
A place for you.
who have questions...
who crave community...
who long to love like Jesus...
A place for you.
TeLL ME MORE
We are Summit Street Church.
An others-centered,
neighborhood church located in Beatrice, Nebraska.
An others-centered,
neighborhood church located in Beatrice, Nebraska.
We started our journey many years ago as Beatrice Mennonite Church. However, in 2021 and, with help from our friends at the Holmesville Church of the Brethren, we relaunched. What started as a name change and a conversation to be a different type of church has now become so much more as we seek to become a church for others. We are excited about what will happen as we continue to become a congregation passionate about developing community (tables) beyond the church walls.
We are a church passionate about each other...
for those who don’t yet "go to church..."
for the neighborhood...
for people who feel like they don't fit in...
for anyone who plain old doesn't like the church...
While affiliated with the Western District Conference of the Mennonite Church USA, our faith community is diverse in age, in experience, and in denominational background. We often say that we are "Mennonite, but so much more." Meaning, we are many things with a common concern for centering faith in the Ways of Jesus. We live a peaceful witness, create spaces of engagement, empower people in their faith and understand transformation through community. We disavow individualistic and consumeristic understandings of church as well as nationalistic religion and affirm God's Kingdom above all. Jesus is the "Big Story," the prism through which we understand God's redemptive narrative communicated in scripture.
Our church is collaborative, permeable and warm as well as child and family-centric. Meaning, we develop through conversation, attempt to dull the lines between "us and them," and practice church in ways that are more laid back, more collaborative and more conducive to the entire family. For instance, you'll likely see the pastor walking around with coffee on Sunday mornings (and you can too) and you'll see the children integrated into everything that we do. In short, we believe in church without pretense, in approachability.
But we also believe that God is with us in our gatherings. We know that what happens on Sunday mornings is but a small fraction of what the church is being called to be. There is so much more to "church" than what happens in an hour or two on Sunday mornings. More than anything we strive to follow the Ways of Jesus in all things, offering others the opportunity to see and experience what true belonging means.
We are a church passionate about each other...
for those who don’t yet "go to church..."
for the neighborhood...
for people who feel like they don't fit in...
for anyone who plain old doesn't like the church...
While affiliated with the Western District Conference of the Mennonite Church USA, our faith community is diverse in age, in experience, and in denominational background. We often say that we are "Mennonite, but so much more." Meaning, we are many things with a common concern for centering faith in the Ways of Jesus. We live a peaceful witness, create spaces of engagement, empower people in their faith and understand transformation through community. We disavow individualistic and consumeristic understandings of church as well as nationalistic religion and affirm God's Kingdom above all. Jesus is the "Big Story," the prism through which we understand God's redemptive narrative communicated in scripture.
Our church is collaborative, permeable and warm as well as child and family-centric. Meaning, we develop through conversation, attempt to dull the lines between "us and them," and practice church in ways that are more laid back, more collaborative and more conducive to the entire family. For instance, you'll likely see the pastor walking around with coffee on Sunday mornings (and you can too) and you'll see the children integrated into everything that we do. In short, we believe in church without pretense, in approachability.
But we also believe that God is with us in our gatherings. We know that what happens on Sunday mornings is but a small fraction of what the church is being called to be. There is so much more to "church" than what happens in an hour or two on Sunday mornings. More than anything we strive to follow the Ways of Jesus in all things, offering others the opportunity to see and experience what true belonging means.
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STAFF
Andrew S Dungan, EdD [email protected] My name is Andrew Dungan and I am proud to serve as pastor for Summit Street Church. I was born and raised in Beatrice, NE (just down the street actually) and earned a Masters Degree in Christian Education from Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN) and a Doctorate in Leadership from Creighton University. Directly out of seminary I served as Pastor of Ministry Development for a non-denominational church in Omaha, NE. That work was short-lived, however, and I exited the ministry (and the Church) discouraged, disgruntled and disenfranchised. I vowed that I'd "never do that (ministry) again." But God's plans are not always our own and now I have a greater appreciation for the very real trepidation many have when they think "church." After leaving the ministry I spent the next 10 years doing nonprofit work (mostly capacity-building efforts), finding my niche in engagement. Meaning, I love assessing organizations and finding places for people to get involved. |
Now back in the pastorate, I am a voice for new church possibilities - for a new understanding of church meaning and form. I am deeply passionate for developing CHURCH FOR OTHERS and for those who either have never "done church" or who have vowed to never "do church" again.
I have a wife, Alicyn, and two children: Beckett and Emberly.
I have a wife, Alicyn, and two children: Beckett and Emberly.
what we affirm
OUR SHARED WAYS: What makes our community distinct?
Belonging before Believing: Decisions of faith are born from within the womb of accepting community. We understand that the church has not always acted in this understanding way. At Summit Street Church we work with intention to develop the space of belonging that can lead to decisions for discipleship.
Community over Self: Transformation comes from within vulnerability, authenticity and mutual accountability. We challenge the individualism and consumerism that have made discipleship about "personal relationship with Jesus" and "church" something one attends. We "are" the church and we become the church in relationship with one another.
Active not Passive: Formation is the product of activating one's belief with others. We recognize that "following Jesus" means putting one foot in front of the other and figuring things out as we get going, together.
Image of God on, Spirit of God in Everyone: Imagination becomes reality when we recognize God's work in others. We work knowing that the Spirit is at work in front of us in the lives of people because every person bears the image of God.
Jesus Above All: Community is forged in the ongoing affirmation of God's Kingdom above all others. We affirm that the Kingdom of God stands in stark contrast with all other kingdoms and we choose to align with Jesus and follow his ways in development with one another.
Belonging before Believing: Decisions of faith are born from within the womb of accepting community. We understand that the church has not always acted in this understanding way. At Summit Street Church we work with intention to develop the space of belonging that can lead to decisions for discipleship.
Community over Self: Transformation comes from within vulnerability, authenticity and mutual accountability. We challenge the individualism and consumerism that have made discipleship about "personal relationship with Jesus" and "church" something one attends. We "are" the church and we become the church in relationship with one another.
Active not Passive: Formation is the product of activating one's belief with others. We recognize that "following Jesus" means putting one foot in front of the other and figuring things out as we get going, together.
Image of God on, Spirit of God in Everyone: Imagination becomes reality when we recognize God's work in others. We work knowing that the Spirit is at work in front of us in the lives of people because every person bears the image of God.
Jesus Above All: Community is forged in the ongoing affirmation of God's Kingdom above all others. We affirm that the Kingdom of God stands in stark contrast with all other kingdoms and we choose to align with Jesus and follow his ways in development with one another.
WHAT THIS MEANS: What does this mean, really?
We are others-focused; truly. We are concerned about our neighborhood and try really hard to make our faith community one that is easily penetrated. Typically churches develop for themselves, with the few who "attend" Sunday services in mind. But because we live with a blur between the church and the extended community (our neighborhood and surrounding town), we are less concerned with "us" and "them." This creates a space where people feel welcome and willing to engage. It also makes us a faith community that is non-competitive and collaborative.
We are all about offering people the space to "experiment with Jesus." We are concerned about practicing our faith together in ways that offer people space to understand what things mean as they do them. As such, we practice things like communion understanding that meaning is developed in partaking: transformation is a process, an ongoing conversation. We understand that if you didn't grow up in the church you might not understand and it might not be relevant. People become like Jesus over time and within relationship.
We are unafraid to challenge the way the historical/established church has done things. We are concerned about how the church has refused to change as the world has changed. As such, we question and assess everything by asking, "Is this what we need now?" and "Is this enriching this faith community in this specific time and in this specific place?" It's more time-consuming to be flexible in this way, but it's the right thing to do. We delicately balance what is needed with what is preferred, revisioning where needed and creating where necessary. We firmly believe that "church" is much more than any Sunday service and we are transforming our church expressions to match this belief.
We are much more than those who show up on Sunday mornings. We are concerned with how we define our faith community. Imagine understanding local faith communities in ways that do not limit it to the people we see on Sundays? Imagine living as if "church" is something much greater and much more more robust than a collection of people doing a service? We are attempting to live in these ways, recognizing that "church" can come in a variety of forms and formats and the same transforming disciples can be practiced in all sorts of ways and between all sorts of people.
We are others-focused; truly. We are concerned about our neighborhood and try really hard to make our faith community one that is easily penetrated. Typically churches develop for themselves, with the few who "attend" Sunday services in mind. But because we live with a blur between the church and the extended community (our neighborhood and surrounding town), we are less concerned with "us" and "them." This creates a space where people feel welcome and willing to engage. It also makes us a faith community that is non-competitive and collaborative.
We are all about offering people the space to "experiment with Jesus." We are concerned about practicing our faith together in ways that offer people space to understand what things mean as they do them. As such, we practice things like communion understanding that meaning is developed in partaking: transformation is a process, an ongoing conversation. We understand that if you didn't grow up in the church you might not understand and it might not be relevant. People become like Jesus over time and within relationship.
We are unafraid to challenge the way the historical/established church has done things. We are concerned about how the church has refused to change as the world has changed. As such, we question and assess everything by asking, "Is this what we need now?" and "Is this enriching this faith community in this specific time and in this specific place?" It's more time-consuming to be flexible in this way, but it's the right thing to do. We delicately balance what is needed with what is preferred, revisioning where needed and creating where necessary. We firmly believe that "church" is much more than any Sunday service and we are transforming our church expressions to match this belief.
We are much more than those who show up on Sunday mornings. We are concerned with how we define our faith community. Imagine understanding local faith communities in ways that do not limit it to the people we see on Sundays? Imagine living as if "church" is something much greater and much more more robust than a collection of people doing a service? We are attempting to live in these ways, recognizing that "church" can come in a variety of forms and formats and the same transforming disciples can be practiced in all sorts of ways and between all sorts of people.
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THE TABLE is our central image for what community means and how a faith community is developed. Jesus was constantly at table, creating his community by being with others. In Matthew 11:19 we are told that "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” Within these interactions (being with people) Jesus developed God's Kingdom and established his people. As such, we keep this table image in mind as we go about doing "church stuff."
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AFFILIATIONS
We belong to a denomination called Mennonite Church USA. If you'd like to know more about our church affiliation check out these links:
WHAT WE BELIEVE
CONFESSION OF FAITH
We belong to a denomination called Mennonite Church USA. If you'd like to know more about our church affiliation check out these links:
WHAT WE BELIEVE
CONFESSION OF FAITH
Our extended family
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