LEE’S SUMMIT – The congregation of Summit Woods Baptist Church in Lee’s Summit is living out the words in Paul’s teaching.
“I’m preaching a series in 1 Thessalonians,” Bret Capranica, pastor-teacher, and MBC Executive Board member, said. “I told the congregation that I am grateful for their work of faith, their labor of love and steadfast hope in Jesus.”
Bret Capranica
“Our people are walking through the challenges of division in our culture in politics and Covid,” Capranica continued, “but I’m thankful for their insatiable desire for Bible teaching and following the teaching.”
Capranica pointed to several fruits of the faith. “We are emerging from Covid even stronger,” he said. “Our attendance is climbing, and we’ve seen unprecedented sacrificial giving. It is also encouraging to see members coming around each other for discipleship.”
“We recently held a women’s conference,” Capranica explained. “It was amazing some of the older women investing in the younger women. I was amazed at the variety of age groups at the conference. People are longing to grow together, and they are investing in each other.”
Capranica described another way he saw God working despite Covid. “We were forced to shut the doors, but God was not closed,” he said. “One young lady, a lawyer, was a self-proclaimed atheist. She was anxious and struck by a verse tweeted from Isaiah. She got a Bible, read all of Isaiah, and realized that there was a God, and she was not in right standing with Him.”
“Our church was live streaming our services, so she got familiar with our church,” he said. “She walked in and told us she was a new Christian.”
Capranica is also excited about the work planned with Central Asia. “We were engaged in talks with the International Mission Board (IMB) and travel was shut off,” he said. “However, we are hoping to get back this fall.”
The church is also engaged in missions with South Asia and Italy.
Another ministry of the church is Biblical Counseling. “Many members are trained in how to use the sufficiency of Scripture in dealing with the hard issues of life such as depression and marriage restoration,” Capranica explained. “We’ve seen the marvelous fruit of growth of joy in the Lord with the transformational application through Scripture.”
“Some of this is difficult to quantify,” he continued, “but I see this in other churches around the state as well. The Lord is at work and I’m seeing even more trust in the Lord, more expecting the Lord to make all things new. I’m excited because I see this in us.”