Summit Ministries 
The information on this page was last updated 12/6/2022. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Our programming consists of two-week conferences for 16-25-year-olds in multiple locations across the U.S. We also offer semester-long programs for collegiate-level students. Our publishing division offers resources for Christian schools, homeschool, and churches. Alumni of our programs are networked around the world with the aim of driving impact in their communities.
We bring the best leaders in America to speak, teach, and write at Summit. It's more than just a classroom experience. It's a network, a life-long experience, a trajectory-changing event. To say that Summit changes lives can sound cliche but it's true. Summit's fingerprints are found on the lives of politicians, business innovators, nonprofit executives, church leaders, and nearly every area of culture.
Culture draws a line in the sand. It says, "Stay on that side where it's safe and boring and predictable." On the other side is a life of purpose, meaning, and impact. Summit invites Christians to boldly step across the line.
We teach students to stand for truth and justice in the most unexpected way.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Summit Ministries
PO Box 207
Manitou Springs, CO 80829-0207
Website: www.summit.org
Phone: (719) 685-9103
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 730792333
CEO/President: Dr. Jeff Myers
Chairman: Julie Ambler
Board size: 8
Founder: David Noebel
Ruling year: 2019
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 12/31
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 1988
Purpose
Summit Ministries desires to see generations of Christians mobilized to transform a broken world.
Mission statement
We exist to equip and support rising generations to embrace God's truth and champion a biblical worldview.
Statement of faith
Since the very beginning, Summit Ministries has focused on applying Christianity's essential doctrines to understand the times and know what our society ought to do. Summit's board of directors, employees, and volunteers seek to clearly state our faith and the convictions that flow from it.
As a Statement of Faith, Summit Ministries agrees with and holds to the Apostles' Creed, an ancient profession affirmed by Jesus-followers for more than 1,500 years:
[We] believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
[We] believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
[We] believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic [universal] church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.
As an outworking of this Statement of Faith, Summit Ministries agrees with and holds to certain convictions describing what we know to be true about the world:
God. God, existing eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the source of all truth, and He expresses His nature relationally. God has revealed himself in nature and through the Bible, the only inerrant, inspired, authoritative Word of God. This affects the church, family, commerce, and government institutions.
Humanity. All human beings bear God's image and are thus inherently valuable-beginning at conception-whether or not society regards them as healthy, productive, or useful. As God's image bearers, men and women of all races and nationalities have the capacity and the calling to steward creation, create economic and social value, pursue justice, stand against evil, and act in a transforming way in culture.
Salvation. Through sin, humanity has departed from God's way, but through our Lord Jesus Christ, God has made way for us to be reconciled to Him, to be transformed to understand and do His will, and to be ambassadors of His gospel. Further, God has instituted the Church as a vital means by which His gospel would be proclaimed and practiced.
Society. Citizens of the kingdom of heaven will always be the best citizens of the kingdom of man because obeying God above all earthly powers is what best secures the blessings of liberty. Government is God-ordained to punish evil and protect the good. When it oversteps its bounds by failing to recognize the value of each person, or by constraining conscience, or calling good what God calls evil and calling evil what God calls good, we must call it to account.
Marriage. God made human beings male and female equal in value but complementary in their relationship to one another (Gen. 1:26-27). Gender is not merely a social construction but part of a loving Creator's design that is lived out in singlehood as well as in marriage, which we believe has been created by God and intended for one man and one woman for life (Gen. 2:18-25).Man/woman marriage is the only proper place for intimate sexual relationships, and it is the proper place to welcome children-by birth or adoption-as a blessing from God. As valuable as marriage is, though, we believe that only God can ultimately meet our need for intimacy and that our identity is properly placed in Christ rather than our marital status or our assessment of our feelings of sexual attraction.
Stewardship. Humans were given charge over God's creation, and we take our calling to care for it seriously. We are called to bear God's image through creativity and industriousness. We support the principles of free exchange, respect for private property, and honesty as being means by which we best care for our planet, serve one another, and alleviate poverty and its effects.
We see these convictions based on justified true beliefs describing the world as it actually is, not on mere opinion or upbringing. Thus, out of gratitude and commitment to our Lord, we will believe them, act upon them, and seek to persuade others.
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
A
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Camps/Conference Centers
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 855 of 1031 | 25 of 32 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 1009 of 1032 | 31 of 33 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 889 of 1032 | 22 of 33 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 271 of 1031 | 11 of 32 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 7% | 17% | 20% | 21% | 12% | 4% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 3% | 13% | 10% | 10% | 6% | 2% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 47% | 75% | 53% | 46% | 47% | 54% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 3% | 13% | 12% | 9% | 7% | 3% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 53% | 25% | 47% | 54% | 53% | 46% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 81% | 76% | 77% | 81% | 83% | 87% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 100% | 97% | 86% | 106% | 88% | 83% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 86% | 74% | 66% | 86% | 73% | 72% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 0% | 3% | 14% | -6% | 12% | 17% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 1% | 1% | 10% | -5% | 8% | 12% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 17% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.34 | 0.54 | 0.60 | 0.71 | 0.52 | 0.54 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 6.27 | 3.32 | 3.26 | 4.10 | 3.71 | 4.07 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 2.05 | 1.79 | 1.96 | 2.92 | 1.94 | 2.18 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 2.80 | 8.54 | 7.77 | 4.35 | 3.11 | 4.42 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.36 | 0.12 | 0.13 | 0.23 | 0.32 | 0.23 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 3.33 | 5.93 | 5.35 | 3.17 | 4.19 | 4.26 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 14% | 4% | 4% | 10% | 11% | 8% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 4% | 0% | 0% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 244% | 179% | 160% | 127% | 170% | 171% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Cash | $1,510,680 | $1,794,197 | $953,486 | $1,379,841 | $581,293 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $694,755 | $517,842 | $619,929 | $618,605 | $555,935 |
| Short-term investments | $1,561,360 | $1,474,390 | $1,252,030 | $1,354,718 | $1,551,197 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $3,766,795 | $3,786,429 | $2,825,445 | $3,353,164 | $2,688,425 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $8,256,644 | $8,037,902 | $8,081,171 | $7,925,973 | $7,634,251 |
| Other long-term assets | $490,124 | $519,421 | $682,950 | $1,152,017 | $607,102 |
| Total long-term assets | $8,746,768 | $8,557,323 | $8,764,121 | $9,077,990 | $8,241,353 |
| Total assets | $12,513,563 | $12,343,752 | $11,589,566 | $12,431,154 | $10,929,778 |
| Liabilities | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $386,940 | $350,657 | $445,136 | $1,047,007 | $553,143 |
| Other current liabilities | $54,286 | $136,673 | $203,974 | $32,425 | $55,331 |
| Total current liabilities | $441,226 | $487,330 | $649,110 | $1,079,432 | $608,474 |
| Debt | $0 | $0 | $400,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $17,667 | $40,316 | $61,971 | $82,674 | $102,468 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $17,667 | $40,316 | $461,971 | $282,674 | $302,468 |
| Total liabilities | $458,893 | $527,646 | $1,111,081 | $1,362,106 | $910,942 |
| Net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Without donor restrictions | $11,229,420 | $11,179,073 | $7,871,050 | $8,505,784 | $7,457,456 |
| With donor restrictions | $825,250 | $637,033 | $2,607,435 | $2,563,264 | $2,561,380 |
| Net assets | $12,054,670 | $11,816,106 | $10,478,485 | $11,069,048 | $10,018,836 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Total contributions | $5,175,468 | $4,526,356 | $3,573,700 | $3,482,852 | $3,834,566 |
| Program service revenue | $833,801 | $2,931,391 | $3,430,796 | $3,153,855 | $3,147,897 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $7,368 | $81,831 | $49,249 | $53,330 | ($106,871) |
| Other revenue | $885,312 | $1,034,153 | $712,397 | $733,280 | $213,465 |
| Total other revenue | $1,726,481 | $4,047,375 | $4,192,442 | $3,940,465 | $3,254,491 |
| Total revenue | $6,901,949 | $8,573,731 | $7,766,142 | $7,423,317 | $7,089,057 |
| Expenses | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Program services | $5,125,249 | $5,699,029 | $6,671,338 | $5,401,760 | $5,112,904 |
| Management and general | $729,237 | $810,255 | $821,271 | $676,160 | $598,415 |
| Fundraising | $872,818 | $896,976 | $749,567 | $430,821 | $154,493 |
| Total expenses | $6,727,304 | $7,406,260 | $8,242,176 | $6,508,741 | $5,865,812 |
| Change in net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $174,645 | $1,167,471 | ($476,034) | $914,576 | $1,223,245 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $174,645 | $1,167,471 | ($476,034) | $914,576 | $1,223,245 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Jeff Myers | President | $297,439 |
| Jeff Wood | CFO and Treasurer | $186,036 |
| Aaron Atwood | VP Advancement | $176,038 |
| Joseph Amandee | IT Director | $125,529 |
Compensation data as of: 12/31/2020
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 12/6/2022. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
An alarming number of Christians stumble while in college and around half will renounce their faith because they simply do not have a defense for what they believe. David Noebel, founder and former president of Summit Ministries, almost joined those statistics while he was a philosophy student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Dr. Noebel founded Summit in 1962 to help ground Christians in their faith, thereby enabling them to face the barrage of challenges on college campuses.
The home of Summit Ministries is a turn-of- the-century hotel (formerly known as The Grandview), luxurious by early 20th century standards. Around this hotel, Summit has built its home in a complex of buildings dubbed the Summit Village. This, our home base, is located in Manitou Springs, CO at the foot of Pike's Peak.
From 1962 until 1988, Summit Ministries was a small series of camp-style conferences, hosting an average of 350 students each year. After sending his own son Ryan through our program, Dr. James Dobson featured Summit on the Focus on the Family radio program in 1989, which quickly grew Summit's attendance exponentially. Currently, Summit hosts ten two-week Student Conferences every summer at three locations including their headquarters in Manitou Springs CO, Union University in Jackson, TN and Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, PA. Other programs include the Be and Basecamp Conferences for parents, youth pastors, pastors, and educators and Summit Semester, a gap year program for college students. Currently, about 2,000 students attend a Summit program each year.
In 1991, the Publishing Department of Summit launched a year-long program named Understanding the Times for Christian High School students with the goal to teach Christians how to analyze competing worldviews and to defend their faith. That curriculum has since been expanded to include a complete line of K-12 Bible curriculum for Christian schools and homeschool families. Each year more than 30,000 students use a Summit course each day in the classroom. In 2015, Summit's resources grew to include church and individual materials, including the first church and small group curriculum from Summit, The Secret Battle of Ideas about God.
Today, with its world-renowned Faculty and under the direction of President Dr. Jeff Myers, Summit is viewed as one of the foremost leaders in training Christians in apologetics, worldview analysis, and social engagement.
Program accomplishments
- Summit hosts ten two-week Student Conferences every summer at three locations including their headquarters in Manitou Springs, CO, Union University in Jackson, TN, and Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, PA. Other programs include Basecamp Conferences for parents, youth pastors, pastors, and educators and Summit Semester, a gap year program for college students. Currently, about 2,000 students attend a Summit program each year. Since our inception, Summit has trained more than 60,000 young leaders through our summer conferences.
- In 1991, the Publishing Department of Summit launched a year-long program named Understanding the Times for Christian High School students with the goal to teach Christians how to analyze competing worldviews and to defend their faith. That curriculum has since been expanded to include a complete line of K-12 Bible curriculum for Christian schools and homeschool families. Each year our curriculum is taught to more than 35,000 students in classrooms around the world. Summit's digital content is seen by more than a million people each year via video, podcasts, and articles. In 2015, Summit's resources grew to include church and individual materials, including the first church and small group curriculum from Summit, The Secret Battle of Ideas about God.
Needs
Your support provides life-changing worldview training for tens of thousands this year.
We are living in a post-Christian America. Where once we were "one nation under God" we now find ourselves in a nation in which "everyone does what's right in their own eyes."
We must reach the rising generation with the life-transforming message of God's truth... before it's too late.