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Logan Earles – Littleton, Colorado … Maybe you’ve talked with someone who attended the last Mission Summit. Maybe you’ve seen an announcement in your church bulletin or heard your pastor mention it. You have a good idea of what it is but you’re still deciding whether to attend. If you’re anything like me, you appreciate a good Top 5 list. So here it is, the top five reasons you should be at Mission Summit 2026.

1. Inspiration

Mission Summit is a time to gather and celebrate what God is doing. Every session features powerful stories of lives changed through His work. You’ll hear firsthand how God is moving throughout our churches and communities, leaving us encouraged and reminded that He is still at work today. Inspiration is the first step towards doing great work. Being inspired by what others have done and how God is working will lead us towards a vigor for the work that God has in store.

2. Connection

This year’s Mission Summit is expected to be our largest yet, bringing together people from across the Rocky Mountain Conference who share a passion for living out God’s mission. Throughout the weekend, you’ll have intentional opportunities to meet others, build friendships, and connect with fellow doers of the Word. You never know who God might bring into your life.

The early church in the book of Acts spent a lot of time connecting with others. We see that they not only spread the word of God but maybe they even spread some butter on bread as they shared meals together and spent time connecting. Mission summit will have the same opportunity, I even heard there will be vegan butter!

3. Equipping

Have you ever thought, “I wish I knew how to share my faith more confidently” or “I wish I knew where to start”? Mission Summit is designed to help.

Experienced ministry leaders will share practical tools and biblical wisdom to help you grow as a disciple and witness for Christ. Through engaging main sessions and interactive workshops, you’ll gain practical skills you can take home and begin using right away.

It can be frustrating to have a desire to do something and not even know where to go. This is your invitation to learn alongside others with that same desire! Each of us has been given a gift to grow the body of Christ; let us hone those tools and sharpen the edge for the reaping ahead.

4. Community

Mission Summit is more than great speakers and helpful workshops—it’s about strengthening the body of Christ. As churches across the Rocky Mountain Conference gather to worship, learn, eat, and serve together, we’ll grow closer as one community united in God’s mission.

Healthy churches are built on strong relationships, and Mission Summit is a place where those relationships can grow. By the breaking of bread, and hearing of the word we will be able to join together as one body. Imagine with me for a second that the mission happening in Casper is impacting the mission all the way in Colorado Springs. What does that look like? We can’t know unless we work together as a community.

5. Vision

Here it is—my final reason why YOU should be at Mission Summit. Our hope is that you leave Mission Summit inspired, equipped, and confident, but also with a renewed vision for God’s mission. Jesus calls each of us to share the gospel wherever He has placed us.

Together we’ll seek God’s direction for our churches, our communities, and the Rocky Mountain Conference as we faithfully answer His call. We do not want to labor in vain, but instead we want to walk the path that God has laid before us. To do so, we must seek God’s plans. The Bible tells us that if we seek, we will find. Let us seek God together!

Whether you’re a Mission Summit veteran or attending for the very first time, Mission Summit 2026 is for you. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus gives a simple invitation: Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people.

Join us on October 2-3 in Denver, Colorado, as we seek God together, encourage one another, and step forward in the mission He has given us.

Watch for more details coming soon at RMCSDA.org

—Logan Earles is the associate pastor at the Littleton Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Jill Harlow – Valencia, Spain … The twenty students from Campion Academy (CA) in Loveland, Colorado, are halfway through their time in Spain. The students have spent the last two weeks taking intensive college-level Spanish courses with summer adventures in between.

The CA students are divided into various levels, from first timers to advanced, and they are receiving six semester-hours of college credit at different levels during their time here. Each day they rotate through four classes of conversation, grammar, composition, and art and culture.

In the afternoons, the students enjoy trips to the beach or extracurriculars such as art, playing interactive games, or learning worship songs in Spanish. In the evenings, they can have free time to play sports, workout in the gym, or simply relax. Every evening a joint worship is led by local college students who work for the program.

For the group’s excursion day, July 10, the students visited Peñíscola—a place famous for both its beautiful beach and historic castle that juts out above the sea on a peninsula. The castle was built as a residence and fortress for Papa Luna, a pope supported for a short time by France and Spain during the Western Schism when there were three popes in the early 1400s.

Papa Luna lost support for his Papacy and fled to Peñíscola, still claiming to be the pope and holed up in the castle, even surviving poisoning by a group of nuns! “We think he certainly had a beautiful place to reside,” remarked Jill Harlow, group sponsor and CA Spanish and English Language Learner (ELL) teacher.

The students live in the dormitories on campus, and, while they find them generally well-appointed, they are having to get used to life with no air conditioning in their rooms! Spanish summers are known for their heat, and, while the temperatures are mostly in the 90s, the humidity and warmer nights make it a bit more intense for those from and used to living in Colorado. However, everyone is adjusting to the new normal.

“We have also caught the fútbol spirit and have enjoyed cheering on Spain and seeing them win their last two World Cup games!” commented Harlow. “Please continue praying for our students and staff on this trip! Currently, we are on the longest excursion of the summer, a four-day tour of Madrid, Toledo, and Segovia.”

—Jill Harlow is Campion Academy Spanish, English Language Learner (ELL), and Communication director. Photos supplied.

Daniele Fantoni – Montrose, Colorado … The Maranatha Hispanic Seventh-day Adventist Church in Montrose, Colorado, celebrated the official dedication of its new chapel with a special worship service centered on gratitude, worship, and renewed commitment to God’s mission, July 4. Hugo Guillén, pastor and Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) Ministerial associate director and lead for Multicultural Ministries, preached the dedication sermon and led a meaningful service of consecration alongside Daniele Fantoni, Maranatha Church’s lead pastor, and the church elders.

The celebration marked the culmination of a journey that began on January 20, 2013, when a small Hispanic group first met in a borrowed classroom at the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church under the leadership of church member Abimael Chávez and with the support of RMC pastor Michael Shannon. The congregation was officially organized as a church in June 2021.

“In October 2022, God opened an unexpected door when the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church voted unanimously to donate its former school property to the Hispanic congregation,” remarked Fantoni. “After years of renovation, volunteer labor, generous support, and God’s faithful provision, the church joyfully dedicated its new chapel.”

He continued, “Throughout its history, God has blessed the congregation with more than 30 baptisms, evangelistic meetings, youth ministries, and steady spiritual growth. One of the church’s defining passions has been its commitment to young people, expressed in its motto: None of our young people will be lost to the world; all for Christ.”

The dedication service celebrated not only God’s faithfulness in the past but also the church’s commitment for the future. Those gathered dedicated themselves anew to worship God, grow as disciples, and proclaim the gospel until Christ returns—the very words now engraved on the church’s dedication plaque as a lasting reminder of its mission.

—Daniele Fantoni is associate pastor for the Grand Junction District. Photos supplied.

Eileen Field – Montrose, Colorado … Every season, the Women’s Ministry team at the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church in Montrose, Colorado, hosts a potluck breakfast at a church member’s home. This time it was at the home of Eileen Field, a deaconess for the church.

This is a time for close fellowship for women of the church.

“There is a Woman of the Bible who comes to visit us and tells us her history and story. She dresses for the time she has lived in,” remarked Field. “This time, Queen Esther was our guest. Kathy Springer, our amazing and wonderful church secretary, was Queen Esther. We learned so much of Esther’s history and dedication to God.”

Guests are invited as well. Field invited two guests who came and said they were so blessed from the experience.

“We use this time to show the ladies in the church and guests how special they are to us and to our Lord Jesus,” Field reflected.

—Eileen Field is a deaconess for the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photos supplied.

By Godfrey Miranda

Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16, NKJV).

It was fifteen minutes prior to kicking off the third day of Vacation Bible School, but there were already a couple dozen early-bird attendees patiently waiting in the gym. Without much thought, I yelled “Freeeeeze tag!” And so ensued a seemingly endless cycle of chasing and tagging. Children’s ministry isn’t for the faint of heart…literally! 

It was only fifteen minutes, but fatigue set in quickly. Do you know what that’s like? Giving your all and growing weary in the process? I’m not just talking about losing your breath from a spontaneous burst of cardio activity. I’m talking about losing heart. This can happen to all of us—whether physically or relationally, in marriage or in ministry, in whatever involves a high level of hope or requires enduring effort. 

Whenever we lean in, there’s always a possibility that at some point we’ll lose heart. The New Testament uses a particular term to refer to this kind of weariness only a handful of times, and in each instance, we can become more aware of the ways this fatigue shows up in our lives and the ways we can overcome it too.

LOSING HEART IN PRAYER

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart … (Luke 18:1, NKJV).

Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:1-8 highlights the all-too familiar feeling that our prayers are unheard. When it seems as though our prayers fall upon deaf ears, we may be tempted to throw in the towel, but Jesus invites us to “always pray and not give up” (Lk. 18:1, NIV).

Think about that invitation. In the mind of Jesus, not giving up is equated with the experience of always praying. While much more could be said about the specific nuances of this parable, the bottom line is that even if unanswered prayer may inspire spiritual fatigue in the first place, it’s actually perseverance in prayer that keeps us from losing heart altogether.

It’s natural for us to fret over an apparent absence of divine intervention in our lives, but verse 8 points out that God is more interested in making sure there’s not an absence of faith in our lives—”[W]hen the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” 

Persistent prayer may not always change our circumstances, but through it God will undoubtedly change our hearts.

LOSING HEART IN PAIN

Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16, NKJV).

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul is very open about the persecution he has endured for the sake of the gospel. Not all of us can completely relate to that specific type of opposition, but we can all relate to feeling some sort of pain that chips away at us outwardly. It may be in the form of antagonism that hurts our reputation, a surprise diagnosis of declining health, even the trauma of an unforeseen accident or intentional abuse. 

While that pain may be devastating, it doesn’t have to be defining. 

According to Paul, we may very well be perishing outwardly, but inwardly we can be renewed day after day. How? By framing our present affliction in the grand scheme of eternity. When we set our minds on the promised things that are unseen rather than the painful things that are seen, we can count our present affliction as light and momentary compared to our eternal weight of glory in the life to come (2 Cor. 4:17).

LOSING HEART IN FUTILITY

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9, NKJV).

There’s always a gap between the time a farmer sows and the time that farmer eventually reaps a harvest. Paul applies this analogy to our efforts of sowing to the Spirit (Gal. 6:8), actively doing good for others rather than directing our energies toward self.

But in that waiting period between sowing and reaping, it’s natural for us to wonder if all our effort to do good will actually produce much good in the end. When we don’t see the outcomes or results we want to see, we can jump to the wrong conclusion that a harvest is never coming and subsequently withdraw our hands from sowing at all.

In another place, Paul warns against the idleness that comes less from discouragement and more from expecting others to do the work they themselves could be doing (cf. 2 Thes. 3:6-12). In either case, whether we feel like our efforts are futile or we selfishly prefer laziness over faithfulness, Paul wants us to be certain that the harvest is coming, that our persistent and even quiet (2 Thes. 3:13) efforts to do good for others are like seeds that will surely bear fruit. 

Your friend hasn’t accepted your invitation to church…yet. That Bible study hasn’t resulted in a decision for Christ…yet. Your kindness hasn’t won confidence…yet. But “in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal. 6:9).

LOSING HEART IN WORRY

Therefore, I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory (Ephesians 3:13, NKJV).

In this passage, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to “not lose heart” at HIS tribulation, not their own. It’s as if the news of his troubles stirred an anticipation of tribulation and persecution that would inevitably come their way. While that worry may have been valid, Paul doesn’t want it to be debilitating. As we discern the unfolding of prophecy in our day, we’re not immune to borrowing trouble like the Ephesians. 

But instead of losing heart about what may lie ahead, may I suggest we pray for ourselves what Paul prayed for the Ephesians? 

When worry about the future tries to unsettle our hearts, we can pray for a heart that is “strengthened with might through His Spirit” (Eph. 3:16) and a heart that stays rooted and grounded in the love of God. Instead of letting future unknowns take our thoughts captive, we can pray to know the full dimensions of Christ’s infinite love (v. 18).

Which of these passages about losing heart resonates most with you today? If we find ourselves faint or fatigued, let’s keep praying in faith and keep perspective on eternal things. If we’re waiting for a fruitful harvest or worried about what’s in the future, let’s keep doing good and keep rooted in God’s agape love.

—Godfrey Miranda is lead pastor at Littleton Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photo by Yanapi Senaud of Unsplash.