FAITH & CHICKEN SOUP

Faith Summit • A Haven for the Hurting

Faith Summit Church wants people to come as they are—blue hair, tattoos, piercings, and all. No matter what struggle they’re facing beneath the surface, everyone is welcome. “The people who come to our church have been divorced, incarcerated, even suicidal,” Pastor Anthony VanNoy says. "Here, everyone is family. It’s just a blessing to be able to give back in society and help people. That’s our heart’s cry, to help people.”

An Army brat from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Anthony followed in his family’s footsteps and was an artilleryman for three years before settling in the small Colorado town of Montrose. Over time, drug and alcohol struggles caused him to hit rock bottom and he moved to Belton to be near his mother.

Thanks to friend and pastor Lonnie Huett, Anthony had a life-changing encounter with God that inspired him to help transform others’ lives, starting with Bell County Jail inmates who were struggling with alcohol and drug addictions. “I came back from rock bottom and now, seeing these men behind bars, I thought, what God’s done for me, He can do for them,” he says. THE CALL

Seeing Anthony’s impact, Lonnie told him God would call him into fulltime ministry. His prediction became a double blessing, as Anthony’s wife Sue became a pastor alongside him. Together, they have shepherded Faith Summit Church for the last 23 years at 150 West FM 487 in Jarrell.

At first, Anthony saw the small town as an unlikely location. “I didn’t want to move to Jarrell," he recalls. "There was nothing there. God had other plans.” As they were searching for a church to pastor in the area, they stumbled on the non-denominational Faith Tabernacle Church. They immediately felt like they belonged and ultimately took over leadership in 1998. Over time, Jarrell has grown on Anthony. “I love the people. I love the area,” he says. Faith Summit Church holds services at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, along with a Wednesday night Bible study. They also produce FYI Ministries, a Facebook livestream series Anthony says is an enTop: Pastors Anthony and Sue VanNoy shepherd Faith Summit Church in Jarrell. couraging, mid-week Above: Pastor Sue VanNoy teaches a Sunday School class. pick-me-up. To learn more about Faith Summit Church, call 512-7462X or scan the code to visit their Facebook page.