A Foothills Church with a Global Reach

Summit Christian Church sits on Tujunga Canyon Boulevard in the quiet foothill community of Tujunga, just north of the 210 Freeway in northeast Los Angeles County. From that single address, the church runs a wide network of ministries that includes a children's program, a student ministry called Rise, a recovery ministry, a senior fellowship called Encore, two non-English congregations meeting in the same building, and a missions partnership that opened an orphanage in India.

The church's own motto, repeated across its online home, describes its aim simply: "to help all people come into relationship with Jesus to know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and make a difference." Everything at Summit, from its Sunday services to its weekly prayer meetings, is structured around that statement.

The LeLaCheur Family at the Helm

Summit's lead pastors are Scott and Connie LeLaCheur, who have ministered together for more than thirty-eight years. Both attended Eugene Bible College (now New Hope College), and Scott went on to complete a master's degree in theology at Jacksonville Theological Seminary. He is a third-generation pastor; Connie came to faith as a teenager and has long carried a calling to see people "free to live out their God-given destiny." They were married thirty-eight years ago and have three grown children.

The LeLaCheurs accepted the invitation to become Summit's senior pastors in the summer of 2014. The church credits their love of Scripture, their passion for transformational teaching, and their desire to see every person connected and thriving in relationship with Christ as the fuel for the present season of the church. Their daughter Macie Moyer previously served as Summit's Missions and Outreach Pastor and worked with the Christa's Home orphanage in India. She now serves as Interim Children's Pastor. Another daughter, Madison Stanley, lives in Michigan with her family and serves in worship ministry, and their son Austin is pursuing a degree in music.

Joining the LeLaCheurs on staff are Pastor Jack Dempster (Care Pastor and GriefShare), Pastor John Newcombe (Teaching Pastor), Pastors Matthew and Ariana Mitchell (Creative Arts), Pastors Andrew and Courtney Baxter (Youth and Young Adults), Pastors Aaron and Kelly Weller (Celebrate Recovery), and Eric and Ellen Fuller who direct the Encore ministry for adults fifty-five and older.

Sundays at Summit

Summit Christian Church holds Sunday gatherings at 9am and 11am in its sanctuary on Tujunga Canyon Boulevard, with the 11am service also streamed live on YouTube and Facebook. The 11am livestream makes the gathering accessible to anyone who cannot attend in person. The atmosphere is intentionally casual. The church tells first-time guests to come as they are, and the staff often repeats the phrase that they are "REAL people, with REAL problems and a REAL HOPE!"

Pastor Scott LeLaCheur is the primary preaching voice. He works through extended series that walk a book of the Bible or a thematic topic over several weeks; recent series include "David," "Full Circle," "Faith IRL," and "Check Your RPMS." Pastor John Newcombe and Pastor Andrew Baxter occasionally preach as well. Summit Worship leads the music. The worship team is described as Spirit-led and writes some of its own music, with the goal of creating space for people to encounter God and respond.

Children are an important part of Sunday morning. Summit KIDS is offered during the 11am gathering only, for children from six weeks old through fifth grade. Check-in is on the second floor of the building on the south side, and first-time families are encouraged to arrive a few minutes early to register their children through the church's First-Time Family Form. Parents are contacted by phone if there is any issue with their child during the service.

Summit KIDS and the Next Generation

The children's ministry at Summit is built around three classrooms: a Nursery for children from birth until they are potty trained, a Preschool room for potty-trained children through first grade, and an Elementary room for first through fifth graders. Each room follows the same shape - free time and relationship-building, age-appropriate worship, a Bible-based lesson, and small group time with a dedicated leader - but the curriculum is adapted for each stage.

The ministry describes itself as more than childcare. Summit KIDS aims to help each child begin to know Jesus, believe in God, and understand what it means to live as a Christian. The team offers two next steps for parents beyond Sunday mornings: a Water Baptism class for children who have made a personal decision to follow Christ, and a Child Dedication service for families who want to commit publicly to raising their child in a Christ-centered home. The Summit KIDS team also produces a Weekly Parent Cue that gives parents a way to keep the conversation going at home with memory verses and discussion prompts tied to each Sunday's lesson.

Rise Student Ministries

Middle and high school students meet for Rise Student Ministries on Wednesday nights from 7pm to 8:30pm at the church. Rise is pastored by Andrew and Courtney Baxter, who moved into the youth role in early 2026 after previously leading the Young Adults ministry. Their stated mission is that students in grades six through twelve would "love God, invest in others, follow Jesus' example and engage in their talents and abilities."

The Baxters describe a generation-focused vision, writing that "reaching our students for Christ is crucial and has the power to transform our schools, our families and this generation." Rise maintains an active Instagram presence at @Rise.Students and a summer youth camp that the church supports through fundraisers, including an annual Spaghetti Luncheon and Dessert Auction.

Ekklesia Young Adults

The young-adult ministry, called Ekklesia, meets on Sunday nights from 7pm to 8:30pm in the Summit Cafe. The gathering includes dinner, a Bible study, a time for questions, and prayer. Andrew and Courtney Baxter describe the group as a space where young adults can navigate "the journey of making their faith their own," whether they grew up in church or have never set foot in one. Andrew is a graduate of Azusa Pacific University with a background in professional baseball, and Courtney serves as a worship leader at Summit.

Small Groups, Bible Studies, and Growth Track

Summit offers a deep bench of weekly small groups that meet in homes and at the church throughout the week. A small-group leader named Joe Silveira runs Financial Peace University on Monday nights at 7pm at the church. On Tuesday mornings at 6am, Pastor Scott leads a Men's Bible Study in the sanctuary, and the Morning Glory group meets at 10:30am for a study of the previous Sunday's message. Tuesday nights at 7pm are busy: Pastor Scott's Rooted group meets at the church, the Ladies Small Group meets at a member's home, and Pastor Matthew Mitchell hosts an Online Video Games small group.

Wednesday nights include Pastor John's Adult Bible Study at 7pm and David and Cindy Peters' Sunday Message Study in a home in La Crescenta. Friday nights at 6:30pm bring a Young Parents Group together at the Cline home, and Saturday mornings at 8am are reserved for Aaron Weller's frisbee golf group. On Sunday nights at 7pm the Ekklesia young adults meet.

For anyone who wants a more structured introduction to the church, Summit runs Growth Track, a short three-week class held after the second Sunday service. The first week covers what it means to become a member of Summit, the second week focuses on discovering personal gifts and purpose, and the third week invites participants into serving through Team Summit.

Summit Worship and the Creative Arts

Summit Worship is led by Pastors Matthew and Ariana Mitchell as part of the Creative Arts department. The team writes original music and aims for worship that is both passionate and rooted in Scripture. The Mitchells lead the church's broadcast operation as well, overseeing the YouTube and Facebook livestream of the 11am service. A worship intern role on the team gives upcoming musicians a place to develop their craft alongside the regular musicians.

Men, Women, and Encore

The men's ministry meets every Tuesday morning at 6am in the sanctuary and again at 7pm in the cafe. Pastor Scott leads the morning study, and the ministry hosts quarterly men's events including a Men's Breakfast held several times a year. The women's ministry offers Bible studies, fellowship gatherings, and the annual She Is Conference, a women's event held off-site that the church actively promotes.

Encore ministers to adults fifty-five and older, directed by Eric and Ellen Fuller. The group meets for activities including an annual Valentine's Day Brunch, an outing to Forest Lawn's Wall of Liberty, and theater excursions such as a Mary Poppins matinee.

Celebrate Recovery and GriefShare

Two distinct care ministries meet on a weekly rhythm. Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered program built on eight recovery principles, meets Monday nights at 7pm under the leadership of Pastors Aaron and Kelly Weller. Childcare is provided during the meeting. The program is based on the original Saddleback Church model and is open to anyone dealing with a hurt, habit, or hang-up.

GriefShare is a thirteen-week, faith-based support group for people grieving the loss of a loved one. The group meets on Thursday evenings at 6:30pm under the care of Pastor Jack Dempster and Office/Production Manager Ariana Mitchell, who serves as the contact for registration. A separate Loss of a Spouse GriefShare track is offered alongside the main program. Both Celebrate Recovery and GriefShare are open to the wider community, not just Summit attenders.

Care and Prayer Ministries

Pastoral care at Summit is coordinated through a Care Ministries department that includes short-term counseling referrals, a local resource list for people in need, a meal team that provides food for families in crisis, and support around funerals and weddings for church family members. A prayer ministry anchors the week. After each Sunday gathering, prayer team members are available near the front of the stage to pray with individuals, couples, and families. Two dedicated prayer times run during the week: Tuesday mornings from 8am to 9am and Thursday evenings from 7pm to 8pm. Requests can also be submitted confidentially to an intercessory prayer team through the church's online form.

Christa's Home and Christ for the City

Summit's missions work centers on two long-term partnerships. In 2022, the church partnered with Angel House to open Christa's Home, an orphanage in Rajeev Nagar, India, named in memory of Christa Knuth. The home cares for twelve children with house parents, education, and an introduction to Jesus Christ; it officially opened in December 2022.

The church also partners with Christ for the City, a ministry that supports more than one hundred projects across more than fifteen countries. Through this partnership Summit supports work in Costa Rica including community development, aftercare for victims of human trafficking, summer camps for at-risk youth, and housing and aid for former gang members. The missions department is led through the office of info@summitchurch.la.

Armenian and Spanish Ministries

Two congregations share Summit's building with the English-speaking church. Revival Rains Church, an Armenian fellowship led by Rev. Loris and Adrineh Esmaelian, holds worship services every Friday at 7:30pm in the Summit sanctuary and can be reached at 818-963-3330. Ministerios Vientos de Gloria, a Spanish-language congregation led by Rev. Leonel and Rina Perez, meets for worship every Sunday at 2:00pm in the same sanctuary, with an additional Bible study on Friday evenings at 7:00pm. Both fellowships operate independently of the English ministry while sharing the campus.

What We Believe

Summit Christian Church's doctrinal statement is one of the most detailed on the site and is shaped by a Pentecostal-evangelical perspective. The church teaches that the Bible, in its original writings, is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God and the final authority on all doctrinal truth. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ - His death, burial, and resurrection - and is a gift from God, not the result of human effort.

Summit affirms the Trinity: one God eternally existent as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is described as fully God and fully man, the only person to live a sinless life, who was born of a virgin, performed miracles, died on the cross for the sins of mankind, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.

The church also teaches the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a distinct empowering experience available to believers, divine healing as part of Christ's atoning work, water baptism as the first step of obedience after conversion, the regular observance of the Lord's Supper, the physical resurrection of the dead, the reality of heaven and hell, and the physical, visible return of Jesus Christ. The church is described as the body of Christ, with every Spirit-born believer an integral part of it.

Visiting Summit Christian Church

Summit Christian Church is located at 9641 Tujunga Canyon Boulevard, Tujunga, California 91042, north of the 210 Freeway. Sunday gatherings are at 9am and 11am, with the 11am service also livestreamed online. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 9am to 3pm, and the office can be reached at 818-353-1138 or info@summitchurch.la. Giving is available online through the church's Church Center platform, through PayPal, by texting any amount to 84321, or by mailing a check to the church address.