We have a long and rich history, filled not only with passing years but with Divine emphases and movements. The journey of our church can't be described simply as what year we were founded or which building we have occupied — there have been several.

Beyond the names and places, we must see what God has been building since He birthed us in 1977. What are the Biblically defined values and spiritual realities that have been deposited into us through the process? Without a conscious embracing of these emphases, we face the danger of simply becoming historic — remembering what God did back then.

Like every church in the earth, CCC is a product of the moves of God over the centuries. Each move brought significant spiritual value and upgrade to the global church, and we have always desired to embrace each and every one — from the evangelical zeal of the original reformers to the powerful apostolic reformation and the many unnamed moves of God that have been pulsating within that order for the last 30 years.

We measure success as our actual movement into greater Christlike positions — "going from strength to strength, until each one appears before God in Zion." A church is not successful because it grows numerically; nor is every experience in our lives or in a church "positive." Part of the journey is learning how to access God and prevail in the oppositional environment, redeeming the negative circumstances.

This historical summary will provide dates and names but will also focus on the spiritual realities we have experienced since 1977, including what He continues to do in us up to this present time. We are identifying five distinct phases of our journey, with an added page of our learnings. Enjoy the read!

The Beginnings

In the late 1970s, some young people — many of them students at Black Hills State — in Spearfish gathered to do Bible study and worship. Most were saved but wanted to experience God outside the limitations they saw growing up in various denominations. There was a real desire to find God in a new way, and a commitment to break religious traditions men had imposed onto churches which were not found in the Word of God.

There were two things we didn't fully comprehend at the time. First, we were being birthed at the height of the charismatic movement, which emphasized Biblical teaching and freedom in worship. Secondly, in our fervor and passion for God to do a new thing in our hearts, we came to learn that newness is not a one-time thing — God wants to do a new thing in our lives every day.

Where We Met

The emerging Bible Study met in homes and various locations, including apartments of organizers in Spearfish and Belle Fourche — the Girl Scout Club in Belle Fourche, the Rifle Club in Spearfish Park, and the Snappers Club in the City Park. We were not yet a church, just an informal Bible study, and key leaders in those early days were Dennis Allender, Dan Backens, and Bill Ross.

Starting the Church

Once the community developed into a defined church, the three leaders shared responsibility at various times throughout the 1980s and early 90s. Dan Backens was a gifted teacher who emphasized foundational truths — our church became anchored in Biblical doctrine. Dennis Allender continued to lead the church into strong and vibrant worship, and the dynamic presence of God and the freedom of the Holy Spirit characterized the meetings.

People were being saved and added to the church. Families — not just college age singles — started coming into the church, and the college kids were getting married and starting families of their own as the church began to mature.

Where We Met

Meetings were held at the Snappers Club in Spearfish City Park Campground, and later at to confirm — Spearfish Junior High or American Legion / Brass Bull Cafe. In 1985 we bought the VFW Hall on 7th Street, which had a restaurant upstairs and a bar in the basement. We converted the upstairs into our meeting space and downstairs into classrooms for the children and offices. We occupied that building for 34 years, until we sold it to Connection Church in 2019.

A Divine Connection

In the early 90s, Dan Backens felt called to move to Virginia for schooling, where he eventually planted a church. Bill Ross and Manny Mestas were leading Praise Fellowship, while Dennis Allender had moved to California for a few years. The leaders wanted Dennis to return to Spearfish and lead Praise Fellowship, which he did in 1995.

As Dennis assumed leadership, it was strongly on his heart to bring the church into connection with the right ministry, for the purpose of relationship, accountability, and true spiritual covering. He ended up calling Christian International (CI/Bill Hamon) and was transferred to Steve Schultz.

Steve was a leader in Christian International, and he and Scott Webster were key stakeholders in the prophetic movement of the 1980s and 90s. The connection with Steve was immediate, and he subsequently visited Praise Fellowship many times in the 90s, building close friendship and ministry partnership with Dennis. Dennis brought Praise Fellowship into CI's network of churches, based in Santa Rosa Beach, FL — quite a few of our people attended prophetic conferences (and spent a little time at the beach during our SD winters).

A Regional Base

It was a season when the voice of God was being activated across the earth, and many prophets visited our church and ministered over the people. Powerful words from God were released over the children and youth — words that are still coming to pass in their adult lives today. We wanted to give away what God was pouring out to us, so we hosted prophetic conferences that attracted pastors and saints from across our region: Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, and beyond.

There was also an emerging focus on personal maturity, deliverance, and prophetic counseling designed to help people find freedom from woundings, oppression, and incorrect thinking systems.

Preparing the Way

In the late 1990s, while Praise Fellowship was still part of CI, Scott Webster and Steve Schultz departed from the prophetic order and migrated into apostolic reformation through relationship with Dr. Noel Woodroffe. Scott had met Dr. Woodroffe in 1988 as part of a prophetic team Dr. Woodroffe had invited to Trinidad. Steve started a related apostolic network called Preparing the Way, and Dennis transitioned the church into that network — our entrance into Congress WBN.

Scott and Steve's continued friendship with Dennis caused him to seek out the Congress as well, and in 2003 he brought Praise Fellowship fully into Congress WBN (C-WBN). Scott and Steve both now serve on the Core Leadership Council (CLC) of C-WBN, a senior team providing oversight to thousands of churches across the earth.

A Reformation

It was a powerful time of reformation, much like when Luther broke away from the monolithic church system of his day. Not everyone agreed with it — many resisted or rejected it outright, and quite a few families left Praise Fellowship at that time. Even with the pain, the reformation had a massive and positive impact on our lives on many levels.

Change of Name

In 2008 we renamed our church The Summit, to indicate a new spirit of migration that takes us "up the mountain" into greater personal wholeness and corporate achievement. We became something of a Sanctuary for groups of saints in Pewaukee, WI and Calgary, AB — External Groups who are full participants in our services through streaming and deeply connected relationships.

Into the Pandemic

In 2019 we sold the building on 7th Street to Connection Church and began to meet in various rented facilities. When the pandemic hit, we moved to online meetings. The relational infrastructure of the Congress was so robustly built that the pandemic became one of the richest times of impartation and spiritual growth in our entire history.

A New Season of Leadership

As the pandemic was beginning to wane, Steve Schultz and Scott Webster started having discussions with Dennis Allender about the future. After leading the church for 25 years, Dennis felt his time at The Summit was coming to a close. In consultation with the Lord and Congress leadership, Scott and Steve assumed oversight of The Summit in 2020 — a move Dennis embraced by completely turning over church leadership to them.

Functioning as co-Senior Elders, Scott and Steve began to take the church to the next level of building as they closely superintended the transition into a new Divine order. In this season we became a Core Center of Congress-WBN, hence our most recent renaming.

A New Building

During this time we met online, then moved to the Holiday Inn and the BHSU Joy Center for our meetings. In 2023 we purchased our current building on Main Street, across from the hospital, which for the previous 30 years had housed the state employment agency. We moved in as 2024 began.

Who Are We Today?

We can't finish our history without describing what we have learned about God and how He has revealed Himself to us:

The Sheer Sovereignty of God

He started with a small group of believers who were hungry for more but largely unaware where God wanted to go. Yet His intent and power brought together all of the people, the circumstances, and the processes necessary to build what was in His mind all along.

God Is Faithful, Redemptive, and Forgiving

He is tolerant to work with us in our immaturity and to tutor us, bringing us more and more into His ways. We haven't done everything perfectly over the last 40+ years, but God has been gracious and used every experience for our learning and development.

God's Desire for the Whole Body of Christ to Be Counted as Mature

While we have to pay specific attention to the things God has called us to build, our hearts have been enlarged with compassion, care, and regard for every believer — those in Spearfish or across the earth.

God Begins With a Seed That Must Be Carefully Cultivated

We began as a small group limited to Spearfish and Belle Fourche, and are now part of a global Congress with a base in Spearfish, an External Group in Calgary, and virtual and remote members across the continent. The seed was a group of young people who wanted to serve God freely outside of religious confines; the harvest is our children and grandchildren who serve in various leadership roles in the church today.

From the planning notes: could talk about harvest, reaching out to the Body of Christ, "it's a time of mercy." Placed here as the closing capstone of the timeline, pending full copy.