Summit primarily serves students on the verge of launching into culture and equips them to embrace their community with truth and relationship. Native New Zealanders Annalise Copland and Nic Blackie arrived on campus already engaged in full-time ministry, so they were seeking tools to add communal depth to what they were already accomplishing. Well before Annalise and Nic stepped foot onto Summit’s Manitou Springs campus, they were changing lives.
It started with Annalise in 2022. In partnership with her American friend Jeff Coleman, Annalise launched a Summit-style biblical worldview camp for ages 15–20. Originally its own, separate ministry, Jeff’s and Annalise’s vision became connected to a local ministry called Thinking Matters, and their camps became known as “Thinking Matters Camps” or TMC. Similar to Summit conferences, TMC aims to equip young Christians with the knowledge necessary to defend their faith and engage with culture.
“We wanted to address the biblical illiteracy that we were seeing in the younger generations in New Zealand,” says Annalise.
In her early years of leadership at Thinking Matters, Annalise created devotionals, planned camp activities, and taught lessons on apologetics and theology. Nic joined the camp soon after, delivering talks on worldview and sharing the Gospel. By the summer of 2024, Annalise and Nic stepped into the role of co-directors, fully embracing the responsibility of planning and bringing their vision for the Thinking Matters camp to life.
Although Annalise and Nic were already making a significant impact on their community, they were eager to receive training to further enhance their effectiveness in ministry.
That’s when Jeff Coleman recommended they attend a Student Conference with Summit Ministries.
As a two-time Summit graduate in 1996 and 1997, Jeff Coleman experienced the blessing of Summit Ministries during his younger years. He reached out to Summit’s main office, requesting financial assistance to send Annalise and Nic to a summer conference. When the office recommended the Leader Scholarship, Annalise and Nic applied and were accepted.
“We were blown away by the generosity,” said Annalise, who explained that their attendance at Summit would not have been possible without the donors of the Leader Scholarship.
Annalise and Nic viewed Summit as an excellent opportunity to acquire both the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive as leaders. Annalise and Nic joined Summit during the 2024 Colorado conference when they were only 21 years old and returned as members of the 2024–2025 Summit Graduate Leadership Cohort, in which they spent 9 months in further mentorship in apologetics and character building.
Through both Summit experiences, the New Zealanders deepened their understanding of apologetics and gained insight into how they could run their ministry.
Nic explains that the ongoing connection that Summit leadership has with its students inspired Nic and Annalise to continue building relationships with campers at TMC.
But Nic wasn’t just using Summit as an opportunity to take in knowledge. He also wanted to pour out and influence his fellow believers at the Summit conference. Nic’s Colorado small group leader, Kevin, explains, “Not only was he there to learn, but he was a brother who has a pastoral heart and wants to help others grow in their walk with God.” Nic not only gained valuable leadership tools from Summit but also invested deeply in its community.
Annalise shares that she has witnessed the impact of applying Summit’s character-building framework at Thinking Matters. “There’s a testimony of a girl who was embarrassed to call herself a Christian before attending the New Zealand camp,” she recalls. But after learning the foundations of the Christian faith and growing in character alongside other believers, the girl declared, “I’m excited to go and share the gospel now.”
As a result of the training they received through their Summit experiences, Annalise and Nic feel better equipped to lead their ministry and guide young people toward biblical truth. Annalise and Nic are deeply grateful for the Leadership Scholarship. It has not only enriched their personal faith journeys but also equipped them with tools they’ve used to influence and inspire the next generation.