The Summit Church
| The Summit Church | |
|---|---|
| Church (Pentecostal; affiliated with the Apostolic Church of Pentecost) | |
| Address | 515 Syndicate Avenue North, Thunder Bay, ON P7C 3X2 |
| Existed | 2015 – present |
| Coordinates | 48.39255941204089, -89.24854946125478 |
| View on map → | |
The Summit Church is a Pentecostal-affiliated Christian congregation at 515 Syndicate Avenue North, Thunder Bay, Ontario (P7C 3X2), in the former city of Fort William. It holds its Sunday worship service at 10 a.m.[1] Its lead pastors are Giuseppe Buoncore and Kim Buoncore.[2]
Denomination
The church is affiliated with the Apostolic Church of Pentecost (ACOP, the Apostolic Church of Pentecost of Canada), a Pentecostal denomination. In the program description of its charity return it describes itself as a religious organization affiliated with the Apostolic Church of Pentecost.[3] Its website lists ACOP and Salt & Light Ministries as the church networks from which its "Church Covering Team" of outside mentors is drawn,[4] and in 2024 the largest of its reported gifts to other charities, $5,300 of $8,350, went to Salt & Light Ministries International.[3]
Charity and programs
The Summit Church is a registered charity (business number 825817836RR0001) classed under Christianity. It was registered with the Canada Revenue Agency on 26 September 2014, and its filings say it was incorporated in December 2014 and began operating in January 2015.[5] The CRA return describes weekly worship services; ministries for women, men, youth, children and seniors; pastoral care; a food bank for its members; teaching and training courses; and support for missionary work. It also says the church runs its buildings somewhat like a community centre that other not-for-profit groups can use.[3]
The charity's directors have included Giuseppe Buoncore (elder and lead pastor), Doug Cooke and Olamitanka Awosika, all elders; the CRA data shows Buoncore, Cooke and Awosika each appointed on 1 January 2015, and the 2024 return still lists the three.[3][5] The pastors' role in starting the church is not stated in the sources found, so none of them is described here as a founder.
Staff
The church's website lists these staff and leaders.[2]
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Giuseppe Buoncore and Kim Buoncore | Lead pastors |
| Doug Cooke and Carolyn Cooke | Pastoral care |
| Tracey Hewalo | Summit Kids coordinator and receptionist |
| Tyrone Trapper and Taryn Trapper | Summit Youth coordinators |
| Tanka Awosika and Ashleigh Awosika | Summit Young Adults |
| Melody Lecuyer | Office manager |
| Sharalyn Robillard | Worship coordinator and technical team coordinator |
| Melissa Faiers | Hospitality coordinator |
| Steve Zavitz and Ton Knijnenburg | Men's ministry coordinators |
The site
The church's address is on Syndicate Avenue, next to the corner of Syndicate Avenue and Finlayson Street, where Drew School stood.[6][7] A photograph of 523 Brodie Street North shows Drew School in its background, and Michael B. Currie identifies the church's site as that background. No source found says that the church occupies the former school building or that the school was demolished, so whether the church building is the old Drew School remains unverified. The infobox coordinates are those supplied by Michael B. Currie; the OpenStreetMap address point for 515 Syndicate Avenue North (48.3933, -89.2484, checked 4 November 2026) is about 85 metres to the north-north-west of them.
The address was used as a community meeting hall before the church began operating there. In November 2010 the Northern Lights Education Initiative, a group campaigning for a publicly funded alternative school in Thunder Bay, held a public meeting at 515 Syndicate Avenue North.[8]
References
- ↑ "Location & Service Times", The Summit Church website, http://www.summitchurchtbay.ca/im-new/location-service-times/ (read 4 November 2026; the site is http-only and could not be loaded by the archiving browser, so this page is not archived).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Our Team", The Summit Church website, http://www.summitchurchtbay.ca/about/our-team/ (checked live 4 November 2026; the site is http-only and could not be loaded by the archiving browser, so the archived copy is the Internet Archive snapshot of 15 July 2026, which shows the same list). MHTML / PNG on datum.locker.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "The Summit Church", Charity Breakdown, from the church's T3010 return filed with the Canada Revenue Agency, fiscal year ended 31 December 2024 (BN 825817836RR0001). archived copy on datum.locker. Original page.
- ↑ "Relational Affiliations" (Church Covering Team), The Summit Church website, http://www.summitchurchtbay.ca/about/church-covering-team/ (Internet Archive snapshot of 8 September 2025). MHTML / PNG on datum.locker.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Summit Church", OpenGovCa charity profile summarising Canada Revenue Agency charity data, BN 825817836RR0001, https://opengovca.com/charity/825817836RR0001 (not archived: the site served a bot-check page).
- ↑ City of Thunder Bay, Park and Recreation Facilities List (Parks and Recreation Department, January 1971, revised to 1973), published as "A History of Parks Facilities", Thunder Bay Archives. archived copy on datum.locker. Original page.
- ↑ OpenStreetMap street positions (Overpass query, 4 November 2026): Finlayson Street crosses Syndicate Avenue at about 48.3921, -89.2482.
- ↑ "Northern Lights Education Initiative Hosting Public Meeting", NetNewsLedger, 15 November 2010. archived copy on datum.locker. Original page.