By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Tuesday, July 01, 2025

Leaders at Pastor J.D. Greear's 12,000-member multi-campus The Summit Church are defending him and the organization after a docuseries on their failed merger with Faith Baptist Church in Knightdale, North Carolina, suggested the megachurch used questionable tactics in a bid to take over the non-denominational church and its 30-acre campus valued at an estimated $25 million.

The three-part series called "Defending Faith Baptist" was published earlier this month by the Church Reform Initiative — an organization committed to "identifying and addressing corruption within the Christian church and Christian parachurch organizations through awareness, education, and the legal process."

In a recent statement responding to the docuseries, church elders stated they were not informed about the documentary before it was published and insisted that they acted with integrity concerning the failed merger.

"As some of you may have seen, our pastor and our church are the subject of a recent documentary series about our attempted church merger with Faith Baptist Church in Knightdale. We received no advance notification about this documentary, nor were we consulted about the issues discussed within it. We saw it for the first time when the episodes were shared with the public," Summit Church directional elders said.

"The story being told misrepresents the events as well as our intentions in this process. The Summit sought to pursue this path with the utmost integrity at every step," the leaders continued.

The Summit Church elders state that they launched a mobile campus at Knightdale High School in 2023 because of the desire of its members who lived in the area. After launching, Summit elders say leaders at Faith Baptist Church approached them about discussing a possible merger due to declines in attendance and financial stability. Over the next several months, Summit Church staff and directional elders worked with Faith Baptist Church's leadership to explore the possibility of dissolving Faith Baptist Church and "giving the church's property to The Summit Church as the permanent location for our Knightdale Campus."

"The narrative being told that our pastor or pastoral team used manipulation, dishonesty, bullying tactics, or engaged in conspiracy is simply untrue, and we are deeply grieved by it. Our pastor and leadership team have nothing to hide — as the elders of The Summit Church, we looked over their shoulder at every step."

On June 11, author and producer Jon Harris, who created the docuseries, highlighted the story of Faith Baptist in an op-ed for American Reformer reporting on what he called a "silent takeover" of Evangelical Christianity by progressive ideology.

First Baptist Church in Naples, Florida, and David Platt's McLean Bible Church in Northern Virginia are also featured.

"These were not isolated events but part of a broader, coordinated push connected with the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination. What also became clear is that leftist politics are just one piece of a much larger agenda to fundamentally transform American evangelicalism," Harris argued. "This is not merely about changing voting habits. It is about remaking churches from the inside out — gutting their traditions, weakening their communities, and converting them into sterile, modern, and pliable social centers."

Faith Baptist Church members allege that their troubles started shortly after their longtime pastor, Mick Bowen, retired in 2021 and was replaced by Jason Little. Little is accused of attempting to facilitate a takeover of the congregation by The Summit Church while disguising it as a partnership.

The first episode of the documentary purports to uncover "the behind-the-scenes text messages, financial maneuvers, and spiritual warfare at the heart of a devastating takeover attempt — and the faithful resistance that followed." The second episode examines a "calculated effort to dissolve [the] congregation and transfer its assets to Summit Church under JD Greear's leadership. From backroom deals to bylaw violations."

The third and final episode highlights the protracted legal battle for the church as members fought back through the courts, and Summit Church backed away from the deal before Greear was to give a deposition.

"As the legal proceedings continued, Summit Church's strategy shifted. A deposition for J.D. Greear was scheduled at 10 a.m. on December 4. Summit Church filed a motion to prevent Greear's deposition from being shared on social media, but the judge rejected the request. The day before the deposition, the parties settled the dispute. What could have ended in disaster became a beautiful ending as Faith Baptist recalled their original pastor, Gary Williams, back to the church and recommenced ministry in 2025," Harris wrote.

"Throughout the entire saga, two things stood out. The first was the sense of entitlement some church leaders, including pastors, displayed — believing they could get their way without considering the impact on their congregation," he added.

"The second notable thing was the unwavering determination of the Defenders of Faith group to prevent their church from being overtaken. Many of them were long-time, older members, grounded in their faith and their commitment to the church. They stepped out in faith, even when unsure of how they would fund their efforts, putting their money where their mouths were to protect what they believed was right. In the end, they won, and their story is documented."

In their statement, Summit Church's direction elders report that FBC leadership conducted a congregational vote in March 2024, with 97 votes in favor of the merger and 55 votes opposed. However, FBC members opposed to the merger and other interested parties filed legal action in state court to stop FBC from proceeding with the merger. They note that the lawsuit was brought against Faith Baptist Church, and The Summit Church was not a party to that legal proceeding.

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/summit-church-denies-it-attempted-takeover-of-nc-church.html