Our leadership

Meet our pastor, elders & staff

Summit Life is led by a team of elders who shepherd the church, and served by staff who equip our church family for ministry. Get to know the people who’d love to know you.

Lead Pastor · Elder

Tim Howe

Tim has spent more than three decades serving churches, developing leaders, supporting pastors, and helping congregations grow in health and mission. He is passionate about helping people follow Jesus, strengthening the local church, and equipping pastors and leaders for faithful ministry.

In April 2026, Tim began serving Summit Life Church as interim pastor. During that season, the Lord began working in the hearts of Tim and his wife, Kim, giving them a growing love for the Summit Life family and a clear sense of God’s calling. In October 2026, Tim was called to serve as Summit Life Church’s Lead Pastor.

Email Pastor Tim Listen to a recent sermon

Ministry experience

Pastored churches in Texas and California and served internationally in North Africa and France.

Northwest ministry

For more than a decade, served pastors and churches throughout the Pacific Northwest through the Northwest Baptist Convention, with a focus on church planting, pastoral support, and revitalization.

Education

East Texas Baptist University · Master of Divinity · Master of Theology in Biblical Studies · Doctor of Ministry studies at Gateway Seminary

Family

Tim and Kim have been married for more than 26 years and have three grown children. They have called Federal Way home for more than a decade.

Elders

An elder-led church

Summit Life is led by biblically qualified elders who provide spiritual oversight, direction, and accountability for the church and its ministries. Following 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, our elders teach sound doctrine, pray for the flock, and care for the souls entrusted to them.

“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight…” 1 Peter 5:2

Tim Howe

Lead Pastor · Elder

Called as lead pastor in October 2026 after more than three decades of serving churches and pastors.

Adam Bradley

Elder

Part of Summit Life since 2023, and often up front with the worship team.

Elder

Adam Bradley

Adam, his wife, Heather, and their daughter, Evelyn, have been part of Summit Life since 2023. Jesus saved Adam as a young teenager through a church plant in Florida, and Heather came to faith in her 30s. Both have served in church music ministries for years and love seeing the arts used in worship. You’ll often see Adam playing with the worship team. He holds a doctorate in computer science from Boston University, works as a principal software engineer, and is usually reading several books at once on theology and public life, though chase games, children’s books, and coloring with Evelyn now rightly take priority.

Bryan Schmit

Elder

Part of Summit Life from the very beginning, and a Sammamish neighbor for more than twenty years.

Elder

Bryan Schmit

Bryan and his wife, Karen, have lived in Sammamish for more than twenty years and have two children. Their family has been part of Summit Life from the very beginning. Bryan served as an elder at Essential Church, which helped launch Summit Life and joined our church family when the two churches merged in 2019. Bryan and Karen have a heart for hospitality, for building community, and for helping students grow closer to Jesus through leading Young Life at Skyline High School.

Dirk Simon

Elder

Part of Summit Life since 2021, serving with our prayer and care ministries.

Elder

Dirk Simon

Dirk and his wife, Nedra, have lived in Issaquah since 1984. Nedra has developed and led hospitality ministries over the years. Dirk served on the elder boards of two small churches before joining the Summit Life elders, and he has served in a variety of teaching roles along the way. At Summit Life he has primarily been involved with our prayer and care teams.

Zach VanWestrienen

Elder

Came to Summit Life in 2019, and can often be found teaching, preaching, or playing guitar with the worship team.

Elder

Zach VanWestrienen

Zach and his wife, Annabelle, live in Carnation with their two young sons. Zach came to Summit Life in 2019, when Essential Church, where he had served as youth pastor, folded into Summit Life as it closed. He and Annabelle were married in 2023, and Zach became an elder in the summer of 2026. Zach was not raised in the faith and called himself an atheist until the Lord brought him to Christ as a teenager, redeeming him out of a life lived entirely for himself. He has been a passionate defender of the faith ever since. Zach leads a restaurant team at Chick-fil-A in Kirkland, and both there and at Summit Life his heart is for discipleship and leadership: teaching the Word, discipling men, strengthening families, and building community through the Life Group he co-leads.

Staff & ministry leaders