HOMESTEAD— This Christmas season Summit Church in Homestead not only raised funds for local missions but helped 90 families in need bring Christmas joy home through donated Christmas trees.

Trees for Hope is a ministry of Summit Church in Homestead that raises funds for disaster relief and local missions by selling freshly cut Christmas trees and wreaths each holiday season. Since 2016, trees are shipped directly from a small farm in North Carolina and set up at a lot hosted by Heritage Market on Krome Avenue. The tree lot opens on Thanksgiving Day and remains open until every tree is sold.

This year, the 720 trees sold out completely in less than two weeks.

Alex Pecina, Summit Church pastor, says that the ministry started in 2016 with an order of 150 trees and the desire to raise funds for people in the community who had been affected by the hurricanes and tropical storms that year.

Pecina, a Florida native, recalls how hurricane Andrew devastated his community after making landfall as a category 5 hurricane in 1992, becoming one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history. When the Red Cross showed up to help with recovery, 8-year-old Pecina witnessed the hope and relief the community felt. Through the funds raised from Trees for Hope, Pecina wants to bring the hope of the Gospel and relief found in Christ to those facing hardship after devastation.

Christmas tree shoppers had two ways of joining the mission. They could add a donated tree during check out or drop by to purchase a tree specifically to donate without no purchase for themselves necessary.

In the past, funds raised through Trees for Hope have supported disaster relief efforts in the Florida Keys, the Florida Panhandle, Southwest Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. In addition to disaster response, proceeds have benefited local nonprofit organizations, schools, and homeless outreach efforts in the Homestead area.

This year, the ministry was also able to provide free Christmas trees to 90 families in the local community, ensuring that households facing financial hardship could still celebrate the season.

Volunteers from Summit Church staffed the tree lot throughout the season, helping customers, accepting donations, and engaging with neighbors. For Summit Church, the Trees for Hope ministry as a simple but meaningful way to build relationships and demonstrate Christ’s love in practical ways.

“We are grateful for everyone who came out, bought a tree, donated, served under the tent, and showed up with so much heart,” church leaders shared in a message to the community. “Your generosity truly makes a difference.”