Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/736680
M REV. DR. JIM HOWARD IS SENIOR PASTOR OF DILLON COMMUNITY CHURCH IN DILLON, COLORADO. HE FORMERLY SERVED AS VP OF ADVANCEMENT AT DENVER SEMINARY. HE TEACHES ANNUALLY IN SCHOOLS IN KATHMANDU, NEPAL, AND MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE. HE ALSO SERVES AS AN ADJUNCT PROFESSOR IN THE LEADERSHIP AND DMIN PROGRAMS AT DENVER SEMINARY. HE IS A GRADUATE OF REGIS UNIVERSITY (MBA) AND DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY (THM AND PHD). May 2016 marked my third anniversary as senior pastor of Dillon Community Church (DCC) in Dillon, Colorado. Summit County is a remarkable place to live. By certain measurements, we are in heaven! Life is lived par excellence. The skiing is abundant and fast. The sailing is beautiful and relaxing. The hiking and biking are strenuous and spectacular. DCC is unique as well. While we only have about 230 members, we have an abundance of visitors every year. One thousand people come to hear about Jesus on Christmas Eve. Six hundred come every Sunday to the amphitheater during the summer to enjoy "Worship on the Water." Every Saturday the DCC Jeep Club conquers another trail to explore heaven on earth. The men's and women's hiking and skiing groups enjoy weekly activities outside in creation. But below the veneer lies unimaginable desper- ation. Broken relationships. Unfaithfulness. Abusive and addictive behaviors. Greed. Loneliness. Longings that never seem to be fulfilled. Chased dreams that are never as good as the fantasy. Our perfect culture and perfect church are only a mirage. Upon arriving at DCC, I realized the church had lost its vision to some degree. As with many churches, many at DCC had retreated behind the security of a consistent Sunday experience and close fellowship of relationships. This only increased with the onslaught of cultural changes: the legalization of marijuana and gay marriage, increased hostility toward Christians, and more. Many didn't know what to do in a county where only seven percent profess to be Protestant. Their courage was slowly slipping. This situation is exactly why Christ came—to redeem the lost. He didn't come merely for lost unbelievers, but also for Christians who have lost their way. As a way of mentoring my church, in my first year as pastor, I asked the elders and staff to read Chris Wright's The Mission of God's People. We began to develop a language to recapture both our vision and courage. In my second year, we read Holly Allen and Christine Lawton Ross's Intergenerational Christian Formation: Bringing the Whole Church Together in Ministry and Community and Worship. We began to develop better strategies to bring our people together intergenerationally, to mentor and meet the needs of our young singles, couples, and families. During the entire process—with the help of Dr. Don Payne, Dr. Betsy Nesbit Sbanotto, and others—we have developed healthier theology in a variety of categories, including retirement, benevolence needs, gender and sexuality, missional living, and more. As we grow, DCC is doing a better and better job of reaching beyond— and within—our walls to fulfill the mission of God in Summit County and around the world. ENGAGE 15 MENTORING Digital Vision/Photodisc marekuliasz/iStock MENTORING A CHURCH CONGREGATION Reaching beyond—and within— the walls of the church.