~ Rich Hurst
This article was originally published in PCJH’s Fall / Winter 2025 Pinnacle, “Life Together”
On a Winter morning when I’m in Jackson Hole, there’s nothing I enjoy more than hiking up Snow King. There’s something about that early light reflecting off the snow, the quiet breath of trees, and the rhythmic sound of boots climbing that creates space to listen, not just to the wind, but to God. There have been times when my friend and PCJH member Jeff Hussey has helped me reach the top by carrying not only his skis but mine as well. At the summit, when skis clip in and I look back down the trail, I feel so grateful for the climb. PCJH is on a similar path upward, sometimes challenging, rarely predictable, but guided by shared purpose and grace-filled momentum. Vision, like climbing, isn’t about speed; it’s about moving forward together, sometimes on your own, sometimes with help from others.
Every climb begins with a decision to step forward into something challenging but full of promise. That’s how PCJH’s visioning process started: with intentional listening. The first step was to conduct a survey, inviting everyone interested to share their input on fifteen key areas within the church, including the current vision, worship services, leadership, finances, outreach, relationships, biblical education, innovation, and willingness to change. This act of listening was crucial; it didn’t assume answers but created space for discovery. Just as a climber doesn’t rush the ascent without first surveying the path and preparing for the journey, PCJH took time to gather voices, longtime members, new families, staff, and ministry partners. Through listening groups, staff reflections, and community conversations, a pattern appeared. Beneath the programs and ministries was a longing: to live out our faith more clearly, courageously, and together.
Like cresting a ridge and glimpsing the summit ahead, what emerged from this process or effort is what we now call PCJH’s True North: a clarified mission and vision, a renewed set of core values, and five strategic priorities that will guide us through the next season. The vision is centered around a powerful phrase: Life Together. That phrase now defines our calling in this place. It’s more than a slogan; it’s a theological stance and a relational invitation to become the kind of church that mirrors Christ’s body: unified, diverse, honest, and faithful. Life Together urges us to resist isolation, consumerism, and fragmentation. Instead, we embrace a deeper sense of belonging, cultivated through worship, service, and community.
The first retreat was like setting our boots at the trailhead, looking at where we’ve come from, and reaffirming the footing we stand on. During this gathering, we explored the core values of PCJH, not as abstract ideals but as lived expressions of who we are when we’re at our best. Through storytelling exercises, we unearthed themes of Spirit-filled worship, Christ-centered discipleship, life-giving relationships, and an outward-focused mission. These values aren’t new, they’ve long been part of PCJH’s DNA, but in reaffirming them together, we gained clarity and energy for the journey ahead. In climbing terms, we located our basecamp.
In the second retreat, we turned our eyes upward and asked: where is God leading us? We reaffirmed our vision and mission statements, rediscovering our telos, our compelling future. “To see lives being transformed in Jesus Christ” became not only a destination but a measure of the journey itself. And our mission, “Rooted in Christ, Reaching out in Love”, reminded us that strength and service must go hand-in-hand. This retreat helped PCJH name what matters most and realign around our purpose.
By the third retreat, we were ready to begin climbing. This time, we identified five strategic priorities, our routes forward, and began to consider how to affirm current teams and assemble Leadership Implementation Teams (LITs) for the new areas to guide the way. These priorities, worship, discipleship, relationships, families, and mission, represent trail segments we’ll walk together. Each team takes responsibility for dreaming, planning, and building short-term goals that support the long-term vision. This final retreat didn’t mark the end of the journey, but the beginning of faithful movement. Like any good climb, it required courage, cooperation, and trust in God’s sustaining strength.
Life Together also reminds us that the church is not a product we consume but a people we become. In a world increasingly shaped by division, polarization, and distraction, the local church can become a rare place of unity, presence, and purpose. It’s where children and elders bless one another, where hard questions are welcomed in love, and where grace is practiced across political, cultural, and generational lines. Life Together is how we witness to the world that there is a better way, a kingdom way, rooted not in fear, but in Christ.
The five strategic priorities: Spirit-filled Worship, Christ-centered Discipleship, Life-giving Relationships, Strengthening Families, and Outward-focused Mission, are not just signposts. They are established routes forward. Each is being stewarded by a session leadership team or a Leadership Implementation Team (LIT), equipped like experienced climbers ready to test footholds, adjust plans, and lead others with wisdom. These teams, which include existing ones and new ones comprising staff, lay leaders, elders, and community partners, are discerning, experimenting, and leading the way in turning vision into reality. With a 12-month focus and rhythms of reviewing progress, the LIT teams ensure we move with purpose, not pressure.
The LIT process connects strategic priorities to community. Like a group hike where everyone shares the load, each ministry focuses on relational leadership and next steps for action. The Wilderness Ministry team, for example, is planning events that combine nature and spiritual depth, offering not just adventure but transformation. The Worship team is trying out formats to make services both reverent and welcoming. The Discipleship team is developing accessible, engaging pathways for growth. And our Partnerships team is building stronger connections with organizations like Centro de Vida. Throughout all this, we’re not climbing alone; we find joy in the shared journey.
What makes this journey different is the spirit behind it. This isn’t a climb motivated by fear of decline; it’s driven by spiritual vitality. We’ve focused not on doing more but on becoming more, more faithful, more courageous, more connected. Staff alignment around the values of worship, discipleship, relationships, and mission has transformed the atmosphere we breathe. Like a climbing team learning to move with one heartbeat, the staff and congregation are growing toward unity, not uniformity, but deep, Spirit-led agreement.
This Pinnacle issue outlines the plan, but the path forward will be built through acts of faith. Life Together isn’t just a concept; it’s a discipline, a rhythm of shared journeying. Like the Snow King trail, the path ahead is filled with switchbacks and peaks, pauses and pushes. But as we climb, step by step, with joy and determination, we become a community shaped by grace, rooted in Scripture, and united in Christ. Vision isn’t about forecasting the future. It’s about recognizing what God is already developing among us and choosing to move forward together.
As someone who has walked alongside your leadership team, I see a church not only full of history and faithfulness, but also potential. You are a people who know the value of place, beauty, and community. And you are also a people willing to grow, to climb. Vision is a gift, but living it takes courage. And I see that courage among you. May this season be one not only of strategy but of deep spiritual renewal, where each person finds their step in the ascent.
The Apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:20–21 capture this hope perfectly: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” These verses remind us that our vision is never limited to what we can plan or predict. Our job is not to control outcomes but to trust the God who does immeasurably more, more grace, more transformation, more unity than we dare dream.
When we walk forward in Life Together, we are not simply implementing strategies; we are joining in the generational story of God’s faithfulness. Paul reminds us that God’s glory is seen through the church, not just in one moment, but throughout all generations.’ This isn’t just our climb, it’s our turn in the relay of faith. We walk paths forged by those before us, and we now blaze trails for those to come. And ultimately, it’s not about our strength, cleverness, or resources. It’s about ‘his power at work within us.’ That power doesn’t just help us climb; it transforms us along the way. It opens our imaginations, shapes our desires, and gives us the courage to keep ascending, even when the weather turns or the path gets steep. Our job is to keep stepping. God’s promise is to meet us and lead us every step of the way. ✝