Who We Are
Our Team
Jeff Huber
Lead Pastor
About Jeff
Rev. Jeff Huber has been Lead Pastor at Summit Church in Durango since July of 2002. He holds a Masters in Divinity degree from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado and a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Pastor Jeff has also attended the Beeson Institute through Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He was ordained in the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in 1993 and served Collegiate United Methodist Church and Wesley Foundation in Ames, Iowa; Smoky Hill United Methodist Church in Centennial, Colorado; Calvary United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Wheat Ridge United Methodist Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado before coming to Summit in Durango.
While most of Pastor Jeffs family is from the Denver area, he spent much of his younger years in parts of California and Oregon. He graduated from Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California where he was also active in the youth group at Lafayette United Methodist Church. It was in that church that Jeff had his first preaching experience. The people of Lafayette UMC encouraged him to pursue ordained ministry and while he fought it for a while, God finally got a hold of him when he was active at the Wesley Foundation campus ministry while at CU Boulder.
Pastor Jeff’s passion is leading God’s church and God’s people towards a deeper faith that is relevant in today’s world. His hope and prayer is that we at Summit Church in Durango will pursue God with our whole heart and strive to be Jesus Christ to the world.
Jeff and his wife Tami have two children, Thomas and Vika.
Jake Forsythe
Next Steps Director
About Jake
Jake Forsythe felt a calling into ministry after completing a 2-year online Bible College program through Liberty University in 2006. He has served in various staff positions at Summit since 2007 and he currently serves as the Next Steps Director.Jake enjoys working closely with the staff and various lead teams here at the church and he has a passion to help people take their next step in their faith journey and really discover what it means to be part of a faith community in the local church. Jake is married to Carrie and they have three children Taylor, Noah, and Sutton, one granddaughter, Leah, and a son-in-law Andrew. Jake is a die-hard Denver Broncos fan and he loves playing golf, coaching baseball, camping, and spending time with his family and friends.
Stacey Franco
Creative Arts Director
About Stacey
Stacey moved from New Jersey to Durango in June 2017. She works as the church’s creative arts director, creating all things video and graphics. She graduated from the University of Valley Forge as a video production major.
In her spare time she loves to go see new movies, or stay home and watch old movies, or talk about movies…you get it. She also loves cooking. Italian dishes are her favorite to make. The more complicated a recipe is, the more fun it is. When she’s home, she enjoys the company of her two cats. She loves driving, road trips, and traveling. The only thing Durango is missing is a beach.
Robb Bourdon
Operations Director
About Robb
Robb has been a member of Summit Durango since 1992 and on staff since 2006. He grew up in Michigan as a diehard Notre Dame fan which he remains to this day. He and his wife, Amy, have three children: Chloe who is in her last year of graduate school in Flagstaff, AZ; Jacob who graduated last spring from CSU and is working in Cortez; and Zane who is a senior at Durango High School. Robb loves most sports, but especially football, baseball, and golf. He has been on several mission trips including New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Greensburg, KS, after a tornado hit the town, and Kenya to work with orphanages and widows. Finally, he likes to travel and has been to five of the seven continents as well as close to 40 of the 50 states.
Kelsey Scott
Student Ministry Director
About Kelsey
Kelsey Scott has been attending Summit Church since her freshman year at Fort Lewis College in 2015. She was involved in our Rooted College Ministry while at the Fort, and then was connected with volunteering in our youth group until she graduated in 2019. Kelsey has been a part of the staff at Summit since 2021 and has a passion for helping teens grow their faith and their friendships. She is married to Nathan Scott, and they have one wonderful daughter. Nathan helps lead worship from time to time so you might recognize him as well. In her free time she likes to spend time with her family, ski, and paint!
Julia Griffith
Director of Caring Ministries
About Julia
Julia Griffith joined our staff as the Director of Caring Ministries in July 2021. Julia has been deeply involved in church leadership and church life for the past fifteen years. Church has always been a second home to Julia, and the parishioners a second family. In fact, Julia loves church so much that she married a Methodist pastor!
Julia and her family moved to Durango from Birmingham, AL in June of 2020. She loves spending time with her husband Wade and their two boys, Wade (11) and Haines (10). In her spare time Julia enjoys watching movies, listening to funny podcasts, chatting with her sister, and spending time with friends. She looks forward to being a part of this church family where we can work together to love God and serve our community.
Jenny Wickett
Communications Coordinator
About Jenny
Jenny is excited to join the Summit staff as the Communications Coordinator! She grew up outside of Houston and moved to Durango in 2011 with her husband Nathan. They became members of Summit in 2012, and Jenny has served on the Buildings and Grounds committee as well as Directional Team since 2015. You probably recognize her from her favorite part of serving at Summit, singing on Praise Team. Jenny enjoys spending time with her husband traveling, playing golf, and at home with their dog and kitties.
Josh Mendrala
Young Adult & Worship Resident
About Josh
Joshua is the Coordinator Young Adult Ministry at Summit Church. Joshua has spent the last few years involved in ministry across Durango, serving as a worship leader and volunteering in youth ministry. After graduating from Fort Lewis College with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Writing, Joshua felt led to pour back into the college ministry that helped him rediscover his faith when he first moved to Durango. An avid writer, poet, musician, and lover of the outdoors, Joshua is excited to learn and be led by God in running our young adults and cannot wait to see how He moves in this ministry.
Ashleigh Ewing
Children's Ministry Director
About Ashleigh
Ashleigh Ewing was born and raised in Durango, Colorado. She has always had a passion for working with children. She began her working career in the nursery at Summit Church at the age of 12. Summit Church was a place that Ashleigh always considered a second home. She enjoyed working and attending youth group there for many years. She looks forward to making connections with young children and their families so they may have the same positive experience she did growing up.
Ashleigh graduated from Fort Lewis College with a degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. After graduating, Ashleigh worked at Summit Early Learning Center for 4 years before pursuing other interests in the work force. Ashleigh has young twin boys, Connor and Tanner, and has been fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom for the past couple years.
Ashleigh enjoys spending time with her husband and boys, hiking, reading, and hanging out with family and friends.
Shanti Shepherd
Early Learning Center Director
About Shanti
Shanti was born and raised in Durango. Over the course of her life, she has moved a few times, but Durango has always called her back. She attended Fort Lewis College and studied Elementary Education. During her time at FLC, she started working at SELC as an afternoon assistant teacher. She moved to California in 2015 and worked at an incredible center there. This further developed her love and passion for early childhood education. She moved back to Durango in early 2017 and came back to work at SELC as a preschool teacher. In 2018 she took the required college courses to become Director certified. After a year of study, she earned her Directors License and worked alongside Jeanette (former SELC Director) for the next 3 years in hopes of becoming the director when she retired.
Life throws curve balls though, and her plan didn’t work out quite the way she thought. Around the time her son was born (September 2021), her husband was given an incredible work opportunity in Arizona. They took the chance and moved away, but quickly realized the importance of being near family and moved back. She was thankful to be able to teach pre-k at SELC again. She’s enjoyed her time immensely as a preschool teacher and it has brought her so much joy over the years, but she is ready for a new opportunity. The time feels right for that transition, and she couldn’t be happier.
Shanti wants everyone to feel supported during this transition, and invites everyone to come to her for guidance, or with questions, concerns, input etc. She is very excited to get to know you all better. Please don’t hesitate to pop in and say hi or ask questions! She is looking forward to what this year has in store.
Janelle Meyer
Office & Finance Ministry Assistant
About Janelle
Janelle Meyer joined the staff at Summit Church in April 2020 and is the Office and Finance Assistant. Her role includes administrative tasks and working in the front office, as well as providing assistance to the Business Administrator. Janelle has lived in Durango since 2001 with her husband, Eric and their son and daughter, Luke and Grace. She has been a member of Summit Church since 2005 and currently serves on Mission Finance Team, as well as with Native Hope Ministry and Kenya Mission Teams. Janelle and her family enjoy hiking, camping, traveling, and enjoying the beautiful outdoors.
Georgia Stilwell
Thrift Shop Director
About Georgia
Georgia joined the staff team at Methodist Thrift Shop in November 2020. As the Operations Manager, her role is to provide leadership to the staff team, oversee storage logistics, and make sure the thrift shop is full, and operating smoothly.
Georgia is originally from Arizona and moved to Durango in 2019. Prior to finding the thrift shop, she worked in various different management roles in retail and in the hospitality industry. Notably, she also guided at two separate wilderness therapy companies where a strong desire to serve her immediate community was instilled within her. She feels passionately about the thrift shop’s mission: Building Community, Changing Lives, and Bringing Hope.
She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Parks and Recreation Management degree. She is able to put that degree to use in her spare time camping, backpacking, and hiking around Durango and the surrounding wilderness. In her spare time she enjoys thrifting and antiquing (yes, still!), reading, watching movies, tending to her jungle of houseplants, hanging out with friends, and cooking.
Sophia Hawthorne
Summit Kids Weekend Coordinator
About Sophia
Sophia is the Summit Kids Weekend Coordinator. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, she is now a student at Fort Lewis and is planning on getting her degree in geology with a GIS certificate. In the meantime, she has attended Rooted and Summit, and has loved getting to know the wonderful people there. Sophia loves hiking, fishing, birding, and anything to do with the outdoors. Having the opportunity to work with youth is so exciting for her because children have such a curiosity for the world around them, and they are so eager to learn about God’s love for them.
Katy Kopec
Serving Director
About Katy
Katy has loved God and loved others for many years. She is thrilled to do so in a new capacity as Serving Director at Summit Church! Katy and her 2 young children moved to Durango in 2017 expecting a “quiet life.” God had other plans, and they immediately met the love of her life, Mat Robbins. Katy and Mat married in 2020, creating a beautiful blended family, including five children. Katy is a speech pathologist and has worked primarily in medical settings for more than 20 years. Upon moving to Durango, God told her to build a boxing gym… and as it happened, Mat is a builder! The Good Fight Boxing Gym in Durango has been a beautiful ministry and community since 2019. Thanks to her husband’s insistence on beautiful details, it is also most certainly the only boxing gym featuring a timber frame heavy bag rack!
Understanding the power of community, Katy founded and facilitates a support group, here at Summit, for survivors of head and neck cancer. She is also honored to facilitate the Durango-area Parkinson’s support group. Service to others—her family, patients, or athletes, has been Katy’s life calling and great Joy. She can’t wait to help you find your great gladness serving with us at Summit Church
Kara Littleton
Administrative Specialist
About Kara
I was born in Durango, Colorado and grew up in Peru, South America as a Missionary Kid eventually making my way back to Durango in 2010 to raise my three boys, Owen, Gabe and Luke with my husband Matt. After being a homeschool Mom for fifteen plus years I joined the staff at Summit in 2024 and am working as an administrative specialist. My role includes administrative tasks and working in the front office as well as providing assistance to our various church ministries and managing the church schedule. Me and my family have had many ups and downs over the years but our deep love for the Lord and pouring that love out to others remains absolute. In my down time I enjoy hanging out with my family, being active, baking and hunting for great shows to watch with my husband. I look forward to not only working at Summit but becoming an active member here as well and getting to know everyone.
Courtney Ray
Childcare Coordinator
About Courtney
Courtney Ray (C-Ray) moved to Durango in 2013 after finishing up her Masters of Social Work from Metro State in Denver and wanting more of a small town vibe in her life. She works with children and families in her full-time role as a Child Welfare Supervisor for the county, and her heart for loving on and serving others is evident in many parts of her life. She loves Jesus, His story of redemption for all who come to Him, and the encouragement He offers to all who are struggling and searching. Courtney joined Summit Church in the Spring of 2021 and loves her small group, Soul Sisters. This is how she met Ashleigh and learned about an opportunity to help coordinate childcare for families! C-Ray loves to take walks, spoil her dog Loki, hike, workout, read, eat yummy food, make others laugh, watch movies, and car camp during the summer time.
CJ White
Facilities Manager
About CJ
CJ White has served as the Facilities Manager of the church since April 2010. She is responsible for maintaining all areas of the church property including the building and grounds.
Leadership
Summit Church is a part of the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church which has their headquarters in Denver, Colorado. The Directional Team is our local governing board and is made up of a chairperson, vice-chairperson, three reps that coordinate our finances, three reps that coordinate personnel, and three reps that coordinate building needs. They are all church members and meet monthly with the Lead Pastor and Operations Director to give direction to the business of the church and ensure we are leaning into our Mission, Strategic Vision, and Operational Values which you can find HERE. You can meet the Directional Team HERE. The church operates all business on a calendar year with leadership for all ministry teams being voted on by the congregation at the December/January Annual Charge Conference, which is an all-church meeting. This meeting is open to anyone who attends the church, and all members have a vote. Our current list of leadership teams and their members can be found HERE. The current church staff is led by a Lead Pastor and Senior Leadership Team. For contact information and a brief biography of our staff members, please see above.
Values, Mission, and Vision
(Updated February 2022)
The foundation of our church in Durango is built on a set of values listed below. There are three main values, with several sub-values named under each of those. Each value has a behavior attached to it, as well as Bible readings the value is drawn from. Finally, we have tough questions we ask ourselves to help us determine if we are living into these values. These values are meant to be looked at both as a church body and as individual followers of Jesus.
These foundational values undergird our –
MISSION – why we are here as a church – which is to:
Love God, Love others, and Share the Good News.
This mission enables us to live into our VISION:
to Be Jesus Christ to the World.
These foundational values undergird our Mission, why we are here as a church, to: Love God, Love Others, and Share the Good News. This Mission enables us to live into our Vision to Be Jesus Christ to the World. All our ministries and life together as a faith community is set up to live into this Mission and Vision as we seek to love God and others as we love ourselves.
Christ-Centered (Jesus Follower)
Following Jesus, and being willing to take up our cross, is central to being the presence of Jesus in the world. (Matthew 4:19-20; Matthew 16:24-26) When was the last time following Jesus made me uncomfortable? Am I willing to do difficult things to follow Jesus? Why or why not?
- Biblical: The Bible is the foundation of our faith and helps us understand who and whose we are. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Luke: 2:46-47) Is the Bible a key asset in my life? Do I use the Bible to sort through tough questions of life faith?
- Spiritual Experience: We are a community dedicated to prayer and worship. (Philippians 4:6-7; Acts 2:42 and 47; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; James 5:16) Are daily prayer and regular worship a priority?
- Global Service: We will be intentional members of a global community. (Mark 10:45, Matthew 23: 11-12 and Romans 12:4-5) How do we serve in our local community and the world beyond Durango?
Grace
We will live out the love of Christ in ways that connect with those with spiritual questions.(Matthew 5: 46-47, 7:1-5 and 7-12, 28:19-20; John 20:21-23) When was the last time I had a meaningful conversation with someone who doesn’t believe as I do? What questions do they have that I need to hear?
- Emotional Health: We will be intentional about spiritual growth and have honest accountability. (John 13: 34-35, Hebrews 10: 23-25, John 15: 9-17) Who are companions with us on our spiritual journey? To whom are we accountable for our daily walk?
- Compassionate Hearts: We care for those who are hurting. (James 5: 13-16; Luke 13:10-13; Mark 10:45) When and how do we help those in our family and community in need?
- Humility: We acknowledge we don’t have it all together and work to know the difference between self-confidence and pride. (Matthew 20:16, 26-27; James 4:6-10; Philippians 2:3-8; Proverbs 11:2) When was the last time I added value to another person? Do I demand my own way or am I willing to give myself away?
Relevance
We are committed to being vibrant and culturally relevant for all generations. (Colossians 4:5-6, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; Acts 15:8-11 and Luke 15) How do I see God moving in our world in ways I might have missed? Have I listened to the important concerns of individuals outside the church?
- Intergenerational: We will invest in the lives of future generations. (Scripture: Proverbs 22:6; Mark 10: 13-16) When was the last time I had a conversation with someone 20 years younger? Or older?
- Honesty: Our honesty reflects our character and is a way to show our faith. (Matthew 5:8; John 8:32; 1 John 3:18; Proverbs 21:3) Am I honest about my mistakes and do I own them? Am I willing to look at what is truly happening in the world around me AND what is going on inside me?
Modern Services
Saturday – 5:30PM
Sunday – 9:00AM
Sunday – 10:30AM
These services feature a full band playing many of the newest worship songs that are playing on the radio.
Classic Service
Sunday – 11:55AM
These services feature a full choir along with the timeless hymns of the faith. Feel free to sing along and express yourself in worship.