Dillon Community Church considers itself a home for locals, seasonal vacationers and visitors. The nondenominational Christian church started in the Old Dillon Schoolhouse in 1913, according to head pastor Jim Howard, before it was moved ahead of the planned flooding that created Dillon Reservoir.

An A-frame building placed next to the schoolhouse after the move housed the church from the 1960s to 2002, when the church built its current facility on the same site. 

Howard said the church, with around 220 members, sees 3,000-5,000 total visitors a year, with attendance fluctuating through the seasons. 

The evangelical church has a “statement of faith” that outlines core evangelical Christian beliefs, like belief in the Trinity.

“Anything outside of that basic theology, we agree to disagree,” Howard said. “We can have fun discussions about it. We can tease each other, and we can laugh.”

The church describes its attitude toward differing beliefs in its congregation with the statement: “In essentials — Unity; In non-essentials — Freedom; In all things — Charity.” 

Howard said members are unified on essential beliefs, free to believe different things outside of those issues and encouraged to act with charity, or love, in all matters. A key belief in the church is the importance of showing people love.

“Jesus summed up the law of Moses in two commands: love God and love people,” Howard said. “Paul basically said loving people is at the heart of the law, and that’s what God desired from us.”

Howard said the church shows people love in many ways, including ministries. The church has Bible studies; men’s, women’s, children’s and student groups; and groups that Howard said are less about having religious discussions and more about spending time with one another, like hiking, skiing and offroading groups.

Christian theology encourages environmentalism, Howard said, because people should care for and enjoy God’s creation. 

“At one level, we have things like LED lighting and recycling,” Howard said. “On the other level, we love to get out into (nature) and play. I mean, we live in the High Country of Colorado. We’d be crazy not to get out and play.”

Dillon Community Church also looks to love people through programs like its food bank and benevolence group, which Howard said serves 3,000-4,500 meals and donates $75,000 to $110,000 per year, respectively.

Sunday services at the church are a “journey,” Howard said, that bring people together through worship. It starts with “fun” — like music, poetry or drama — for a half hour. Howard then preaches for around 30 minutes, the congregation gives offerings and, lastly, they take communion.

“Then people hang around,” Howard said. “We eat cookies and coffee, and people talk.”

More information about Dillon Community Church can be found at DillonChurch.org.

This story originally published in the Best Of Summit 2025 magazine.