About gslc
The Church
Our History
Gracious Savior Church had our first service on April 1, 1984. Our founding pastor was Dan Rohlwing, and our services started at Battle Mountain High School. After a few years, our original Sanctuary was built.
Now over forty years have passed, and our facility has grown, our staff has changed, and our mission has developed. In 2006 Pastor Jason Haynes and his family moved to the valley. For the last twenty years he has been the pastor of this church, faithfully serving its members and community.
In 2017, Matthew Pontifes, the worship director and High School Youth minister was welcomed as an intern. In 2018, Josh Weiser followed as the Kids and Outreach Director. During COVID, Gracious Savior suspended in person worship for a short time, but continued to offer communion and online service.
After a summer of outdoor worship, we resumed our normal worship format. In the past years this church has seen growth, births, deaths, and much change, but continues to draw all people to our Lord and Gracious Savior, Jesus Christ.
Mission & Vision
Our Mission
Vision
We love each other by fostering a community of service, encouragement, belonging, and by identifying and meeting the spiritual needs of our community.
We love all people by engaging in outreach programs and missions, by inviting and welcoming those who feel far from God into an experience with God and His people.
Core Values and Beliefs
Proclamation of the Gospel: God loves you! Our most important calling is not to convince you of God’s love, or to explain it to you, or to turn you into a better person. Our primary purpose is to boldly declare that God loves you! Week in and week out, we are committed to encouraging your identity in Christ, an identity that He firmly established in His death and resurrection, and in your baptism.
Faithfulness to God’s Word: We want to Love Jesus by Loving God’s word. This means our sermons and teachings are firmly rooted in an orthodox interpretation of scripture. We believe our Lutheran ideals give us an excellent perspective on the Bible: It points to how we had no way to God, and He made a way through Jesus Christ.
Love and Respect: We don’t kick people out. We don’t gossip from the pulpit our encourage it among members. We don’t shame people for their differences, mistakes, or stories. We welcome all people, and love them where they are. While our sermons are often challenging, and call us to a higher standard of living as God’s chosen people, they are never without grace, never without love. We also do not wade into controversy, politics, or current issues lightly. We are committed to loving God’s flock, both those who are comfortable in His church, and those who feel far away from it.
Simplicity and Strength: We are proud of who we are, and who we are called to be. Our services are not flashy or complex, our mission is simple and leans into our strengths. This church feels like a family, not alike a country club or a concert.
All People, All Ages: We have people in their 80s and 90s, and babies who are 8 and 9 months. Young families, single people, retired, divorced, newly married, career-oriented, between jobs, skiers, snowboarders, bikers, those who have plenty and those trying to just get by. We make sure that no matter who you are or what your story is that you feel welcomed, and that this church can be your family too.
Staff
Jason haynes
Pastor
Jason.gracioussaviorchurch@gmail.com
Jason comes grew up in Southern California, where he attended a Lutheran church and school throughout his childhood. He went on to attend Concordia University, Nebraska, in the bustling metropolis of Seward. It was there that he met his amazing wife, Heather.
After graduating, Jason and Heather married and moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where Jason attended seminary. He graduated from seminary in 1999 and received his first call to a church in Rancho Cucamonga, California, where he served as one of the pastors for several years while beginning to raise his family.
In 2006, Jason accepted a call to Gracious Savior and moved with his family to the Gypsum area. Living in the mountains and sharing Jesus with people from all over the world who come to visit the valley is one of his greatest joys.
Jason and Heather have three grown children who are pursuing careers of their own, as well as a granddaughter.
Jason enjoys great movies and books, football, and podcasts about sports and history.
His strengths in ministry are a special ability to see those who are hurting or lost, having a story for almost any situation, and, above all, a desire to make it all about Jesus.
Matthew Pontifes
Youth and Worship
Matthew.gracioussaviorchurch@gmail.com
Matthew Pontifes grew up in Pearland, Texas, and attended a performing arts high school in inner-city Houston. He later chose to attend Concordia University Texas in Austin, where he pursued a degree in religious education with a specialization in youth ministry.
It was at Concordia that Matthew met Josh and, more importantly, encountered the gospel and discovered God’s grace and love in a profound way. His four years of college were transformative, taking him from someone who was shy and often worried about whether people—or even God—would accept him for who he was, to someone who truly believes in the love and grace of God because he has experienced it for himself.
After graduating from Concordia, Matthew was called to Gracious Savior as part of a graduate internship. He moved to Colorado in 2018 knowing very little about life in the mountains or the Vail Valley. Since then, he has fallen in love with his work, the place he calls home, and the people with whom he gets to share life.
Matthew’s passions include music, biking, skiing, family, friends, and feel-good TV shows.
His strengths in ministry are a loving and caring heart, meaningful moments in worship, and meeting students of all ages exactly where they are.
Joshua Weiser
Kids and Outreach
Josh.gracioussaviorchurch@gmail.com
Josh Weiser grew up in Hutto, a small town just outside of Austin, Texas. His father is a Lutheran pastor at Point of Grace Church in Pflugerville, and Josh grew up surrounded by the life of the church. Because of his family and several mentors who helped shape his faith, Josh developed a deep appreciation for ministry leaders and for the importance of authentic faith.
Josh originally planned to attend a dramatic conservatory in New York for college, but God led him in a different direction. Instead, he studied ministry and theology at Concordia University Texas, where he met Matthew.
During college, Josh spent his summers working at adventure camps in Colorado and completed an internship in Knoxville before taking an internship in Chicago, in Alsip, Illinois. It was during that time that he met his wife, Jessica. At the end of that internship, he took a second internship at Gracious Savior. Since then, he has become full-time staff, married Jessica, and welcomed two sons.
Josh loves working with the kids at Gracious Savior and using the unique experiences, gifts, pain, and joys God has given him to help others.
His passions include tabletop role-playing games, talking about excellent movies, books, and games, creative projects, and spending time with his family.
His strengths in ministry include teaching biblical and scriptural concepts that help people appreciate God’s love more deeply, studying and applying spiritual formation in contexts such as discipleship and recovery, and using his creative gifts to create media including podcasts, videos, and dramatic works.