The Jesus Climb: Journeying from Student to Disciple

We cannot heal our broken world until we are transformed into the kind of people who are capable of loving God and neighbor as Jesus did―the kind of people he called “disciples.”

“Gradually, very gradually, we saw the great mountain sides and glaciers . . . until far higher in the sky than imagination had dared suggest the white summit of Everest appeared.” ―George Mallory, 1924 Everest Climbing Leader

The Jesus Climb crafts the quest to climb the world’s tallest mountain into a parable illustrating how Jesus trained his first students to summit the world’s greatest commandment.

Like George Mallory peering too low on the horizon to see Everest’s peak towering above him, the lack of Christlikeness in modern Christianity stems from our inability to imagine the impossible heights to which Jesus calls us―becoming the kind of person who can love God and neighbor with everything within us.

The Jesus Climb draws upon the teachings and example of Jesus and insights from the lives of some of history’s greatest spiritual climbers to map out eight “expedition camps” through which Jesus guides every student seeking to become a disciple capable of joining him in his mission to heal a broken world.

Gary David Stratton (BA, Wheaton College; MA, PhD, Talbot School of Theology) is a leading expert in the spiritual formation of students in educational settings. A Senior Fellow for the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), Gary cofounded the Future of Hope youth theology institute and the award-winning website TwoHandedWarriors.com. Gary and his wife, Dr. Sue Stratton, have served as church planters, youth pastors, campus ministers, administrators, and professors at twelve schools in the United States and China. Gary is currently Professor of Spiritual Formation and Cultural Leadership and Dean of School of Arts and Sciences at Johnson University.