At our Congregational Meeting on January 12, 2025, we extended a call to our new Co-Pastor and eventual Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Peter Dunn. Peter joins us from Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Redondo Beach, where he has been head pastor for the past seven years. He brings a wealth of leadership experience and a deep commitment to faith.
We are confident that Peter is the shepherd God has chosen for us. He is uniquely qualified to help us live out our mission of “becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”
TIMELINE
January 21, 2024 - Pastor Mike announces his retirement.
January 28, 2024 - Congregational Meeting - The 2024 Nominating Committee is approved and asked to form the Co-Pastor Nominating Committee (CPNC)
February 4, 2024 - All nominations for the CPNC are due to the Nominating Committee by this date.
March 17, 2024 - Congregational Meeting to approve the Co-Pastor Nominating Committee
December 13, 2024 - CPNC announces that they are recommending a candidate for approval.
January 12, 2025 - Congregational Meeting for Candidate Peter Dunn to be presented to congregation for approval.
February 23, 2025 - Pastor Mike's Retirement Celebration Sunday
March 16, 2025 - Peter Dunn is installed (if approved by congregation)
March 31, 2025 - Pastor Mike's End Date
CO-PASTOR SEARCH PROCESS
- [COMPLETED] Nominating Committee discerns members for Co-Pastor Nominating Committee (CPNC)
- [APPROVED] Congregation votes at specially called Congregational Meeting to approve CPNC
- [COMPLETED] Session finalizes and posts Ministry Discernment Profile (MDP)
- [COMPLETED] CPNC interviews and vets candidates
- [COMPLETED] CPNC recommends a nominee and presents them to the congregation
- [COMPLETED] Congregation votes to approve nominee
- [MARCH 16, 2025] Peter Dunn is installed as Co-Pastor
- [MARCH 1 - 31, 2025] Peter Dunn serves alongside Pastor Mike for a period of time as Co-Pastors
- [MARCH 31, 2025] Mike retires; Peter Dunn becomes the new Senior Pastor
Top Row: Lori Clarke (co-chair), Judy Enns (co-chair), Jeff Creighton, Danielle Kruger
Bottom Row: Ramiro Marchena, Cara Miller, David Southcombe, Julie Watts
During this process, please pray with us using the following prayer:
Father God, we praise you for your wisdom, your sovereignty and your generosity. We thank you that you have been so faithful and good to our congregation for the past eight decades--through transitions, celebrations and challenges. We ask you to guide us in our search for a co-pastor. Give us our co-pastor nominating committee and our congregation wisdom, clarity and courage in this process of discernment. May we know your heart and your mind and faithfully follow your will as we take the next right step in this process. We pray for the CPNC members to listen to your voice and follow your lead. We pray for our congregation to be faithful in prayer, giving and participation in our life together. We pray for our staff and church leadership as they navigate this season of change and transition. We love you and we trust you and we look forward to all you have for us and for your glory and honor. In Jesus' name, Amen
CPNC Updates
January 8, 2025
As your Co-pastor Nominating Committee (CPNC), we are thrilled to unanimously present Rev. Dr. Peter Dunn as our candidate for Co-Pastor and the next Senior Pastor/Head of Staff. Peter joins us from Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Redondo Beach, where he has been head pastor for the past seven years. He brings a wealth of leadership experience and a deep commitment to faith.
We are confident that Peter is the shepherd God has chosen for us. He is uniquely qualified to help us live out our mission of “becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”
In Peter’s own words: “As beloved children of God, we are called to pursue God with faithfulness and devotion, to partner with the Spirit, and to bring God’s kingdom to fruition here on Earth. We are called to live as Christ in a community with all people. We are called to be the Church, followers of our Lord and Savior, in every place and in every time, remembering that God has promised to be with us always, even to the end of the age.”
We conducted a thorough search process with prayer and guidance from God at every step. Isaiah 41:10 provided strength and comfort, while Larry Warner’s book, “Discernment, God’s Will & Living Jesus: Christian Discernment as a Way of Life” offered a framework for Christian discernment and recognizing God’s voice.
Our call from the congregation was to seek a Senior Pastor who would lead with energy and humility and help us continue as a transformational church for our members, friends, and neighbors. After receiving and reviewing over 50 applicants from across the U.S., it became clear that God was leading us to Peter, and, equally important, God was leading Peter and his family to us!
"Like SBPC, I believe the love of Jesus is on display when we express our faith in action within the community. I strive to enter, demonstrate, and proclaim God’s kingdom in all aspects of my life and ministry." - Peter Dunn
We invite you to warmly welcome Peter and his family into our community. Your support and prayers will be invaluable as he and his family transition into this new ministry calling.
December 13, 2024
The CPNC is thrilled to announce that they have discerned a final candidate to enthusiastically present to our congregation as the person God is calling to become our next senior pastor. Here are the next steps.
Congregational Meeting - January 12, 2025 at 11:30am
Session has called a special Congregational Meeting on January 12 immediately following the worship service. The week before the meeting an information packet will be sent out to the congregation including the candidate’s background and family, education and experience, and sense of call to SBPC. The Co-Pastor Nominating Committee will present their recommendation and the candidate will preach in the worship service. The congregation will have the opportunity to ask questions and vote on the candidate’s terms of call at the meeting. The congregation will hear Session’s proposed timeline, including the new pastor’s start date and installation date, and Pastor Mike’s retirement celebration and anticipated end date of March 31, 2025. In addition, the 2025 Nominating Committee will be approved.
The Time of Transition
We understand that this is a significant time of transition for both our church and the candidate's current church. We are unable to share any further details about the candidate until the news is shared with the candidate’s church in early January. The confidentiality of this process is extremely important to prepare us all for a smooth and mutually beneficial process. We kindly ask for your patience and understanding. Please continue to pray for God's guidance as we move forward.
A word from Pastor Mike
Dear Church Family,
This news from the CPNC is exciting. I’d like to remind us of where we have been in this process, and the next steps moving forward.
It was just one year ago this week that Session and I began talking about my retirement and the idea of a co-pastor model to provide a transition to my retirement. A month later the congregation affirmed this process and asked the nominating committee to select a co-pastor nominating committee. In March of last year the congregation empowered the CPNC to gather names, interview candidates and discern together the candidate who would become the next senior pastor of SBPC.
At the congregational meeting in September, the CPNC shared their enthusiasm for the process, the teamwork and the candidates they had interviewed. They asked for our prayers and patience. In November the CPNC leadership met with Session to share with us the news that they had a final candidate. The terms of call were finalized and we began planning the timeline for the new pastor and my retirement.
Having met with the candidate and talked with the CPNC about their process, I’m very excited about these next steps of the transition. As soon as the candidate is approved we will begin our formal transition period. We will have time to share in leadership and worship, and I will continue to pass on important information about the SBPC vision, mission and strategy and introduce the new pastor to the amazing teams of lay leadership and staff with whom I have had the privilege to serve.
This news makes my retirement and the transition even more real to all of us. I remember the deep sense of call we shared twenty-two years ago this week when I preached my candidating sermon at SBPC! I am so grateful for this last year. We have journeyed together with gratitude and grief, hope and faith as we took one step at a time. There will be time for us to celebrate and remember—for now, let’s continue to trust God and each other in the process and do everything we can to pray, serve and support each other.
In Christ,
Pastor Mike McClenahan
June 14, 2024
CPNC continues to be grateful for the outpouring of prayer support for its work. As we enter the next phase of our co-pastor search discernment and activity, guided by the Holy Spirit we ask for clarity, humility, and wisdom for sound call seeker and process decisions. We ask that God continue to lead those call seekers on whose hearts He is laying this call to us and that we with humility faithfully consider them.
May 24, 2024
CPNC is grateful for the outpouring of prayer support for its work. We have spent the last several weeks in discernment using Larry Warner’s book, “Discernment, God’s Will & Living Jesus,” committed to Christian discernment as our way of working together. We are shaping and refining processes for responding to call seekers, using the Ministry Profile developed by SBPC’s session. We are trusting God, trusting each other, and trusting the Holy Spirit will guide our processes and mutual discernment as we will interact with those who are sensing a call to potentially pastor our congregation.
April 12, 2024
Our team has begun to meet regularly and we are engaging with our roles and responsibilities. The Ministry Discernment Profile (job description and posting) has been made live and we are ready to begin accepting applicants and begin the discernment and vetting process. We will provide regular updates to the congregation on this webpage and through the church weekly email.
