Pastor Dan has been called in new directions to continue his lifelong passion to serve the Lord and will be more fully engaged with Hawaiian Islands Ministries. After thoughtful discernment and listening, Dan is moving forward for many reasons:

• Dan began serving this church in 1980 as an associate Pastor and hence has been a pastor of this community for some 42 years. This is more than half of the 64-year FPC existence. On August 1 he will have served 29 years as senior pastor and would be embarking on his 30th year. It’s time for new leadership.

  • It has been the most tiring/difficult last three years. Dan and Team have led the church into a healthy place that is ripe for growth after guiding the church through the worst of the pandemic. We survived, and in many ways thrived through God’s grace – our attendance, tithes and offerings, and savings are all strong. Plus, hundreds more committed or recommitted their lives to Christ during this period.

  • A congregation thrives on the future vision for the church. There will be many opportunities to reimagine the ministry and the financial needs to support that vision in the future. A change in leadership now will help prepare the FPC for the next few decades.

  • Most of us don’t know the demands of a senior pastor, and we appreciate the sacrifices that Dan and his family have made over the past 40 years. We wish Dan success as he plans to spend more time with his family and to continue his ministry in other creative ways.

• Dan’s decision to retire from FPC took many months, prayer and careful consideration. He looks forward to assisting the Team until he closes this amazing season at FPC on September 30, 2023.

FPC is following the disciplined guidance from Presbytery, which is to hire a Certified Transitional Pastor (CTP) first, then the eventual successor. The CTP is an “intentional interim” person. He/she becomes part of the FPC staff after Dan transitions and before the Senior Pastor is hired.

This allows the church to refresh its mission and vision which provides clarity in the type of successor Senior Pastor would best serve the church going forward, and overall helps the church prepare for its new chapter.

Other than Pastor Dan, Tim Shaw is our only other ordained pastor at this time. Tim is a trusted and valued member of FPC. After discussion and personal discernment, Tim believes that he can make the most helpful contribution to this time of transition by remaining in his current position as Associate Pastor.

Chris Pan and Jenny Sung are the only two of our seven lay pastors who are in their ordination processes with ECO.

No. Our operating expenses for 2022 are actually in excellent shape now with healthy savings. In December 2022, our congregation contributed more than $647,000 leaving a year-end deficit of just $58,000.

FPC is following the disciplined guidance of Presbytery, which includes hiring a Certified Transitional Pastor, then a Sr. Pastor. We are blessed to be working with Nate Dreesmann, Executive Director of Ecclesiastical Support, ECO, who has extensive experience in pastor transitions with a wide range of churches. Nate spent 1.5 days with the Elders and Deacons in February to discuss the transition process in great detail with church leadership to help set us on a positive path for a successful transition process.

We have created a communication plan which is designed to honor all stakeholders. The plan is to inform the congregation through Dan’s sermon on Sunday, February 26. This sermon will be preceded by a letter from Dan and Roslyn in mid-February so that the congregation hears the news “at the same time,” regardless of geography or whether at the 8:00 or 10:00am in person, or online. After that, there are plans to keep the congregation informed and for the congregation to participate in the process through a special section of the website, structured listening tours and volunteering for many steps along the way during the transition process.

The transition in itself does not change the existing ministries and programs. We have shifted responsibilities among the FPC staff due to recent vacancies and will continue to fine-tune as needed. We are also planning to increase our staffing and this transition timing helps with that process.

Yes, absolutely. Presbytery and Session will also approve the final nominee. The Congregation must vote and approve the final selection.

Generally, no. Transitional Pastors are certified for a very specific purpose: to help congregations transition from one long term Senior Pastor to another.

Dan, Chevas and other staff members are working on that.

Our current plan is to keep the position open so that the new Sr. Pastor can fill the position with a pastor that he/she feels can best serve the church under his/her leadership.

The decisions by key staff to move forward to God’s next plan for them have been due to individual reasons unique to each person. We will continue to be thoughtful in our plans to fill key roles, knowing that there will be challenges to face so your continued support, guidance and grace would be most appreciated.

We can’t predict the future; yet we continue to make maintaining a culture of grace and diversity a cornerstone of FPC for both staff and the congregation. Patty Kamahele also plans to retire this year. After the passing of her husband, she is prayerfully considering whether to stay in Hawaii or relocate back to the mainland. Continuing to be aware of retaining our dedicated FPC staff remains a priority.

Change is often challenging, especially when people who have been so much a part of our lives are called to pursue new directions. Now is the perfect time to reflect and renew our trust that God has a plan far greater than we can imagine. God is gracious, kind and generous. He has provided and will continue to provide for each of us and for FPC as a church, often in ways that are hard for us to know right now.

Please feel free to reach out to Chris, Tim or Dan.

Yes, definitely! The events are scheduled as follows: for Roz on May 21; and Dan on September 24. We will keep you posted!