Lead Pastor Search Team
Sue Fabbro (Chair), Ron Dahlin, Scott Huffman, Sue Nunan, Daisy Segal, Lisa Tyndall, Henry Villar, Grace Wang, Michael Wilton
May we pray continually for wisdom, discernment, and unity for this Lead Pastor Search Team.
Latest Updates
March 16, 2023
The search team met with our Vanderbloemen Search Firm consultants for a launch visit. LST representatives, Jon Pedley, Michelle Chabra and Mike Prosper also attended. Earlier in the day, the Vanderbloemen consultants met with two groups of PCC staff to gain understanding of the culture, organization, and needs of PCC from a staff perspective.
During the launch meeting with the search team, Vanderbloemen affirmed that the Lead Pastor Profile we had previously completed as well as our detailed answers to Vanderbloemen questionnaires will be helpful. In addition, they asked us to describe in depth who PCC is and the type of leader we are looking for. We shared some of the significant changes PCC has experienced as a result of Covid and the multiple departures of long-term staff. They asked open-ended questions about the role of the Lead Pastor, what activities will be his/her priority, descriptions of our gathering, specific needs/challenges of PCC at this time, etc.
Vanderbloemen confirmed the search timeline (refer to our last update for details), their commitment to find a pastor that is a good fit for PCC and answered additional questions the team asked. The search committee is working to finish the introductory video and hope the position will go “live” on the Vanderbloemen Search website (and other locations) in approximately 2 weeks. Once the position is posted, we will be announcing search committee prayer meeting dates/times.
Please continue to pray with us for God’s timing, His clear leading, and for open hearts of our congregation as we expectantly wait to welcome a new Lead Pastor.
February 27, 2023
Change in strategy
The PCC Leadership Team (LST) approved our recommendation to move forward in our Lead Pastor Search with Vanderbloemen Executive Search firm. We are now in contract with Vanderbloemen.
Starting with Vanderbloemen Executive Search firm
Our chair, Sue Fabbro, updated the team on her initial call with Vanderbloemen and the immediate deliverables due to begin this process. Some of the information requested is available as a result of the work PCC previously did with the all-church survey, focus groups, and listening groups under the guidance of consultant, Tod Bolsinger.
Launch Meetings (March 16)
On March 16, our Vanderbloemen consultants will facilitate several meetings to launch our process with them. In preparation for this, the search team is completing questionnaires, gathering additional information, and beginning the work to create a PCC introduction video for applicants, which will give a sense of who PCC is and what God is doing at and through PCC. At the Launch Meetings, the search consultants will meet with staff, some LST members, and the Search Team to do a lot of listening in order to understand the culture of PCC.
Search Profile (March 23)
The product of the Launch meetings will be a written Search Profile, delivered one week after the Launch Meeting.
Go “Live” (Beginning of April)
Approximately two weeks after the Launch Meetings, around the beginning of April, the position will go “live” on the Vanderbloemen website and other locations. At that time Vanderbloemen will begin to proactively recruit, contact, interview, and vet potential applicants.
Midpoint Meeting (June)
In June, approximately 8-10 weeks after our profile goes live, we will have a Midpoint Meeting with Vanderbloemen. At this Midpoint Meeting the firm will present 1-2 anonymous resumes and describe to us their qualifications, background, etc. They will ask for the Search Team’s feedback as a progress checkpoint to ensure the firm is moving in the right direction for PCC. After incorporating our feedback, Vanderbloemen will adjust their recruiting if necessary and meet with, interview, and vet applicants.
Presentation of the Recommended Applicants
The next step will be an in-person meeting when they make a formal presentation of recommended applicants. Vanderbloemen will advise and support our team as we move forward with first and second applicant interviews as well as any applicant visits. As we move forward in this process, we will provide more details on the timing between each of these steps in the process.
Candidate Presentation to the Congregation
We will go through a process of discernment of our top applicants and hope and pray we will discern one applicant (who also chooses PCC!) to present to the PCC congregation as our candidate to be our Lead Pastor.
Pray with Us
At some junctures in this process we will have waiting periods as Vanderbloemen conducts interviews and vetting. At these times the Search Team will continue meeting to pray. Stay tuned for us to post these times if you would like to join us in person to pray with us for our next pastor. Until that point, please be in prayer for our future pastor, our team’s discernment, and the search firm. Please also pray for PCC staff who will be working hard to support us as we complete our task of creating the introductory video during an already busy Easter season.
We hope to share the PCC Introduction video with you in future weeks. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any members of the search team with any questions you might have: search@wearepcc.com.
February 9, 2023
The Search Team, along with PCC Chair Jon Pedley, met with representatives from the Vanderbloemen Executive Search firm that specializes in assisting churches in their pastoral searches. After reviewing and discussing Vanderbloemen’s services, philosophy, resources, and process, the Search Team, with Jon’s concurrence, asked for a proposal and church references. We will review the proposal, check references, and then send our recommendation to the PCC Leadership Team to vote on. If approved, we will begin the process of searching for our Lead Pastor with our assigned Vanderbloemen team. In parallel with our due diligence on gathering information about retaining a search firm, we also discussed an application we recently received. Even though we have reservations about the applicant’s qualifications for PCC’s Lead Pastor, we agreed to request follow up information.
January 30, 2023
The Lead Pastor Search Team met to review the profile of a potential applicant whom we invited to submit a full application and materials. In addition, the team discussed the applicant pool which has been much smaller than we expected. The team discussed three paths forward. The first is possible interest that may come from the Covenant Midwinter Conference that just wrapped up (this is our denomination’s annual pastors conference which often identifies pastors who may be interested in job openings across the Covenant). We will receive an update shortly from our Conference liaison, Jean Cheng Gorman. Secondly, we discussed continuing to reach out to any referrals from the congregation and staff, as well as continuing to explore other pastoral connections. Finally, we decided to set up a meeting with a search firm to find out how their offerings might help us bring in more applicants (we had already heard a pitch from one firm earlier on in our process).
The team discussed and prayed about the current transition we are walking through together as a PCC community as we prepare to say goodbye to Brian Rhen and his family. We all agree that the timeline for this search is not what we expected or desired, but firmly believe that this is God’s timing. Please continue to pray with us as we trust in God’s plan to unfold and do not sit in frustration, fear, or anxiety in not yet knowing the future.
January 13, 2023
Letter sent from Brian Rhen (Transition Lead Pastor) and Jon Pedley (Church Chair).
From Brian: I want to give you an update on my potential future and have you hear from Jon (below) about the next steps at PCC. As of December 8, 2022, I was accepted as a candidate for a Co-Lead Pastor role at Arvada Covenant Church in Arvada, Colorado. If it is God’s will, on February 19, 2023, I will candidate in Arvada and be confirmed by way of a congregational vote. If voted in, my last day at PCC will be Sunday, March 19. My plan would be to commute to Colorado for three months as of April 1, with the whole family moving in late June. This is an update and not a formal resignation letter, since we are waiting on God’s confirmation. I do want to thank you all (staff and congregants) for the opportunity and support you have provided me during this transition season. God has used it to grow, shape, and show me the future. With sadness, joy, and anticipation for us all, Brian H. Rhen
From Jon Pedley: Well, that was probably as very sad and surprising for all of you as it was for me, given that Brian has served PCC and been a much-cared-for part of our community for many years (he began at PCC in July of 1995!). I am adding to his words to tell you a little more about what the church and your leadership is doing in the light of this news. First of all, with Brian’s pending departure, the PCC Officers are seeking an interim pastor for this extended transition season and are beginning to coordinate with our Pacific Southwest Conference leadership to assist us with that effort. More detail will be provided at our Sunday, January 29, Stakeholder Meeting at 11:45am in the Worship Center. Secondly, please continue to pray for the PCC Search Team, who have been working very diligently. This past fall into December, they courted two applicants as a potential Co-Lead Pastor team, yet in the end each applicant chose other ministry options (see 12.19.22 update). Though very disheartening, the Search Team is resilient, persevering, and seeking who God is calling to lead PCC. Please continue to pray for their ongoing efforts. They have my full trust and support. Lastly, we are planning to celebrate and care for Brian and his family if they make this transition. More information would be coming about how you can participate if that happens. This is difficult news to hear and so as not to be discouraged, we are trusting in the Lord and His sovereignty through this process and are excited to see where He will lead us. To paraphrase the people of Judah when faced with overwhelming odds: we don’t know what the future will hold but our eyes are on You! Yours, Jon Pedley
December 19, 2022
Your Lead Pastor Search Team has been busy in November and early December. We moved through a process with two strong applicants which prompted us to pray about, consider and explore the possibility of being open to a co-lead pastor model. We began to explore this possible structure with PCC officers who expressed an openness to considering the possibility in light of the current executive pastor vacancy. PCC is a dynamic and complex church with three fee-based ministries which require both pastoral and management leadership. We agree we want to be a church where our pastors can thrive while completely and sustainably meeting lead pastor and executive pastor responsibilities. As we progressed through a mutual discernment journey with the two strong applicants, they both discerned God was calling them to other ministries. While this is a very disappointing outcome, we pray for God’s blessing on both of these outstanding Christian leaders as they follow God’s leading in their ministries. As we look to the New Year, we trust God to provide the right Lead Pastor(s) for PCC as we follow up with the current applicants and seek out more potential applicants. Please continue to pray for us as we humbly move forward and apply the lessons we have learned in this process of prayer and discernment. We love PCC!
November 7, 2022
The Search Team is focusing our efforts on mutual discernment with the applicants that God has led us to and we feel hopeful and reassured by the Holy Spirit as we move forward. We are now almost a year into this process and are grateful for the way God is moving in ways we never anticipated. Please continue to pray with us and for the applicants as we humbly let God lead as we work through these next steps together.
October 17, 2022
The Search Team met to hold next step interviews with the impressive applicants God has led to us. The team continues to feel positive and hopeful as we prayerfully and carefully follow this unanticipated path of mutual discernment that the Holy Spirit has us on with the applicants. We ask for your continued prayers in this process of discernment with each applicant and look to God for guidance, wisdom, and timing. We continue to expectantly anticipate what God has for the future leadership of PCC.
October 3, 2022
The Search Team met to plan the next step interview with applicants. We are positive and hopeful about the evolution and progress in our search. We have been witness to the fact that God works in mysterious ways and we see the Holy Spirit moving us in directions we did not anticipate. We ask for your continued prayers as we move into a process of discernment with applicants and look to God for guidance, wisdom, and timing. We are expectantly anticipating what God has for the future leadership of PCC.
September 14, 2022
Since our last update, the Search Team has met three times conducting interviews, answering questions from applicants, evaluating applicant qualifications, and discussing next steps for applicants. The Search Team has been encouraged by witnessing the Holy Spirit move in specific ways as we continue to pray for guidance, direction and the person God wants to lead PCC as the Lead Pastor. We ask for your continued prayer as we work hard to move forward in this process and wait patiently at the same time on God’s timing.
August 15, 2022
The search team met to discuss and decide on next steps with our current applicants. We identified other potential applicants whom we want to ask to pray about whether God might be calling them to apply. We also discussed the reality that this is a long process, and confirmed our need for patience, discernment, and diligence in this process and, of course, ongoing dependence on the Holy Spirit. Finally, we closed with a time of prayer asking God for wisdom and discernment as we wait on Him to make clear the Lead Pastor whom God has for PCC. We appreciate your prayers and ask that you continue praying with and for us — for patience, wisdom, guidance, and discernment.
August 1, 2022
The search team conducted our first initial interview with an applicant today and did a short debrief as a team. We will now take a time of processing and reflection on what we learned from this applicant, as well as time for prayer and discernment before our next meeting on August 15. Thank you for your continued prayers for the team and that God will guide us to the person He has to lead PCC.
July 18, 2022
The search team met to review current and potential applicants. The team discussed because we are part of the ECC denomination and do not want to limit the Holy Spirit, we agreed we are open to interview and bring to PCC as the Lead Pastor candidate an applicant of color as well as a female or male applicant. We continue to ask for prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit in this process.
June 14, 2022
The Search Team met to discuss current applicants in detail and decide on the immediate follow up actions with them. We also discussed other potential applicants to reach out to and finalize some important process and administrative decisions. The Search Team continues to welcome referrals from the congregation as well as your prayers for the Holy Spirit to lead this process.
June 6, 2022
The Search Team met with Jean Cheng Gorman, PSWC Director of Ministerial Health, to discuss our current status with incoming applications. We revisited the importance of confidentiality in our process as well as next steps to take in this process. The team continued to work on the interview process in preparation for future interviews. We continue to pray for the Holy Spirit’s movement and ask that the congregation keeps this process in their prayers as well. We welcome referrals from the congregation. If you know of a pastor who, after prayerful consideration, you think would be a good fit as Lead Pastor, please ask them to check out our website and apply if they are interested or send an email to Sue Fabbro at search@wearepcc.com.
May 16, 2022
The Search Team met to review, discuss, and incorporate the feedback received from the Covenant’s Pacific Southwest Conference for the Lead Pastor Job Description and PCC Church Profile. We expected to have this feedback earlier. As a result, the process of formatting and finalizing these documents will resume this week and be posted to PCC’s website and the Covenant website. The posting on PCC’s website and the Covenant website will be completed this week. We also established application screening and review teams with specific review processes and criteria. We continue to pray specifically for the Holy Spirit to give us unity and discernment as we complete this important milestone and to prepare the hearts of our future lead pastor and our congregation.
May 2, 2022
The Search Team met with some excitement and relief at completing the Lead Pastor Job Description and PCC Church Profile with an expected posting on our PCC’s website and the Covenant website this first week of May. We discussed additional places the Job Description will be posted as well as a strategy for recruiting potential candidates. In addition, the Search Team reviewed the process for receiving and reviewing applications including the development of a rubric for reviewing incoming applications. We continue to pray specifically for the Holy Spirit to give us unity and discernment and to prepare the hearts of our future lead pastor and our congregation.
April 24, 2022
After a period of prayerful discernment and review, the Search Team met to finalize the PCC Church Profile and Lead Pastor Job Description. We reviewed and discussed all of the input, edits and work done by the Transition Team with Tod Bolsinger from AE Sloan. After the documents are formatted into a publishable form, they will be posted on wearepcc.com and on CovConnect, the Covenant job posting website, in early May. We look forward to receiving and reviewing applications, and continue to pray for the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and discernment.
April 18, 2022
The Search team met to complete a draft of the Church Profile, that includes information and data gathered and fact checked by each team member over the past few weeks. This draft will now be given to the PCC Lead Team, Leadership Team and Pacific Southwest Conference leadership for review. We meet again on April 24 to finalize the Profile and Lead Pastor Job Description. We continue to be on schedule to post the Profile and Job Description in early May.
April 13, 2022
The Search Team met along with the PCC Leadership Team for our final session with Tod Bolsinger, PCC’s consultant from AE Sloan Leadership. This transition team (the Search Team and the LST), reviewed and refined the statements we will use to define who we are as a church, qualities we are looking for in a lead pastor, and priorities for the PCC Leadership team to tackle as we search for, and prepare to welcome, a new lead pastor. This information was garnered from data collected over the past 6 months; the church survey, listening groups, storytelling groups and community interviews. These final statements will be handed off to the Search Team to inform the lead pastor job description and church profile and will be communicated to the church body.
April 4, 2022
The Search Team met to review the data collected by various team members in an effort to complete the Church Profile. When the new budget is approved, the Search Team will have the remaining information and be near completion. After much discussion and information gathering, the team is on track to have the profile and job description completed by early May and ready for posting on the PCC website and with the ECC and other Church job boards. In addition, the search team voted to continue the search process with the support of the Covenant denomination rather than hiring an outside search firm at this time.
March 21, 2022
The Search Team met to put together a detailed schedule and task assignments for completing our Church Profile and Lead Pastor job description that will incorporate the work that AE Sloan Leadership is finalizing for PCC in mid April. Our goal is to have these completed by early May and ready for posting on the PCC website and with the ECC and other Church job boards.
March 14, 2022
The Search Team met along with the PCC Leadership Team for our fifth session with Tod Bolsinger, PCC’s consultant from AE Sloan Leadership. Referring to the data collected over the past few months; the church survey, listening groups, storytelling groups and community interviews, we began crafting a statement to capture who PCC is and our highest priorities. This statement will be integral in defining who we are to potential candidates as well as bring clarity to the qualities we are looking for in a candidate to lead our unique community here at PCC.
March 7, 2022
The Search Team met with a search firm that specializes in finding pastors for churches across denominations. We wanted to hear from them to understand their process and offering as part of our due diligence to define our Lead Pastor search process.
March 1, 2022
The Search Team met with Jean Cheng Gorman, PSWC Acting Superintendent. Jean explained, in detail, the process we will follow to post our Lead Pastor opening on the “CovConnect” board used by the ECC to post open positions in Covenant churches. Jean then described the recruiting process that is typically followed by Search Committees. Jean also talked about (in general terms) what she sees as the current pool of possible applicants within the Covenant. Finally Jean gave advice on vetting and considering applicants that are not licensed Covenant Pastors.
February 28, 2022
The Transition Team (Leadership Team and Search Team) met for our fourth session with Tod Bolsinger, consultant from AE Sloan Leadership. We reviewed the results from the Community Pain Point Interviews the Transition Team members conducted over the past few weeks. We found several common themes that came up from these community interviews and discussed how PCC’s unique personality and strengths can best meet the most prominent pain points in our community. Finally, in preparation for our next session on March 14 and to begin our process of discernment, Tod charged us with praying Colossians 2:2 as well as for our new Pastor, and discerning the qualities we are looking for in that person.
February 21, 2022
The Search Team debriefed the recently conducted Community Pain Point Interviews that were submitted to AE Sloan the previous week. All congregational and community engagement experiences have now been completed. We also familiarized ourselves with resources available from our denomination, The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), including ECC Affirmations and Covenant identity and beliefs. The Search Team will meet with Jean Cheng-Gorman, our PSWC Acting Superintendent, on March 1 to gain understanding about the recruiting process and candidate pool in the Covenant. AE Sloan will facilitate Transition Team meetings on February 28 and March 14. At the final workshop with AE Sloan on April 13, we will receive their report about PCC’s identity (strengths, challenges, core values and unique character as a community) and engage in a process to discern God’s missions for PCC to further His Kingdom in Redwood City and the Peninsula. The Search Team will continue to work in March and April on drafting both the Church Profile and Lead Pastor job description which we expect to finalize in May.
February 9, 2022
The Search Team, along with the Leadership Team, met for our third session with Tod Bolsinger, PCC’s consultant from AE Sloan Leadership. First, we reviewed and discussed what we heard from the Storytelling Groups over the past three weeks. We universally agreed that these sessions were very uplifting and reminded and clarified for us the best of PCC. We also discussed the core values that were represented in those stories. Thank you to everyone who participated! We then were trained on how to conduct our next phase – Community Interviews. These will help us identify and understand the pain points in our community by hearing directly from our friends, neighbors, associates, etc., outside of PCC. Community Interviews will be completed and submitted to AE Sloan by Feb 16. We will regather on Feb 28 and March 14 to review the interview responses as well as discuss all the data gathered from each phase. We will work on drafting a report of PCC’s strengths, challenges, core values and unique character as a community, and begin to discern God’s mission for PCC in Redwood City and the Peninsula. We anticipate a final report in April.
February 7, 2022
The Search Team discussed the breadth of our potential candidate search, the recruiting process, and how we will post the Lead Pastor job description. We heard a report from a team member who had been tasked with researching the pros and cons of search firms and what they might have to offer us. We decided to invite a search group to present their offerings to us in a future meeting. We will also invite our Pacific Southwest Conference (PSWC) Acting Superintendent, Jean Cheng Gorman, to explain the candidate pool and recruiting process within the Covenant. We shared feedback from our Storytelling Groups in preparation for our Transition Team meeting on February 9 with Tod Bolsinger, our consultant from AE Sloan Leadership. Tod will be reviewing what PCC core values were identified in the Storytelling Group experiences and leading us into the next step in our process of clarifying PCC’s identity, which will be gathering feedback from the larger community. Finally, we discussed the status of the work to gather current factual information to update our Church Profile, so that we are working in parallel to the work being done with AE Sloan.
January 19, 2022
The Search Team met along with the PCC Leadership Team for our second training session with Tod Bolsinger, PCC’s consultant from AE Sloan Leadership. First, we reviewed and discussed what we learned about the strengths and challenges of PCC from our first two phases of congregation engagement, the Survey and Listening Groups. We received training on how to conduct our next phase, Storytelling groups. These will help us to clarify and distill our core values as a church. Storytelling Groups will be completed by Feb 6. If you would like to participate, contact info@wearepcc.com.
January 17, 2022
The Search Team met to discuss the process and began gathering information to complete an up-to-date Church Profile. This will include information on the current size, scope of ministry, mission, and values of PCC, and speak to who we are as a church. The team will begin compiling information as well as use the results of the Listening Groups (held December 5-16) to accurately reflect the current culture, priorities, and values that were expressed by congregants. The Church Profile will be submitted to our denomination, Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) and viewed by potential candidates.
January 3, 2022
Search Team meeting – Enneagram training
December 5-16, 2021
Six listening groups were conducted with the greater PCC Leadership Team, PCC Staff, and 4 age/stage-related groups of PCCers. Two search team members sat in on each of the listening groups to observe and take notes. Their data was then turned over to AE Sloan who will present their assessment of the overarching themes to the Search Team and LST (“Transition Team”) to aid in discerning PCC identity.
December 2, 2021
Training by Tod Bolsinger, consultant with AE Sloan Leadership, Inc., on how Listening groups will be used to gain thoughts and perspectives about PCC’s identity, which is important for developing the Church Profile.
November 21, 2021
Search Team commissioned at both Sunday Worship Gatherings.
November 15, 2021
Search Team Training by Jean Cheng Gorman, Pacific Southwest Conference (PSWC) Acting Superintendent. Information included phases of the search process, responsibilities of the search committee including developing a church profile and pastoral job description. Jean will provide additional training as the search process goes forward, and will continue to be a helpful resource and partner.
November 14, 2021
Initial search team meeting to get to know one another and begin team formation.
November 10, 2021
After a thorough 2-month process of over 100 nominations and 30 applicants, the Nomination Committee has chosen the 8 individuals to join Sue Fabbro to be on our Lead Pastor Search Team. Our Nomination Committee was made up of John Becker, Brian DuBois, Karen Bowman (Chair), Stephanie Couch, Curtis Elia, Christina Lazzarini (Secretary), Josh Levinson, Jeff Sampson.
October 1, 2021
After an enthusiastic response of nominated individuals, the process was closed
September 13, 2021
Nominations were begun for Search Team members. PCCers were asked to nominate Stakeholders who were a representative group, willing to work together in mutual submission, and who would discern God’s will and direction.
September 2, 2021
Sue Fabbro was chosen as the chair of the Lead Pastor Search Team. Sue is also the secretary of the Leadership Team (LST).
May 2021
The Officers selected Brian H. Rhen to serve as Transition Lead Pastor for the 2021-22 fiscal year.
PHASE 1 — COMPLETED
Nominate Search Team & Initiate Survey
September – October 2021
PHASE 2 — COMPLETED
Clarify PCC Identity
November 2021 – March 2022
- Search Team named and commissioned — DONE
- Training and planning for Listening Groups — DONE
- Listening Groups initiated with the congregation — DONE
- Process and discern input from Listening Groups — DONE
- Report to congregation on: —DONE
- Survey insights
- Listening Group insights
- Church Profile and Job Description
PHASE 3 — ONGOING
Initiate Search & Select Candidate
March 2022 to present
This phase takes into consideration all aspects of Phases 1 & 2, as the Search Team conducts an extensive search to find the next Lead Pastor for PCC.
Every step of the way…
Our denomination will walk with PCC every step of the way. Pastoral staff within our Pacific Southwest Conference has trained the Nominating Committee and the Search Committee and will be available for discernment and guidance.
Please pray for this process and for God’s leading as we step into this new chapter for PCC.
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. -Romans 15:5-6
QUESTIONS?
Contact Search Chair: Sue Fabbro