A Season of Transition

Pastor Mike will be transitioning out of his role as lead pastor, ending his time on staff at the end of summer 2027. This page is where you can process, pray, and find everything you need for what comes next.

Watch the AnnouncementSee the Process

What you need to know

Pastor Mike will complete his time as lead pastor at the end of summer 2027. He is stepping into a new season of itinerant speaking and leadership coaching.

Kapena as Pastor of Teaching and Equipping. We believe our vision is worth fighting for, and the best way to ensure it continues is for Kapena Cavuto to become one of the co-lead pastors, overseeing Teaching and Equipping. Our Covenant Partners will have an opportunity to vote to affirm this direction in early November. 

We will hire a Pastor of Ministry Leadership. We also believe that a shared leadership model is the way forward. We will also hire a second pastor to co-lead our congregation. This role will oversee staff development, care, and ministry leadership. This role will also be part of the Teaching Team.

Transitions can feel like they ruin everything we've been working toward.

When something this big changes, it's natural to wonder if everything else is about to change with it. If we lose our leader, do we lose the things we love about this place? The friendships, the ministries, the vision we've given years of our lives to?

We've had to face our own fears about this, too.

Our church has endured a painful key leader transition before. Our elders and staff have had to face their own feelings of loss and worry that this will feel like that again. Change has a way of surfacing things we don't expect, in the church as a whole and in ourselves individually. Old griefs from previous transitions people have lived through, in this church or elsewhere, may resurface without warning.  We are here to face all of it with you.

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We believe our vision and shared leadership are worth fighting for.

What God has been doing through King's Harbor is bigger than any one person, even our lead pastor. Here are three ways to walk through this season with us.

Prepare Your Heart

Make room to grieve, hope, and bring it all honestly before God.

Start Here

Pray for the Future

Six ways to pray for our pastors, elders, church, and yourself.

Pray With Us

Participate in the Process

Every phase and decision point between now and 2027.

See the Process

Preparing Our Hearts

No matter how good our plan is, ignoring our emotions will undermine it.

Name what you feel

Sadness, fear, gratitude, or all of them at once. None of it disqualifies you from trusting God.

Take questions to the source

Bring questions and reactions to the Town Halls or to leadership, rather than speculating with one another.

Don't rush past it

Steady now doesn't mean steady later. Give yourself permission for feelings to arrive in waves.

Hold on to hope

Cry out honestly, and cling to the hope that God is doing something new in our midst.

Praying through this season

For Pastor Mike and his family. Peace as they close this chapter, and clarity and provision for whatever the Lord has next.

For Kapena. Wisdom and endurance as he steps into a new role, and for the relationships and trust that come with teaching and equipping the church.

For the pastor we're searching for. Discernment in the search, and for the person the Lord has for this role, whether already among us or not yet known.

For the elders. Discernment through the decisions ahead, and unity as they lead the church through this.

For the staff. For peace. They have carried the emotions of losing a colleague and friend while trying to faithfully lead you.

For our church. A spirit of trust rather than anxiety, and unity that holds, not around a person, but around the mission.

For yourself. Pray honestly. If you're grieving, sit in that before God. If you're steady, thank him and ask him to use you to help others find it too.

The Process

Every gathering is a chance to ask questions, be heard, and take part. Tap any phase to see what it includes.

A chance to live out the vision we share.

The mission is the same. The values are the same. The people who've loved and led you are still here, even if where they're standing looks a little different. When God's people stick together and keep being who he's taught them to be, that makes all the difference. We will keep doing what we have always done: worship, pray, learn, and grow.

Together, we get to write a redemptive story about leadership transitions in the South Bay.

Find Your Next Step

Questions you might be asking

Don't see yours? Bring it to a Town Hall or send it to us directly.

Ask a Question

Over the past two years, Pastor Mike and the elders have been praying and attempting to discern what God is doing in Mike's life and family. It's clear that the Lord has given Mike avenues for preaching, writing, and leadership development outside our church. At the same time, the Dsane family has experienced some loss and longing for their families.

It seems that the Lord is using all of these circumstances to lead Mike into a new season of leadership. We are holding two things at the same time: sadness that Mike will no longer be on staff and the Dsanes will not be part of our day-to-day lives; and joy that they are responding with courage to what the Lord seems to be doing.

Most churches have a single senior pastor model. This leader carries an immense amount of responsibility and authority. While the Lord has used this model, we believe it is not sustainable. Expecting one person to be the CEO, the counselor, the leadership guru, the chief fundraiser, and a world-class public speaker is more than any one individual should have to carry.

Shared leadership creates room for more leaders to use their gifts to lead the organization. Our vision calls for this: multiplying leaders to bring flourishing to our church. This will look like a teaching team made up of our pastors and elders. Our co-lead pastors will share the responsibility of empowering our church to carry the vision together.

We believe this model is not a new idea. It is beautifully displayed throughout the Scriptures. Starting Sunday, October 11, join us for a four-week series called Leading Together to learn more.

Everyone who has completed our Covenant Partnership process and been affirmed by our elder by October 31 is eligible to vote.

Becoming a Covenant Partner consists of three easy steps:
  • Take our Covenant Partnership Class
  • Complete your application
  • Meet with one of our staff members or elders to be affirmed

Click the button below to start the process.

Available on 9/28

That is a great question. We believe the Lord is leading us in this process, and Kapena becoming the Pastor of Teaching and Equipping is part of his plan. But we are also human.

Your affirmation is part of the Lord making his plan clear. If the vote doesn't pass (we are looking for 75% affirmation), we will thank the Lord for clarity through you. 

We still believe shared leadership is worth pursuing. We would begin the process of identifying two pastors to lead our next season.

The Pastor of Ministry Leadership will primarily focus on three things: ensuring the spiritual and emotional health of the staff, developing our staff team as professionals and leaders, and ensuring the direction of our ministries aligns with our vision.

This pastor will also be a member of the Teaching Team.

Yes! For any elder, staff, or congregant who wants to apply for the role of Pastor of Ministry Leadership, the application will open after we share the results of the Pastor of Teaching and Equipping vote on November 22.

If you are recommending someone who is not currently part of King's Harbor, the application process will open for them on January 1.

It would be easy to promise what we couldn't deliver. Pastor Mike's transition will change things, but it doesn't have to ruin them.

Here's how we want to approach this: we will be stubborn about where our church is going, but flexible with how we get there. While we don't have plans to make any major changes, we also want to be flexible with how to best care for you in this season.

We are walking through this season of transition together. We will have Congregational Town Halls throughout this process where you can ask questions and share concerns. You can also email the elders at khcelders@kingsharbor.org or talk to any staff member or elder at any time.

More than answering questions, we want to provide spiritual care. Throughout this season, we will have Dwell as a place where we will seek the Lord together for our church.

Register for an upcoming Dwell or Town Hall using the link below.

Attend DwellAttend A Town Hall

Resources

Attend Dwell

Worship and pray together for our church during this season.

Register for Dwell

Covenant Partnership Class

Opens September 28. Complete it to take part in the November vote.

Available on 9/28

Leading Together Series

Watch or catch up on the teaching series, October 11 – November 1.

Available October 12

Town Hall Recordings

Missed one? Recordings will be posted after each Town Hall.

Coming Soon

Submit a Question

Send your question straight to leadership.

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Talk With Someone

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