Letter to Churches: Succession Information

January 2025

To the Leaders of our Fellowship Pacific Family,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am writing on behalf of our Regional Board to formally let you know that we have taken steps to ensure a successful succession plan for the Regional Director of Fellowship Pacific, David Horita. David had informed us at the beginning of his last contract period that he would not be renewing again at the end of this contract, feeling that it is time to make the changes necessary to set up the Fellowship for its next era of ministry.

As I’m sure many of you are aware, David’s passion, vision, commitment and love for the Fellowship has been invaluable in leading our Fellowship during his time as our Regional Director. His work has resulted in more healthy churches in our region, contributing to more people confessing Christ as Saviour.  His friendship to many of our leaders and his support of our staff demonstrated that he lives a life consistent with the values of our Fellowship. His wisdom and discernment have allowed us to enjoy years of stability and delight in partnering together. Though we are sad to see him transition out of the role, we are very grateful for the energy and prayer that David has poured into Fellowship Pacific. We are all better for having him as our Regional Director for close to 20 years. Please make sure to express your gratitude to him personally over the next few months that he might be made aware of the impact resulting from his leadership.

As required by our constitution, the Regional Board has spent significant time over the last six months considering candidates for the role, and is very excited to inform you that we had unanimous support for extending an invitation to Pastor Brent Chapman. Pastor Brent has accepted this invitation and has now informed SouthRidge Church. While this process has not been a secret, we do appreciate that many of you refrained from discussion until the church had been informed of this decision.

In hiring Pastor Brent our Board believes that we will be able to continue to build our Fellowship around our united vision according to the values that have guided well these last number of years. He brings a wealth of pastoral experience, excellent leadership skills, and the ability to help our churches discern the times so that we may be effective for the gospel in them. I hope that you will have an opportunity to encourage Brent in his new role, committing to praying for him, his family and SouthRidge church as they adjust to this new season.

You should know that all parties involved are working together to ensure a positive succession within our Fellowship Ministry Centre office and staff, as well as in SouthRidge Church. As such, there are still questions about exact timing for the steps involved as we seek to be good partners with SouthRidge in their transition, as well as with Brent Chapman and David Horita. At this point, with potential for change, the plan is for Brent to join the Fellowship team in June 2025, with a gradual transition fully into the Regional Director role through the fall of 2025. Currently, we expect David Horita to finish his official responsibilities by April, 2026.

We are appreciative of the unified perspective on succession between David and Brent, and do anticipate that while adjustments to the transition plan will inevitably happen, their relationship and common vision will allow it to be an encouraging model for all of us.

Thanks for your prayer on behalf of all as the transitions occur.

Sincerely,

Pastor Ben Hall,
President
Fellowship Pacific Regional Board