INITIAL WORDS
FROM TIM FEARER

timfearer@fpchawaii.org

FIRST, let me say “THANK YOU!” to:

  • The elders of First Prez for the invitation to walk with you on the journey!

  • Your excellent staff and others for their gracious welcome!

NEXT, let’s answer a few questions:

1) Why should we have a Transitional Pastor? Because:

  • We’re in a transition;

  • Transitions require leadership;

  • First Prez needs the support of a full staff;

  • It takes time to discern the Lord’s leading for the next chapter of First Prez’s life and ministry;

  • I can help with all that!

Together, we will draw on and celebrate the best of your past. We’ll call on the gifts and vision of today’s congregation. We’ll explore possibilities and prepare for the future.

It will be my job to help you be ready for that moment when you call your new Senior Pastor, and step into the future!

2) How long will all this take?


  • As long as the Lord has in mind.

  • I am here to work myself out of a job.

  • I will see to it that the goal of preparing for and finding a permanent Senior Pastor is always 
before us.


Two things you need to know…

  • That the visioning and preparing and search process can take one to two years.

  • That God has already chosen your next Senior Pastor! That person is in ministry somewhere right now… and you and that person will connect in God’s perfect timing.


3) Will you bring a lot of changes to First Prez?


  • Change is a part of life!

  • Changes have already come to First Prez!

  • As you know, the best changes in a great church are always a result of: (1) God the Father’s clear leading; (2) the consensus of the leadership as it follows Christ the Son; (3) the willingness of the congregation in the power of the Holy Spirit

  • Whatever changes are necessary we’ll discover together and craft them together.

4) What are you going to do first at First Prez?


  • Get Oriented – Move in, find the light switches and coffee pot!

  • Get Acquainted – Learn your name (don’t be afraid to repeat it to me!), get to know you, listen to you and share my heart, form friendships with you and the leadership at First Prez.

  • Get Organized – Start planning for and celebrating in worship, meet with the leadership, and begin addressing church concerns.

  • Think Forward – Begin assisting church leaders as they clarify First Prez’s mission, values and vision . . . all needing completion before initiating the senior pastor search process.

5) What can we do to help the process move along? Three things:

(a) Believe:

  • In God’s sovereign control and loving purposes for you in this transition;

  • In yourselves, in your leadership, and in your future!

  • Remember, “The future is as bright as the promises of God!”

(b) Stay steady

  • Keep on doing what you are doing.

  • Don’t put anything on hold or withdraw to the sidelines, waiting to see who the next Senior Pastor is.

  • Worship, give, do ministry, reach out!

  • Invite friends to join you for worship and life at First Prez.

(c) Pray a lot:

  • For your elders, deacons, pastors, staff… for all church leaders;

  • For a season of energy and growth at First Prez;

  • For God’s perfect will to be made known;

  • For that new pastor and family, just over the horizon;

  • For the ministry and witness of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu.

Let’s join with that single woman — for many years a celebrated missionary in Latin America — who wrote:


“I’m not afraid of tomorrow,
because I’ve seen yesterday,
and I love today!