News About Pastor Gunnar
By Ellis White
Senior Pastor
As part of our mission to “launch disciple-makers,” we have been blessed to develop and send leaders into new ministries. Pastor Gunnar, who has faithfully served as our Assistant Pastor and leader of the Worship Arts Department for the past eight years, has accepted a call to become the Senior Pastor at Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church in Solvang, California.
While this is an exciting opportunity for Gunnar and his family, it also means we will be saying goodbye to them. Pastor Gunnar will preach his final sermon here next Sunday, March 16, and his last Sunday will be March 30. On that day we will have an opportunity to celebrate the Tesdahls before they depart for California. He begins his new role in Solvang on May 1. His contributions to our worship and arts ministries have been invaluable, and his presence will be deeply missed. I want to share Gunnar’s words with you directly:
Dear Chapel Hill Church,
It was eight years ago that Aimee and I made the trek across the state from Spokane to Gig Harbor as newlyweds. I had just accepted my new job to serve as the worship director at Chapel Hill. Little did we know that this place and this people would become our home away from home… where I would be ordained as a pastor, where Aimee would start her vocation as a licensed counselor, and where we would start our family as we welcomed two beautiful girls into the world.
When we arrived at Chapel Hill, I followed the same call to ministry that God had placed on my life many years prior: to proclaim his Word, to love his people, and to lead in his church. As I stepped into my role in the worship ministry, I saw how God would fulfill that mission in many ways through worship leading and shepherding as an assistant pastor. At the same time, I also knew that the ultimate fulfilment of that call would eventually be to serve another church as a senior pastor. Aimee and I prayed for the Lord to prepare us for the day we would step into that responsibility. We believed that he would lead us to serve in that way someday…we just didn’t know when or where or to whom God would draw us. We trusted him to open the right doors at the right time and to make that clear. And, by his grace, he has done exactly that.
I am grateful to share with you the news that I have accepted the position of Senior Pastor at Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church in Solvang, California. Last Sunday, the church confirmed this call with a congregational vote. We are still amazed at how God has affirmed his leading in so many ways for us to join SYVPC as they seek to reach the Santa Ynez Valley with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have welcomed us with inspiring generosity, hospitality, and unity in the Spirit. We see how the Lord is preparing the way for what Jesus declared in John 4: “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields that they are already white for harvest!”
While we are certainly enthusiastic about what God has in store, we are experiencing quite the mix of emotions, as you can imagine! Along with joy and gratitude, we feel a profound sense of loss and grief that is difficult to put into words, knowing that we won’t see our Chapel Hill family on a regular basis to share the fellowship we have so enjoyed these last several years. Your love and support have meant the world to us.
It would be impossible to try to put into words our affection and appreciation for this church. We are overflowing with gratitude to God for the incomparable blessing you have been to us. You welcomed us as your own when we left our home and family to move here. You showed me such grace as I learned the ropes of ministry. You supported me through seminary. You ordained me as a pastor. You loved our children. And, in the end, it was our ministry together that prepared me for this next call.
I want to give a special word of thanks to Pastor Ellis and the staff team at Chapel Hill. There is no way I could thank you enough for the love you’ve shown us and the friendships and partnership in the gospel we have shared. I love you all dearly. And I sincerely believe that staff will continue to steward the ministry–including the future of the worship arts ministry–with the leadership they have so faithfully demonstrated.
As we look ahead, I will serve as the worship arts pastor at Chapel Hill until April 3. Then, early in the month of April, we will move to our new home in the Santa Ynez Valley. We sincerely welcome your prayers as we make this move and step into this new call!
It has truly been an honor to serve you as one of your pastors. As always, we know that God has amazing things in store for his people at Chapel Hill. And we continue to pray God’s richest blessings upon you in Jesus’ name.
All to him,
Pastor Gunnar
Please join me in expressing our heartfelt appreciation for Gunnar’s service and in praying for the Tesdahl family as they embark on this new journey.
We recognize the importance of this role in our church family, and we are prayerfully discerning how best to fill this position in the months ahead. In the meantime, we are grateful for our talented worship team, led by our Assistant Director of Worship Arts, Becky Bentson, and our Coordinator of Worship Arts, Mirym Brandt, who have proven themselves excellent leaders during Pastor Gunnar’s recent paternity leave and will no doubt continue to bless our congregation with great leadership in the coming days. We have every confidence that the excellence in worship we cherish at Chapel Hill will continue throughout this transition.
Pastor Ellis