A Little About Us

  • We are Jesus-centered.

    We recognize that "Jesus-centered" can be a loaded term. Our community is big on reimagining and reclaiming language and faith. We believe that Jesus is at the center of what we do and how we live.

    We welcome various interpretations of who Jesus was, whether they were the Messiah, Teacher, God, Son of God, or all of the above. We still find Jesus absolutely relevant today and model our church after his teachings. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself—as simple yet as complicated as that.

  • We are reimagining inclusion.

    We recognize that there aren't a lot of church spaces for people to have different Christian perspectives (without them being labeled a heretic). We hope that spiritual refugees and outcasts can call SHOC and churches like it home. Reimagining inclusive spaces means making space for the spiritual refugees and heretics who haven't quite fit into Church. This includes but is not limited to centering perspectives from women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ folks, and Disabled folks.

  • We value resting, restoring, belonging, and becoming.

    Many of us at SHOC have served in large capacities within churches and have seen the negative impact of burnout culture within ministry. As a result, one of our values is rest. You might notice we don't have Sunday services every week. This is to limit burnout and care for our church community. However, we ensure weekly rhythms like small groups, dinners, and hangouts to rest, restore, belong, and become while in community. Our goal in holding these values is to be a healing space, not a harmful space.

Statement of Faith

Meet our Pastors

Part of reimagining faith and church is reimagining leadership. Although you are about to read about our pastors, giving you a taste of our culture, we want to emphasize our value of shared leadership. We hope our church is not centered around just one pastor or person or “inner circle,” but that our church centers the shared leadership of all those who make up Safe Harbor. With that, here’s a little about our pastors.

Meet Donna.

Donna is the Lead Pastor of SHOC.

She's not your traditional pastor. She grew up going to public school and found herself connecting the best with people who weren’t churched. She always had one foot in and one foot out of the church, feeling tethered to the tension of both worlds. She also faced the challenges of being a woman in ministry who spent most of her life housing and financially insecure in Orange County, CA. She learned practical theology through campus ministry, high/middle school teaching, and her three degrees in English, Education, and Communications. One of her biggest passions is facilitating community within the church for historically minoritized folks who have felt unknown, unloved, and unseen in church spaces. Shared leadership is her jam, and she believes the future of the church is collaborative, not competitive. With all this to say, she is passionate about reimagining church & faith, and is honored to be able to that with SHOC. Pictured is her and her partner Charles (not pictured are their son James & three cats Benji, Archie and Evie).

Meet our Board

  • Janet Dennerline (she/her) - Secretary

    is an attorney, working mom, runner, avid reader, and a vegetarian foodie. She sometimes plays the cello for SHOC’s worship team, and sometimes leads and attends SHOC’s book clubs. She grew up in different evangelical church communities, but now she has found a home at SHOC where she can continue her journey in learning more about people and the world. She has been past-president, officer, director, and board member for several non-profit entities, including 501(c)(3) foundations, and has extensive experience and knowledge with legal issues.

  • Jonah McStay (he/him) - Treasurer

    is a current Master in Psychological Research student at CSULB. He received his BA in psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego and has worked with autistic children and the elderly. His current work role involves marketing for an art gallery in Laguna Beach. His attendance at churches throughout his life has included being a part of worship teams and leading small groups. He is thrilled to be the treasurer for SHOC as he has truly found a church home he can belong to and support.

  • Avery Jean (she/her)

    is a college student majoring in sociology with a minor in political science. Her major/passions run parallel with her role in Student government. She holds the position of Chief Diversity Officer at CSULB, she serves as chair of the Presidential Cabinet, including facilitating the weekly board meetings, developing and distributing the meeting agenda, supervising and assisting members of the President’s Cabinet in advocating for their respective communities through programming and policy changes. Through her job at CSULB and her job as a barista, she strives to be an effective member of the community she identifies with. She also fills in her love for event planning and organizing by assisting in the event planning of SHOCS bi-weekly events. She regularly attends SHOC and has co-led our Haven small group.

  • Maddy Spangler (she/her)

    is a writer and digital marketing specialist currently working at a Southern California nonprofit organization. Her professional background includes elementary and middle school education, web design, copywriting, and social media management. She graduated in 2021 from California State University, Long Beach with a BA in Comparative World Literature with an emphasis in Cultural Studies. Madalyn regularly attends SHOC and assists with digital communications. She lives in Long Beach, CA with her wife and their two cats. In her free time, she enjoys diving into historical nonfiction books and a variety of creative projects with friends.

  • Matt Kim (he/him)

    has been a follower of Christ since the age of 16. He has led worship all around the world with different ministries. Matt went to school for music but has been in construction management for the past 15 years. Currently, Matt is in the process of applying for long term disability. Matt regularly volunteers at SHOC assisting with audio-visual equipment for worship services.