About Us

We – Brenna and Bill – are transformational leadership coaches who also co-pastor a small, radically welcoming church in Long Beach, CA. (FAQ: no, we’re not married.) Between us, we have five decades of pastoral training and learning from mistakes big and small.

For five years now, we’ve been building a shareable toolkit of practical leadership skills. First we worked together to reset a community in crisis. Then we listened and workshopped the tools with hundreds of others tired of leadership systems that helped them either achieve their goals OR care for their people, when they wanted to do BOTH.

We started Small Church Big Table as a resource for fellow pastors interested in collaborative, inclusive leadership, but our scope has expanded to anyone who wants to integrate their faith and their leadership.

Brenna Rubio lives in the Long Beach area with her husband Israel, who describes himself as both high school administrator and pastor’s wife. Their multicultural family includes four kids, ranging from early elementary to high school, and a semi-feral cat.

Brenna’s been in ministry for about twenty years now. Compared to Bill, she’s “the quiet pastor.” Her favorite days involve coffee, reading and just enough people. For those into the Enneagram, she’s a 1 all the way! Growing up a military brat who moved every few years (aka a third culture kid) and a feminist-in-the-making in traditional church spaces, she resonates with others who feel like perpetual outsiders. 

Bill White lives in the Wrigley neighborhood of Long Beach with his wife Katy, who is a doctor leading the medical staff of a clinic on Skid Row up in Los Angeles. She does not describe herself as a pastor’s wife. They have two kids, one working in political communications in DC and one in college in New Hampshire.

Bill worked for 25 years in the evangelical world as missionary, parachurch staff, and pastor. He shifted more post-evangelical around the time his kids identified as gay. Being “the loud pastor,” Bill attempts to have people over for dinner every night. (This depends largely on negotiations with Katy, who is not an extrovert.) He plays board games on the other nights. Bill is an Enneagram 8 who has spent many years in therapy and spiritual direction and needs to spend many more.

City Church of Long Beach is a small, wonderfully quirky and big-hearted congregation based out of the Wrigley neighborhood of Long Beach, CA. Their vision is to be a radically welcoming community on the journey toward Jesus, joining him in the renewal of all things.