David Burke

How does a son of an atheist, a Marxist, a philosopher,
Grow up to be a minister, and now a pastor to pastors?

With all due respect to the musical Hamilton, David’s story could begin like that. David grew up in Seattle, Washington, the son of a professor of political philosophy and a master librarian. God placed a Gideon’s Bible and a small group of high school friends involved in Young Life to show David what love and community based on Jesus could look like.

David still brings a view of someone not-of-the-church to the church, a place where he has served in various roles for the last twenty-six years. He received a Master’s of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1998. He first served as a denominational campus minister in Chattanooga, Tennessee, then a non-profit director and assistant pastor. He received a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Seminary in 2013, focusing on the local church as entrepreneur for its community. David and his family moved to Sacramento, California in 2014, where David served as Senior Pastor at Fremont Presbyterian Church for over nine years. His work as a college pastor, non-profit director, assistant pastor, and senior pastor has given him a heart to help leaders in parachurch ministries, nonprofits, the business world, and the local church.

David has been married to his wife Kelsey for 26 years, and they have six children. They live in Sacramento, California, and enjoy traveling, watching their kids’ wide variety of sports and activities, and long for the day they will buy an RV and see beauty everywhere.

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