Dave Levy - Called to Serve

Dave Levy’s journey into ministry has been anything but typical. As a child, he grew up in Northern California, moving frequently before eventually settling in Crescent City. Dave was not raised as a Christian, but that changed in high school when he met his future wife, Natalie, and her family. Through their influence, he came to faith in Christ and became deeply involved at Grace Lutheran Church in Crescent City, where he volunteered as a Sunday school teacher and assisted with youth ministry.

Dave graduated from high school in 1993. After a few years of searching for direction, Dave followed Natalie to Concordia University Irvine, where he enrolled in the Director of Christian Education (DCE) program. He graduated in 1999 and, after completing his internship in Oroville, California, accepted a Call to Our Savior’s First Lutheran Church in Granada Hills, California. Around the same time, Natalie was also Called to serve as a teacher at Our Savior Lutheran School.

After two years, Dave accepted a Call to Trinity Lutheran Church in San Rafael, California. Natalie also joined the Trinity community, serving in the preschool. The two have faithfully served there ever since.

Although Dave had long considered becoming a pastor, the financial and logistical challenges of relocating to a seminary in the Midwest made that path seem out of reach. However, with encouragement from Trinity’s pastors, Mick Ista and Ed Krueger, Dave discovered and enrolled in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Cross-Cultural Ministry Center (CMC) program through Concordia University Irvine. This four-year, in-field training program, offered in partnership with Concordia Seminary St. Louis, prepares pastors for mission work in diverse, multicultural, and immigrant communities. It combines academic coursework with a four-year vicarage, leading to ordination in the LCMS.

Dave is currently halfway through the program and plans to complete it in 2028. In the meantime, he continues to serve Trinity in a variety of ways, including his role as Minister to Youth and Family. He also preaches occasionally, visits church members, assists in the preschool, leads the K-5 youth group called TLC Kidz, and leads the church’s TNT Club—an after-school program for middle school students in grades 6–8. The club originally met on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which inspired its name.

Outside of ministry, Dave is an avid collector of Star Wars and other memorabilia, a passion that is immediately evident to anyone who steps into his colorful office.

Following his ordination, Dave remains open to serving at Trinity Lutheran Church as pastor while also being open to where God may Call him. He hopes to expand community outreach efforts that cross cultural barriers and better serve the diverse population of San Rafael and the surrounding area. He has a particular interest in developing parent education programs to support families in the community.

Dave’s story is a powerful reminder that God calls His people into ministry in many different ways and at many different times. We celebrate the work God is doing in and through the life of Dave Levy.