Dave was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana to middle-class parents.  Little did he know that he would one day be doing Christ’s mission work on the other side of the world in Tanzania.  He attended Purdue University majoring in European History with a minor in Political Science.  He attended Hamma School of Theology and graduated with a Master of Divinity.  He was ordained in 1977 and has served in parish ministry for 32 years.

Dave and his wife Jill live near the small town Grand Rapids, Ohio.  They have four children and one granddaughter.   Dave has been involved with the Dodoma Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania since 1993.  It began when he served as a pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Arcadia, Ohio.  He led the congregation in establishing a companionship with Lufu Lutheran church, located on top of a mountain in the Rubeho Range in central Tanzania.  He has led 13 mission groups to the Dodoma Diocese since 1996.