Dave Sawkins

First Baptist Church of Los Altos is pleased to announce the calling of Dave Sawkins as our interim Lead Pastor. The staff and congregation are thrilled that God saw fit to bring Dave and FBCLA together. He has a strong heart for the church and the community.

Dave’s love for God’s Word is evident in his practical Bible teaching. He delights in seeing the lost come to faith, enjoys people immensely and has a passion to see the church achieve God’s mission in the world. During his tenure as a pastor in the South Bay, he and his team assisted multiple churches while simultaneously growing one of the largest Bay Area churches.

Background 
Before settling in Northern California, Dave pastored a church in Albuquerque, New Mexico for 15 years. He also served for 14 years as a police chaplain in Albuquerque. When he and his family first moved to the Bay Area, he was Assistant to the President at San Jose Christian College.

Dave helped plant South Valley Christian Church in February 1986 and led as Senior Pastor until its merger with Los Gatos Christian in 2007, when the two became Venture Church. At the time of the joining, South Valley Christian Church had a congregation of about 1,800 people. He then continued as Co-Senior Pastor of Venture for the next two years before coming on staff at FBCLA.

Dave is a graduate of Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri, and he has a Master of Arts in Religion from Pepperdine University. Dave has been married to his wife, Sheila, for 43 years, and they have three grown children: William, Phillip, and Susan.