California born and bred, Dr. Dave Gudgel has called Fresno, Sacramento, Bakersfield, Santa Barbara, Agoura Hills and now Phoenix "home."

A 1975 graduate of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, Dave earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Two years later, he enrolled in Talbot Theological Seminary, a graduate school of Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in Practical Theology in 1980. Eight years later, Gudgel earned a Doctorate in Preaching at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

Dave’s background includes a vocational pursuit in Architecture before he developed an interest in ministry as a sophomore in college. Along the way Dave received valuable training as a campus minister at Santa Barbara City College, an Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries, and a Youth Pastor. Hired in September of 1977, Dave joined the staff of Agoura Bible Fellowship in a suburb of Los Angeles as the high school youth director. Four years later, when the church asked him to fill the role of senior pastor, he became the church's pastor-teacher, a position he held from 1981-2002. In 2002 Dave completed twenty-one years of ministry as the Senior Pastor of Agoura Bible Fellowship. For the past three years Dave has been serving as the Senior Pastor of Bethany Bible Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

During his years in Agoura, Dr. Gudgel was an active member in the Conejo Valley community, serving on the boards of various organizations. Dave served on the Board of the American Youth Soccer Association (AYSO) and the Southern California Soccer Club. After four years as the Manager/Coach of a So Cal United boys Club Soccer Team he took his U18 team to England and France where they played in an International Invitational Tournament. Gudgel is also a past President of the Conejo Valley Crisis Pregnancy Center Board. Dave served on the founding board of the International Intern’s Leadership Development Institute. This ministry took him to Moldova and Russia where the curriculum he wrote is being used to train pastors.

Since 1986 Dave has been on the faculty of Walk Thru the Bible Ministries and has taught over 150 seminars for them including “Walk Thru the Old Testament”, Walk Thru the New Testament”, and “Effective Parenting In A Defective World.” Over the past two years, Dave has also begun speaking for Rick Warren and the Purpose Driven Church Ministries as the keynote speaker for their conferences in Southeast Asia.