Along with Pastor Mark and me, Pastor Dave Bruskas is one of the three executive elders of Mars Hill Church. Unless you’re from Albuquerque, however, chances are you have yet to be blessed by the wisdom, care, and leadership of Pastor Dave. That will soon change, however, when he preaches for all of Mars Hill Church in the coming weeks. Pastor Dave will teach in Ballard on August 28, and his sermon will play at all other locations on September 11. Pastor Dave has decades of experience leading numerous churches, preaching the Word, and raising four daughters with his wife, Kara. We first met when he was an Acts 29 church planter in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After establishing a thriving congregation, he began to think about how to continue furthering the work of the gospel in his hometown and on into the Southwest. In 2009, Pastor Dave’s church joined Mars Hill as our first outside of Washington State. Since then, Mars Hill Albuquerque has seen tremendous growth in attendance and new Christians. Last year, one out of every five people in the congregation got baptized! Pastor Dave left Albuquerque this year to join our central leadership team. He now oversees the Mars Hill Network of churches and all Mars Hill-wide ministries such as Community Groups, worship, and kids' ministry. In a testament to his leadership legacy, Mars Hill Albuquerque continues to grow in his absence—96 people have been baptized so far in 2011 and the congregation is preparing to move into a larger building. "My passion is to see people meet Jesus and be transformed by him," says Pastor Dave. "This motivates and shapes everything I do." This passion is obvious to me, as I have been very blessed by Dave. He is a pastor of pastors, wise and gifted, one of those leaders capable of creating an instant connection with his humble confidence and love for people I’m extremely thankful for his leadership in my life personally and in the church. The gifts he brings to the senior leadership of Mars Hill will bless us all, and I promise you'll enjoy hearing him teach. You can find teaching from Pastor Dave in the Mars Hill Media Library. His parents also attend Mars Hill in Albuquerque, and his mother, Betty, wrote an article for the Mars Hill Blog earlier this year.