Rev. Dave McElwee
Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am Dave McElwee. I am currently the pastor of the New Life, a Global Methodist Church in State College. I have been serving as a pastor at various churches since 2013.
Being the son of a pastor and a church secretary, I spent much of my life moving around south central Pennsylvania as my father served churches, though I claim York, Pa as my hometown. I graduated from York Suburban High School in York before going on to study history, political science, and economics at Lycoming College.
Following my college years, I spent nearly 5 years on active duty in the United States Army. I was station first at the former Fort Hood, TX before going to Fort Carson, CO. During those years, I deployed to Iraq twice and left active duty as a sergeant.
Having finally accepting my call as a pastor while in the Army, after I left active duty, I earned my Master of Divinity degree at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. It was at Wesley that I met my wife, Samantha, marrying her in 2014. We have two children together, Abigail and Andrew, and a dog, Marco. My wife also serves as a GMC pastor.
In ministry, I have served churches in Dauphin, York, Clinton, Juniata, and Clearfield counties both during and after my time in seminary. I have also served beyond the local church in many different roles, I came into the Global Methodist Church on January 1st, 2025, and have been at New Life since that time.
I spend my free time reading, especially nonfiction and thrillers. I also enjoy my time in the woods and doing World War I living history.
As a pastor, I view my role as mainly being the pastor of the church. I believe that lay leadership is key for any church, especially in reaching out in missions and in making disciples for Jesus Christ. I see my pastoral role in those areas as encouraging, mentoring, and guiding the laity to do the work and building the team where individual gifts and graces can be used to further God’s kingdom.