Leadership Team

Meet Dr. Dave Gudgel, Incoming 2026 Interim Pastor (video)

Born and raised in California, Dave Gudgel has called Fresno, Sacramento, Bakersfield, Santa Barbara, Agoura Hills, Phoenix, Mountain View, and now Merced “home.”  In 2021, Dave stepped down from his Lead Pastor role at Bridges Community Church in Los Altos, CA, after shepherding that congregation for eleven years. Dave’s 40 years of Lead Pastor ministry began at Agoura Bible Fellowship, a church in the northwest Los Angeles area, where he pastored for twenty-two years. Then Dave became the Senior Pastor of Bethany Bible Church in Phoenix, AZ for seven years. Over the past thirtyfive-plus years, Dave has also taught seminars for Walk Thru the Bible Ministries. Dave earned a B.A. degree in Sociology from Westmont College, a Master of Divinity from Talbot Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry from Western Seminary. As an author, Dave has written a number of books, including Before You Live Together, Before You Get Engaged, Before You Leave Home, Enjoy Your Marriage More, and Bible StoryBoards.  Dave loves to play golf and to travel. His favorite book is The Master Plan of Evangelism. He and his wife Bernice are in their forty-ninth year of marriage. God has blessed them with two sons, one daughter, two daughters-in-law, one son-in-law, and eleven precious grandchildren. Their entire family now lives within five minutes of each other and can often be found at the Gudgel Homestead along with their goats, chickens, dogs, cats, bunnies, flower farm, and Dave and Bernice’s Barn.

Transitional Pastor Ministry Description
This is a Record of Understanding between Transitional Lead Pastor Dave Gudgel and the Mariners Church of Half Moon Bay. The plan is for Pastor Dave to serve Mariners Church beginning January 14, 2026. Lord willing, Pastor Dave will serve in this transitional role until a new Lead Pastor is installed and begins his ministry at Mariners. Dave’s Transitional Lead Pastor position is a 15-hour-a-week role that does not have the potential of becoming a permanent call to Mariners Church Half Moon Bay.  In that this will be a part-time position, Pastor Dave will not be expected or able to do all that a full-time Lead Pastor would do. So the focus of his ministry at FBC will be on…

• Preaching at the Sunday morning services two times a month. Dave will also work with Brenna Davis and the Steering Team to schedule other pastors, teachers, applicants, and candidates to preach on the Sundays that Dave is not preaching.
• Chairing the “Steering Team” who will guide the Mariners family toward ongoing and future ministry impact.
• Serving in an advisory role to the Lead Pastor Discovery Team.
• Supporting the Mariners staff through meetings, prayer, counsel, fellowship etc.
• Keeping in-person office hours during two weeks of each month on Thursdays and Fridays. These days and hours may fluctuate depending on meetings, appointments, or other ministry needs.
• Being available to the Mariners’ family when needs come up that are beyond what staff, elders, and members of the congregation can provide. This may include counseling, conflict resolution, prayer, encouragement, and the like.

I’m Paul, one of the pastors here at Mariners Church. I kinda’ oversee the whole deal here, but I have great people working alongside me both as volunteers as well as staff. Since 1988, I have been pastor of Mariners (you do the math). I came here because of the challenge of seeing God put together a church in an area where very few know Jesus in a personal way. It’s been a great ride. I grew up in Southern California and was in South Florida for three years before I came to Half Moon Bay. For those that pay attention to this stuff—I have a bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly, a master’s from Talbot Seminary (Biola) and a doctorate from Fuller Seminary. I have an incredible wife and family of whom I can’t get enough. When I have free time, I enjoy riding my road bike, running miles along the bluffs, and working around the house. Other things I like are fly fishing, In N Out, and backpacking (when I can get away). I hate coffee. And tuna casserole. It’s always been my desire to be part of an authentic community of committed followers of Jesus Christ. I truly get excited when we see “Christ fully developed” in people (Galatians 4:19). Through the years, God has done an incredible work of building a group of people at Mariners who truly love God and seek to serve Him in a real way.