Pastor David Seifert retires after successful Modesto ministry, marred midstream by adultery
The Rev. David Seifert came to Modesto in 1977 to pastor a church with fewer than 70 people and oversaw its explosive growth into a megachurch on a large campus with about 3,000 weekly attendees. He later began a second church that also built a large facility in north Modesto and draws about 1,500 people each week. He’ll officially retire next Sunday as senior pastor of Shelter Cove Community Church.
“It’s been quite a ride,” Seifert, 71, said last week. “There have been so many wonderful people and so many amazing stories. My wife said to me today, ‘David, you’ve had a very, very useful life.’ I am just so grateful to the Lord.”
In the past 37 years, Seifert lost his first wife, Susan, to cancer after 22 years of marriage, married his second wife, Ruth, nearly 28 years ago, and founded Big Valley Grace Community Church and Shelter Cove, as well as Big Valley Christian School. Four other churches in Modesto, Oakdale and Manteca were founded by pastors from Big Valley. Seifert’s 19-year leadership of the Greater Modesto Ministerial Association brought together 100 pastors across denominational and racial lines for weekly prayer and led to the “Church of Modesto,” a loose gathering of churches and Christians that held annual citywide worship services, helped lead flood-relief efforts in 1997 and gained attention in the national press.
But Seifert’s ministry nearly capsized in 2000 under the weight of another kind of front-page news: A brief affair with a married church member in 1985, after his first wife died, was made public in a civil lawsuit by two excommunicated members. He had confessed the affair to three elders on his church board at the time it happened but did not tell the full board or the congregation. The news forced Seifert’s resignation from Big Valley and led to a painful split at that church and between other Modesto churches and pastors that has lasted for years.
Relations with Big Valley Grace eased after the Rev. Rick Countryman, who grew up at BVG and later became its high school pastor, took over as senior pastor in 2005.
“There was a lot of pain and sorrow during that season. But today, David and I are friends,” Countryman said. “I’ve had the privilege of going to Shelter Cove and speaking to their men’s groups. The reality is, there are people who are still deeply hurt by this, in my church and in other churches, but I’ve made peace with the situation.
“His impact on my life was profound. The Lord used him more than anybody else to influence my life, my walk with the Lord. He got me started in ministry. God used David in an incredible way to build a wonderful, wonderful church here (at BVG). You can’t not acknowledge that.”
After the fallout, Seifert and his wife retreated out of town for a time, unsure of their future. Ultimately, about 500 people urged him to form a new church in Modesto.
“I’m so glad I stayed and didn’t leave,” Seifert said. “There were some very hard times. Searching for God’s peace in the midst of the storm, you learn a lot about your own shortcomings. I certainly love and appreciate the leadership and people at Big Valley Grace. I could not be more thrilled to see it flourish under Pastor Rick’s leadership.”
Accepted Christ as teen
It’s been quite a journey for Seifert, who moved to Modesto from Long Beach to lead Greenwood Brethren Church, which was founded as an outreach of La Loma Grace Brethren Church in 1966. Soon after Seifert’s arrival in 1977, the congregation changed its name to Big Valley Grace Community Church. A 1978 news story said the church received a national award for its 250 percent growth in one year. By 1981, membership had reached nearly 1,000.
Growing up in Ohio with two brothers and a sister, Seifert said his parents were Christians who only occasionally attended church, until the boys hit their teens and began getting into trouble. “Mom went on the hunt to find a Bible-believing church to make a difference in her boys’ lives,” Seifert said. “At 16 years old, I accepted Christ at a Youth for Christ event. I went on to a Christian college.”
After graduating, he spent four years working in labor relations at a General Motors plant.
“That was a great time of preparing me for the ministry, trying to negotiate with the UAW (United Auto Workers),” he said with a chuckle. “I learned some great lessons there. I also learned that no matter how many cars people had in their garage, they still needed Jesus. I learned that firsthand. That was part of how God called me into the ministry.”
He earned his seminary degree and worked for 10 years at churches in Ohio and Southern California before moving to Modesto.
Seifert brought well-known and sometimes controversial speakers to Modesto, including Jerry Falwell and Oliver North. He publicly urged women not to abort their babies, pledging to find church folks to pay for their medical costs and to help the mothers raise the children or find good homes for them. He applauded Modesto City Schools when the board chose to promote an abstinence program in its high school health classes. He oversaw the growth of a variety of ministries, from sign language interpreters to Sunday school classes for special-needs children to a program for recovering addicts. And he encouraged his congregation to participate in mission projects, locally and around the world.
Looking back on his years of ministry, he said, “If I have a legacy, it’s teaching God’s word and making people disciples of Jesus, and having a heart for missions far beyond our community. Those are important to me,” he said.
He has advice for young people who are feeling a call from God: “I would say to any young person who senses a call into Christian ministry, while it’s challenging, it’s one of the greatest lifestyles you could choose. I would encourage you to prepare yourself and move forward in faith.”
He added, “I would like to express my thankfulness for so many leaders in this community. I have found them to be wonderful people that I have enjoyed hanging out with. (Former city councilman and county supervisor) Ray Simon has been an amazing person. George Deukmejian. So many things we did, not just churchwise, but in the community. My Catholic friends who have supported pro-life causes over so many years – hats off to them.”
‘All about reconciliation’
The Rev. Darius Crosby, senior pastor at Greater Glory Community Church and president of Staff of Life Ministries, said he appreciated Seifert’s efforts years ago to reconcile pastors across racial lines.
“When we were involved in this whole Church of Modesto, he came and talked to the pastors,” Crosby said. “He was almost to the point of tears and said, ‘I’ve been involved in reconciliation and had to look at myself, one of those of the lighter hue. I had to ask myself, how many African American friends do I have? How many times has an African American been to my house? To my place of worship?’ That spoke to me. My one priority is all about reconciliation. I think that’s one reason David and I became fast friends.”
The services marking Seifert’s retirement will include a 20-minute talk by him, followed by what organizers call “video testimony of David’s lifelong impact” by people such as David Brickner, president of Jews for Jesus; Countryman; Elmer Towns, co-founder of Liberty University; and Manny Fernandez, president of World Link Ministries.
Seifert said he and his wife, Ruth, have moved to the desert community of Indio but expect to return to the area often, “especially during the summer,” to visit family and friends. They have five children, all married, and 13 grandchildren.
Asked about future plans, Seifert said he doesn’t have anything specific on the agenda in the near future.
“We want to kind of rest the first year,” he said. “I do look forward to a couple of mission trips a year, and perhaps some Bible prophecy or teaching conferences. We’re just kind of waiting on the Lord.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2014 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Pastor David Seifert retires after successful Modesto ministry, marred midstream by adultery."