Dave Schmelzer (born August 16, 1962) is an American author, playwright, and former pastor in the Association of Vineyard Churches.
He is best known for his non-fiction book, Not The Religious Type, Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist,[1] which details his movement away from atheism and towards the Christian faith, and for founding the Blue Ocean Summit, which gathers ministers and lay leaders interested in addressing matters of faith to a secular world.
This interest with addressing God to a secular and Western audience has been a fundamental theme of his pastoral and authorial work.
(See Published Works below) In the late 1990s, Schmelzer and his wife, Grace, moved to Boston to help found the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Cambridge Massachusetts - renamed to Greater Boston Vineyard in 2006 and transitioned to Reservoir Church in 2015.
During his tenure, the Boston Vineyard peaked at over 1,000 visitors and seeding several church plants, including The River NYC.