Born and raised in Elk County, PA,^a  Dave Zuchelli spent his early years creating short sermons and eulogies for family and friends. He spent his summers with his grandparents in northern Italy. He vividly remembers watching TV evangelists with his grandmother and falling in love with each shouted word. Even though he couldn't understand Italian, he was fascinated by their preaching.  It was only years later that he discovered he had been listening to Mafioso propagandists. 

Dave left his home in 1967 to attend Edinboro State College.^a There he studied girls, drugs, and a little biology.  However, he could not escape the allure of the pulpit and quickly began searching for a congregation who would accept a long haired, bearded, hippie-type preacher. He began reading every sermon he could find.  From expository to topical, Dave's love of preaching was uncontrollable.  Zuchelli soon sold his television to get enough money to take a class in seminary.

Zeke (as he was now known) was excited to be at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary where he could study people, and listen to their stories.^b "I became a student of life", he recalls.  A year later, Zeke met a prominent church history professor (Doctor Charles Partee) and planted his roots in ministry for good. He soon became a pastor in the United Methodist Church. Then he began writing long, boring sermons and congregational newsletter articles. His first preaching job was for the Brockport U.M. Charge in Western PA.

After nine years, his District Superintendent realized it wasn't fair to bore the same people forever.  Pastor Dave was then appointed to Galloway United Methodist Church near Franklin, PA.^a  Undaunted, he kept preaching and improving his style.  He learned to yell and spit as he preached and became a big hit with the hearing impaired and thirsty.^b

After experiencing some personal problems, Dave took a short  leave of absence from the pulpit.  He relocated to the Washington DC area, and the rest is history.

Dave is about to enter his seventeenth year as pastor of Smith Chapel UMC just outside of Great Falls, VA.^a "Pastor Dave's love of the Word is infectious," said one listener at a recent worship service. "Once you hear him work, you want to get vaccinated."  Dave Zuchelli is truly one of the great success stories of his time.^c