Dave Lomas
steven@realitysf.com (Note: All email will be directed to Steven, Pastor Dave's assistant.)
Pastor/Elder
Pastor of Preaching and Vision
Dave was born and raised in the bustling metropolis of Bakersfield, California. Although he grew up in a loving home--mom stayed home to raise him and his two sisters and dad was a firefighter--no one talked about God much. His first exposure to an evangelical church was not until 5th grade. He went once, that was that.
During his teenage years, Dave partied a lot, drinking and selling drugs. It was in the middle of this that he made a conscious decision to go to church every Sunday morning no matter where he woke up from partying Saturday night. To this day he can't explain why he made that decision outside of the seeking and saving nature of God.
During these times at church he would meet some great people, learn about God and even one time prayed a prayer so he wouldn't go to hell. However, there was no deep change in his heart, in his life.
The week back from Christmas break 1995, Dave was caught selling marijuana at school and was expelled. His little life of friends, drugs and school came crashing down. Not knowing where to turn, he picked up a bible for the first time, one that he'd gotten from his friend two weeks before for Christmas.
He opened to the middle. "The Book of Job" it read, and being a student study bible it had the topical heading "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People." This was an intriguing statement. "Why was I kicked out of school? Why were bad things happening to me? At least I was a little moral and went to church."
As he read the first several chapters, Dave heard for the first time, God communicating to him. "Follow Me and live." This is where Dave believes his heart was converted, his life changed forever. That night, Dave got rid of his drugs and began to follow Jesus. For the first time, he sensed the presence of the God (Acts 3:19).
Dave was discipled by the youth pastor at the church he was attending and began dating this beautiful blonde, Ashley, whom he got to marry in 2002.
After serving at his church as a youth pastor for several years, he met Britt Merrick the founding pastor of Reality. During one meeting, Britt asked Dave point blank if he wanted to start a church. For the last several months God had been stirring Dave's heart to plant a church but didn't know where to start. He told Britt, yes.
In 2007, Dave and Ashley moved to Carpinteria and began the process of planting with Reality. Almost a year after arriving in Carp, God called Dave and Ashley to move to San Francisco to start Reality SF. After two years of prayer meetings and several prayer tours, they and an amazing team of people began Reality SF in January of 2010.
Dave serves as the pastor of preaching and vision at Reality SF. He and his wife Ashley live in the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco and hope to raise kids in this great city.
