Dr. David Guretzki is a Canadian theologian and church leader serving as President and CEO of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), the national alliance representing nearly 2 million evangelical Christians across the country. Before stepping into that role in 2023, he spent 24 years as a theology professor and academic leader at Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan, and he remains one of Canada’s leading scholars on the theology of Karl Barth.
[IMAGE: Dr. David Guretzki speaking at an Evangelical Fellowship of Canada event]
| Personal | |
|---|---|
| Full name | David Guretzki |
| Raised in | Onoway, Alberta, Canada |
| Lives in | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Spouse | Maureen Guretzki (m. 1989) |
| Children | Joey, Chiante, and Sierra |
| Church | Trinity Bible Church of Ottawa |
| Education | |
| Undergraduate | Bachelor of Religious Education, Briercrest |
| Master’s | MA in Historical Theology, Briercrest |
| Doctorate | PhD in Western Christian Thought, McGill University |
| Career | |
| Current role | President & CEO, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada |
| Since | 2023 (joined EFC staff in 2017) |
| Previous role | Professor of Theology, Church and Public Life, Briercrest College and Seminary (1993–2017) |
| Books published | Three, including Karl Barth on the Filioque |
| Publication | Executive publisher, Faith Today |
Early Life and Education
David Guretzki grew up in Onoway, Alberta, a small community near Edmonton, the youngest of four children born to Dennis and Evelyn. His path into theology started early and stayed narrow in focus but deep in commitment: a Bachelor of Religious Education, followed by a Master of Arts in Historical Theology, both from Briercrest.
He went on to McGill University in Montreal for his PhD in Western Christian Thought, completing a dissertation on the genesis and systematic function of the Filioque, the theological term for the Holy Spirit’s procession from the Father and the Son, in the Church Dogmatics of Swiss theologian Karl Barth. That dissertation, finished in 2006 under Douglas Farrow, would go on to define much of his academic reputation for the next two decades.
Twenty-Four Years at Briercrest
Guretzki spent the bulk of his academic career at Briercrest College and Seminary in Caronport, Saskatchewan, teaching historical and systematic theology from 1993 to 2017. Over that stretch, he moved well beyond the classroom, taking on roles as Dean of the Seminary and Vice President of External Relations, and serving as an elder at Caronport Community Church.
He also led the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association as its president, work that put him in regular contact with the wider network of Canadian evangelical scholars and pastors he’d eventually serve in a much bigger way.
[IMAGE: Briercrest College and Seminary campus, Caronport, Saskatchewan]
Joining the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
Guretzki’s connection to the EFC started well before he joined its staff. He served as a national board member from 2008 to 2017, work that put him inside the organization’s decision-making long before it became his full-time calling.
In 2017, then-EFC president Bruce Clemenger recruited him for a newly created role: Executive Vice President and Resident Theologian. The idea was to give the EFC an in-house theologian who could think through the organization’s public and ecclesial questions at a deeper theological level, not just a policy one. Guretzki has said he initially thought the idea sounded strange. It aligned with his gifts closely enough that he took the job anyway, and it stuck.
He became President and CEO of the EFC in 2023, a transition that shifted his day-to-day work away from administration and toward the bigger-picture issues facing the organization, the Canadian church, and the roughly 45 denominational partners under the EFC’s umbrella. That structure includes leaders like Jason Ballard and pastors such as Roger Helland, who currently serves as the EFC’s Prayer Ambassador under Guretzki’s leadership.
“I’m a kind of person that likes that variety and likes the movement and dynamic of change,” Guretzki has said of his work at the EFC. “I like a bit of balance between stability and change… and the EFC fits the bill really well there.”
Author and Barth Scholar
Guretzki has published three books, all of them shaped by his years of teaching and studying theology in the classroom. His first, Karl Barth on the Filioque (2009), grew directly out of his doctoral work and remains a serious academic treatment of one of the most contested points in trinitarian theology, the question of how the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
He co-authored the Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms alongside Stanley J. Grenz and Cherith Fee Nordling, a reference guide built for students and pastors who need theological vocabulary explained clearly and quickly.
His third book, An Explorer’s Guide to Karl Barth (2016), took a different approach entirely. Where his first book was written for specialists, this one was built for beginners intimidated by the sheer size of Barth’s writing, the Church Dogmatics alone runs past eight thousand pages. Guretzki structured the guide around frequently asked questions, a glossary of key terms, and a tour through Barth’s major works, all aimed at making one of the twentieth century’s most significant but difficult theologians genuinely approachable.
[IMAGE: David Guretzki’s book An Explorer’s Guide to Karl Barth]
Theological Focus and Public Role
Guretzki’s academic interests run wider than Barth alone. He’s written and spoken on the theology of forgiveness and reconciliation, political theology, ecclesiology, pneumatology, and Roman Catholic-Evangelical dialogue, areas that map closely onto the EFC’s own public work on religious freedom and church unity.
That expertise has moved beyond academic papers and into courtrooms. Guretzki has provided expert witness testimony in three separate court cases involving religious freedom issues in Canada, applying his theological training to real legal questions about how faith communities function and what protections they’re owed.
He’s also the executive publisher of Faith Today, the EFC’s bi-monthly print and digital publication, where he writes a regular column called “Cross Connections.” Since 2019, he’s served on the International Council of the World Evangelical Alliance, extending his role from a national to a global scale.
Personal Life
David Guretzki has been married to his wife, Maureen, since 1989. They have three adult children, Joey, Chiante, who is married to Dawson, and Sierra, and the couple now lives in Ottawa, Ontario, where they attend Trinity Bible Church.
Away from theology, Guretzki keeps a fairly hands-on set of hobbies: amateur radio, woodworking, reading novels, and astrophotography. Since the pandemic, he’s also leaned further into online teaching and speaking, adapting decades of in-person academic work to a much wider digital audience.
Influence and Legacy
Guretzki occupies a fairly rare position in Canadian evangelicalism: a serious academic theologian who also runs a major national organization. His scholarship on Karl Barth has shaped how a generation of Canadian seminary students approach one of Protestant theology’s most important twentieth-century figures, while his leadership at the EFC puts him at the center of the country’s ongoing conversations about religious freedom, denominational cooperation, and what it means to be evangelical in Canada today.
His adjunct teaching roles at both Briercrest Seminary and Tyndale Seminary in Toronto keep him connected to the classroom even while running a national organization, a balance he’s described as central to how he wants to keep leading.
Interesting Facts
- Guretzki’s PhD dissertation on Karl Barth’s theology later became his first published book.
- He served nine years on the EFC’s national board before ever joining its staff.
- He’s given expert witness testimony in three Canadian court cases on religious freedom.
- He’s an amateur radio operator and astrophotographer outside of his theological work.
- He writes a regular column, “Cross Connections,” for Faith Today magazine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is David Guretzki?
David Guretzki is a Canadian theologian and President and CEO of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the country’s national evangelical alliance.
What did David Guretzki do before leading the EFC?
He spent 24 years as a professor of theology at Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan, also serving as Dean of the Seminary and Vice President of External Relations.
What books has David Guretzki written?
He’s published three books: Karl Barth on the Filioque, the Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, and An Explorer’s Guide to Karl Barth.
Where did David Guretzki study?
He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Briercrest and a PhD in Western Christian Thought from McGill University in Montreal.
What is the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada?
The EFC is a national alliance of evangelical Christian denominations, organizations, and congregations in Canada, representing nearly 2 million Christians, and David Guretzki currently serves as its President and CEO.
