THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF DR. DAVID KITELEY

David Ray Kiteley was born on October 10, 1945, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to Raymond Valentine Kiteley and Violet Whitney Kiteley. He was a living miracle even prior to birth, as a newly widowed Pastor Violet was told to abort her baby, as there was no longer a heartbeat. She refused to receive this negative report but instead believed that God would miraculously cover her child.

At an early age, Pastor David Kiteley began serving the community with his mother and grandparents Albert and Mary Jane Whitney. From their example, he learned to have compassion and love for all people, as they served the disenfranchised at the mission and on the streets. Since Pastor Violet gave most of their monetary increase to help those in need, they did not have much materially. It was these humble beginnings that made Pastor David into a sacrificial, caring, generous person, who always put others above himself.

In 1955, Dr. Violet Kiteley started Revival Tabernacle in a rural suburb of Vancouver, close to the U.S. border. Revival Tabernacle, now known as Horizon Church, continues to be a vibrant congregation of 1,000+ members. Pastor David was literally raised in the church, like Samuel of old, he slept on the stage of the church and in the church basement.

At the tender age of 10 years old, he witnessed words of knowledge and phenomenal healing miracles right before his eyes, which gave him faith to pray for many to be healed despite challenges with his own health. God performed miracle after miracle, extending his life time and time again, despite the doctor’s negative reports. He fully believed Psalm 34:19 which says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver them from all.” Pastor David prayed the prayer of faith for many people to be healed in their physical bodies and for deliverance from mental, spiritual, and emotional bondage. Early on Pastor David felt a call to ministry and began serving as the church youth pastor at 16, utilizing creative and often unorthodox methods to reach the youth of that day. While he felt very timid the first time that he got up to preach, he felt the word of God burn within him and nothing could hold him back from walking in his calling. Fresh out of high school, he worked as a steward on the ferry, transporting people and cargo back and forth from Vancouver, B.C. to Vancouver Island, Victoria.

At age 16, almost 60 years ago, he met the love of his life Marilyn (Sigurdson). He always fondly recollected the youth ice skating trip, where they literally “fell for each other on the ice”, and the rest is history. In 1966, they were married in New Westminster, B.C. and spent their honeymoon driving down to serve the church in Oakland. Their marriage was characterized by love, laughter, faithfulness, hard work, dedication and much joy. Pastor Marilyn was his “rock” and the one who he said, “kept his kite strings grounded so he didn’t float away” since he was a person of such large vision. She has always stood firm, solid and full of faith even during her husband’s major surgeries and hospitalizations, as well as major setbacks in the church, numerically and financially. Trusting that the Lord is the best paymaster and that He would always take care of them, she released Pastor David to fulfill the will of God both in Oakland and around the world.

At age 19, Pastor David felt it was God's best for his mother and elderly parents to launch out beyond the borders of their beloved homeland Canada. Through his connection in Oakland, they relocated to the Bay Area as missionaries. This was during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the Hippie Revolution of the mid-60s. In September of 1965, a handful of dedicated believers assembled in the living room of an African American family to launch a new church called Shiloh. The church soon became a haven for scores of new Christians who found Shiloh to be a place of refuge and safety. Shiloh became a forerunner in Davidic worship and a lighthouse in the Bay Area and Northern California. Soon they were able to move to a storefront church, and Pastor David worked double shifts at Western Title to help pay the rent for the church building. Fifty-six years later, Shiloh has grown to include parishioners from over 50 nations with affiliate ministries impacting hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world through its biblically based training centers and church plants.

Two years after Shiloh was founded, Pastors David and Marilyn Kiteley were asked to return to Canada to serve the church that Pastor Violet had pastored for 10 years. They began their full-time ministry in 1967 as pastors at Revival Tabernacle. The salary was $60.00 per week plus a 3-bedroom parsonage, which they shared regularly with missionaries, visiting ministry, as well as with two foster sons (just seven and ten years younger than they were), and Grandpa and Grandma Whitney.

Revival Tabernacle was a needy group of 30 people who had experienced many difficult days. For the new pastors, it was a challenge to reach these hurting people. After much agonizing over the situation and threatening to quit the ministry (every Monday), Pastors David and Marilyn decided to surrender the situation to the Lord. They launched a major concerted prayer and fasting campaign which was the beginning of a serious breakthrough. The church grew and multiplied to 200 as backsliders returned, broken families were healed, and disillusioned members began to be revived and, not to mention, Pastor David “finally learned to preach”. He said, “Marilyn was always there in the front row cheering me on, laughing at my jokes, and praying for the Holy Spirit to give me an effective word.” Twenty-four hours a day they were together in the work of the Lord. As Pastor David said, “It was finally apparent, after three years of intense plowing and intercession, that God was showing up in the services and that the church had a bright future.” It was then in 1970 that an “SOS” emergency call came from Oakland to assist Pastor Violet Kiteley during an extended illness.

For five exciting, challenging, never-a-dull-moment decades, Pastors David and Marilyn Kiteley served the body of Christ in Oakland, California at Shiloh. During that time, their ministry matured and blossomed as they gave themselves as servants of the Lord. Along with Pastor Violet Kiteley, they co-founded Shiloh in 1965. For three years they were pastors in Canada. At Shiloh, they served for 16 years as co-pastors, 22 years as senior pastors and 13 years as Pastors Emeritus. Pastor David acted as president of Shiloh for 37 years, and Pastor Marilyn served as the corporate secretary for 36 years. What an amazing lifetime of wholehearted service for the Lord! He shared all the amazing stories of the “Shiloh Miracle” in two books: “Forty Years of Increase” and “Fifty Years of Fruit that Remains”.

Pastor David has functioned as pastor, prophet, teacher, evangelist, and apostle. He is truly a Hebrews 11 “hero of the faith” who impacted the nations with the salvation message of Jesus Christ. His intense love for the mission field led him to minister in more than 40 countries and most of the states of the union, where he brought an anointed, spirit-filled word in season to a needy generation of people. Pastor David was known for his travel stories, especially with his long-time best friend Pastor Moses Vegh. For hours he could entertain with tales of crazy and hilarious scenarios that occurred when those two characters got together. Bravely and boldly going where not many would go, he traveled throughout the world and even ate exotic foods like monkey brain soup and rattlesnakes!

Much was accomplished for the Kingdom of God on his many trips. Pastor David co-sponsored a mission’s trip to Romania, where they provided 10,000 Bibles and 100,000’s dollars of medical supplies to the nation. A recent report estimated that there are now 500,000 people in churches established out of leadership conferences he co-sponsored in Russia. Many times, he traveled to Hong Kong and into underground churches in China, and on one occasion he ministered prophetically to over 2,400 leaders. Several million people were brought into the kingdom and are part of the house church movement because of these presbyteries. With Maranatha Ministries he ministered at large university gatherings of students from nations all over the world. Raising up soldiers in God’s army to head to the mission field was a major emphasis of his ministry. He extended apostolic oversight to Shiloh Church’s mission outreaches in Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, Mexico, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Indonesia, and India.

His love for all people and sensitivity to the leading of the Lord brought Pastor David to the forefront of racial reconciliation throughout the Bay Area and the nation, where he was sought out to speak about interracial and cross-cultural unity. He co-founded and served for many years in a ministry known as “Uniting Bay Area Ministries”.

Pastor David ministered to the Jesus People in the early 70s, which included Harvest House in San Francisco, the UC Berkeley campus, Noah’s Ark Coffee House in Oakland, and Zap Men’s House. Because he had a deep love for the presence of the Lord, he placed a priority on worship and the workings of the Spirit in people’s lives. He sponsored the first Worship Symposium and mentored Worship leaders who carried the message to churches throughout the U.S., Canada, and other parts of the world. He had the vision to start a Christian school (K-12) in Oakland and served as the first principal of Shiloh Christian Academy. Pastor David Kiteley and Pastor Violet Kiteley prophesied over the late John Gimenez of the Rock Church to lead Christians to Washington D.C. in 1980 for the largest Christian gathering at our nation’s capital in history of the U.S. at that time, where 750,000 Christians gathered on the mall. It was the first time that many major charismatic and evangelical leaders ministered on the same platform. He also served as a member of the Apostolic Team of Ministers Fellowship International in an emeritus status.

Having a hunger for lost souls prompted Pastor David to endorse a food ministry, homeless ministry, and street evangelism ministries (such as Block Parties, the March of Righteousness with over 12,000 in attendance, health and job fairs, Parent Empowerment Program, etc.) He firmly believed the church should not be a “sleeping giant” in the community. Therefore, Pastor David became closely involved with the police department and mayor’s office in the “war against drugs” and the endeavor to make the City of Oakland a safer environment, especially for children and elderly. Because of his desire to see unity between other churches and denominations, he broke through dividing walls by bringing pastors together in prayer.

Pastor David received awards and recognition for crime prevention from the following: the National Crime Prevention council and ADT, the State of California, Neighborhood Ministries, Director of the Oakland Block Party Council, City of Oakland Building Coalition, and Mayor’s Council. He was a member of the steering committee for the 1997 Billy Graham Crusade in the greater Bay Area. At the time of the Loma Prieta earthquake, Pastor David led efforts to re-establish many who were displaced. With the late Rev Betita Coty, Shiloh was able to provide 100 trailers for displaced families. He served as a member of the mayor’s council on education known as “Oakland - Sharing the Vision''. As a member of the Alameda County Faith Initiative, he was part of a collaborative of churches and social service agencies promoting foster parenting in the faith community. He served as sponsor and advisor to the School Street Center, Shiloh Christian Conservatory of Music and Arts, Back-to-School Bash, Jungle Jam, Harvest Festival & Forever Drama. Pastor David served as President of the Pastors of Oakland, 2011 – 2013. The Pastors of Oakland continued their mission of mobilizing the faith community for civic action and expanded their mission to include leadership development programs for pastors and church leaders.

In 1970 Shiloh Bible College was founded by Pastor Violet Kiteley to biblically equip and empower people to live for Christ. Throughout the years, it opened several extension campuses in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Ethiopia, Philippines, and Miramar, Ethiopia with the goal of raising up 5,000 missionary pastors. Pastor David was instrumental in teaching and training hundreds of leaders who are now serving as pastors, missionaries, and licensed ministers both nationally and internationally.

Pastor David’s practical and down-to-earth, nonreligious, tell-it-like-it-is messages, mixed with humor and strong biblical content, as well as prophetic revelation were a lifesaver to hundreds of people who were ready to give up on the organized traditional church. God graciously gave him an anointed appeal to people of all ages and races and economic, educational, and denominational backgrounds.

Pastors David and Marilyn opened their home and hearts to countless people. They spent a great deal of their ministry bringing resources and Holy Spirit rehabilitation to people who are hurting and desperately needing “TLC”. Pastor David was truly a friend to the friendless and made each person he spent time feel like he was genuinely present and that they were important. He took a chance on people, never concerned with what they could do for him. Servant leadership characterized his many years of dedicated ministry. His life’s goal was to glorify Jesus and to advance the Kingdom of God.

In 1973, God blessed Pastors David and Marilyn with the birth of their son Patrick. He was born via emergency c-section and was given a 1 and 40 chance of survival. When the doctors had given up hope, the Lord sovereignly raised Patrick up. In 1974, their daughter Melinda was born, completing their little family. Both children loved their father deeply and looked up to him as an example and model for their lives. Although they obviously had a full plate being pastors and ministers in the Kingdom of God, Pastors David and Marilyn still took quality time to lovingly raise their children. Pastor David was never too busy to take his children (and later grandchildren) to Disneyland or to share his wisdom with them. Through their adulthood, Pastor David has been a friend, confidante, encourager, and the best of dads! He always placed a priority on being present for his immediate family. “Hanging out” with the grandkids was one of his favorite activities, as he took them to bowling, movies and out for ice cream. He shared his love of cars and collection of model-sized classic cars with his two grandsons. Known for his humor and antics, he kept the whole family laughing through good times and bad. After living near the Ramos’ family for several years, Pastors David and Marilyn relocated to Georgia for the last three years to spend time with the Kiteley’s. It was a peaceful, restful place where Pastor David Kiteley authored two more books, “I Didn’t Mean to Cause Trouble” and one he just finished “Waging a Winnable War” (which will be published soon.)

On October 29, 2021, Pastor David Kiteley was welcomed into the arms of Jesus to receive his eternal reward. He is now alive and well in the presence of the Lord. He fought the good fight, he finished the race, and he kept the faith! (2 Timothy 4:7). While we prayed for a miracle of healing, God sovereignly took him home, and is now experiencing eternity with Jesus!

Pastor David’s legacy is being carried on through his wife Pastor Marilyn Kiteley; son and daughter-in-law, Pastors Patrick and Marlena Kiteley; son-in-law and daughter, Pastors Javier and Melinda Ramos; and grandchildren Hailey and her husband Gabriel Trevino, Joshua Ramos, Zachary Kiteley, Cristiana Ramos, and Hope Jazzlynn Kiteley. He was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Violet Kiteley, his grandparents Albert and Mary Jane Whitney, and his grandson Isaiah Ramos. His legacy is also carried on by a host of people all around the world who called him their spiritual father, who were brought to Jesus because of his life and ministry! Well done good and faithful servant, you were a true general in God’s army! 

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/david-kiteley/obituary/

Copy