Hope Dealer
Pastor. Counselor. Author. Advocate for the hopeless.
Hope is the difference between reaching out or going silent. David Gilleland learned that lesson where it's hardest taught — as a pastor who watched people carry their darkest thoughts behind a good Christian smile, an ACBC Certified Biblical Counselor trained to help them bring those thoughts into the light, and a Suicide Prevention Program Manager for the US military, where the cost of silence is measured in lives. Again and again, he found the church could be the place people felt least safe to say what they were really carrying, afraid that struggling made them look less faithful, not more human — and just as often, the place pastors themselves felt least equipped to receive it, quietly referring people out rather than risk doing more harm than good. His work exists to close that gap, so no one has to carry their darkest thoughts alone.
Rooted in Faith
David writes, counsels, and trains church leaders to move from well-meaning silence to informed, biblical, life-saving action. His book, Holding Hope: A Biblical Guide to Suicide Prevention for Church Leaders, is the culmination of years spent in both counseling rooms and crisis response — grounding hard clinical realities in Scripture without flinching from either.
Holding Hope
A 22-chapter guide giving pastors and church leaders the theological grounding and practical tools to recognize despair, intervene well, and walk alongside survivors long after the crisis passes.
Speaking & Training
Every church is different, and so is every training David delivers. Rather than a one-size-fits-all program, each engagement is built around your specific audience and context — whether that's your elder board, your security team, a small group, or your whole congregation.
2 hr
Prices start at $500
45 min
Prices start at $300
Brother's Keeper Project
A weekly conversation on suicide prevention, for pastors and everyday believers who want to know what to say — and what not to — when someone they love is struggling. Clear, clinically accurate, never sensationalized.