David Stephen Smith was born September 25, 1951, in Seminole, Oklahoma, son of William D. and Jane Smith. He graduated from Concordia College, Austin, Texas, in 1972, Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1974, and in 1978 graduated from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, earning a Master of Divinity Degree. He earned the degree Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis in 1997.

Pastor Smith vicared at St. John Lutheran Church, Salem, Oregon, under the supervision of Rev. L. Dean Hempelmann. He was ordained by the late Rev. Gerald P. Otte at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Fort Worth, Texas, on June 4, 1978. He served as pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Starkville, Mississippi, and campus minister at Mississippi State University from 1978 to 1982. In 1982 he accepted the call to be assistant pastor of Christ Memorial Lutheran Church in Affton, Missouri, and later served there as associate pastor. In 1989 he accepted the call to be Dean of Student Life at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He ultimately also served as associate professor of practical theology in the area of homiletics and as placement director. In December 1997 he accepted the call to be Senior Pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Des Peres, Missouri.