Pastor Dave Hodges
Founder & Pastor, Church of Ambrosia (Zide Door)
Built the world's largest psychedelic church with 137,000+ members worldwide.
Biography
Pastor Dave Hodges founded the Church of Ambrosia in 2019 and built it into the largest psychedelic church in the world. Operating the flagship Zide Door congregational space at 1216 10th Ave in Oakland, CA, Hodges has navigated one of the most legally precarious positions in the entire psychedelic movement with what observers consistently describe as philosophical clarity. The church operates as a nondenominational interfaith religion holding psilocybin mushrooms and cannabis as sacred sacraments, with a $5/month membership model that prioritizes accessibility. Membership has grown to 137,000+ worldwide.
When questioned about religious legitimacy, Hodges has responded: 'There are a lot of people out there who don't believe that our faith is real. That's really more of a reflection on them.' His Howard Street San Francisco location was forced to close in December 2024 after what Hodges characterized as harassment from the city's Planning Department, which imposed structural upgrade mandates never previously required of comparable buildings.
The Oakland flagship remains operational 9AM-10PM daily and continues to function as the global hub of the Church of Ambrosia network. Hodges' legal posture combines Oakland's 2019 Decriminalize Nature resolution (which Bob Otis chaired) with First Amendment Free Exercise Clause and RFRA defenses.
Organizations
Why They Matter to the LearnShrooms Community
Hodges is the most recognizable face of the sacramental psilocybin church movement and the de facto test case for whether large-scale, daily-access mushroom churches can operate openly in the United States. Anyone studying RFRA-based church models, the Oakland decriminalization environment, or the broader question of religious-exemption psilocybin access encounters his work first.
Legal Context
For the legal landscape where Pastor Dave Hodges operates, see psilocybin laws in California.