In his desk drawer Stephen has a weird looking, long bit of metal with a handle on the end. It’s not a back scratcher … it’s a puppet arm rod! A what?
Stephen loves puppets, and he has lots of them—many of them custom made and well insured. In fact, for the four years prior to working at Trinity Church Adelaide, he was a travelling puppeteer! In addition to his family of puppets, Stephen has a real family. He’s married to Sarah and they have three kids.
Stephen’s study background was in Performing Arts – Music (singing) and Drama. (It wasn’t on the curriculum, but he’s also gone in a stunt plane and done loops, rolls and stall turns!)
With a work background mostly in retail and retail management, including running Video-Ezy stores (until they fully closed down), it’s no surprise that Stephen has some favourite movies: Shawshank Redemption, Toy Story 2, Matrix, and Bourne Identity/Supremacy … always accompanied by pizza!
Two childhood events profoundly affected Stephen’s life: firstly, at a young age, he chose to follow Jesus; secondly, he joined a choir and discovered that performing was something he loved to do.
Stephen comes from a family who told the truth about Jesus, and he was taught to read the Bible and decide for himself. As a teen and a young adult he matured as a Christian through various camp ministries where he was encouraged to think about what Jesus said, and who he was.
He’s passionate about kids hearing about Jesus in creative ways. His role at Trinity Church Adelaide is to make sure kids are taught well; to train and help kids’ leaders; and to organise and coordinate and train people for kids’ teaching and evangelism.
Stephen is happy to share a tip—from personal experience—for performing blokes: always make sure that (a) you’re wearing dark underwear, and (b) your fly is not undone!
If you would like to contact Stephen please email adelaide@trinity.church