Stephen has been Priory's minister since September 2000. Originally from Hull, he has always been a keen supporter of Hull City Football Club. However, he was delighted to be appointed Chaplain to Doncaster Rovers FC in August 2007, and manages to maintain support for both clubs!? Recently, the 21st century has caught up with him and he now contributes to a blog which can be found here.

He is married to Sue, who greatly enjoys her part time job supporting disabled students at Sheffield Hallam University. Stephen and Sue have three children, Caroline (working as a teacher in South Wales), Stephanie (a staff nurse at the Doncaster Royal Infirmary) and Christopher (currently working for British Swimming in Loughborough).

Before becoming a Methodist minister, Stephen qualified as a chartered accountant, working initially in Hull and later in Norwich. He trained for Methodist ministry at Wesley College in Bristol, before beginning ministerial life in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent in 1990. In 1995 the family moved to Sheffield, where Stephen was minister in the Crookes and Walkley areas. In September 2000, Stephen became minister of Priory Place, in the heart of Doncaster.

During his time in Sheffield, Stephen completed an MA in Evangelism and Mission Studies course at Cliff College, graduating through Sheffield University. He passionately believes that the good news of God?s love in Jesus Christ is a message which is worth sharing. His continuing desire is to work alongside the Priory church members to serve the Doncaster town centre community. He also believes very strongly that Christian faith is practical. In other words, being a Christian is a 24/7 lifestyle, not just something for a couple of hours on a Sunday.

Stephen is a member of the Doncaster Ministers' Prayer Fellowship and of the Churches Together in Central Doncaster group. If you would like to contact him, to ask for information about or discuss the church, Jesus, life in general, or whatever you like, his e-mail address is Stephen[at]bible.f9.co.uk . He doesn't promise to have all the answers, but he would enjoy hearing from you.

I am privileged to have been brought up in a Christian family. I learned a lot about the Christian life from my parents, who encouraged me to be part of the life of the church, and to discover more about Jesus. At the age of 5, I knelt down on the stairs at home one Sunday morning, and committed my life to Jesus Christ. Thus began relationship with Jesus that has grown and developed over the years. During that time, there have been times when I have let him down, but he has never once given up on me. I have been through some difficult times in my life, but have always known that God was with me, even when I couldn?t sense his presence. I can?t imagine what life would be like without knowing His constant love.

By nature, I am a fairly shy person, so it was something of a surprise when I sensed that God wanted me to become a Methodist minister. I felt then, and still feel now, very ill-equipped for the task. But Jesus has been my constant companion and has given me the strength to fulfil the calling he has given me. I enjoyed life as an accountant, but I have never regretted my decision to offer myself for training as a minister of the gospel. It is such a privilege to serve God in this way, and to experience the blessing of sharing the lives of people in times of both joy and sorrow.