Stephen Leston

Stephen Leston is the Director of the Center for Pioneer Church Planting, which trains church planting teams to plant church among the unreached people groups around the world. He is a missionary sent from Kishwaukee Bible Church, where he was a teaching pastor for 13 years. Stephen's life and ministry are driven by a desire to help people understand the Scriptures and experience the deep and life changing transformation that comes from the word of God. For over 20 years, Stephen has been passionate about teaching God's word and investing in the next generation the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ through non-formal, church-based training. He is the author of several commentaries in the Quicknotes commentary series, as well as "The Bible and World History: Putting Scripture in a Global Context". He is married to Heather, and has four children. Stephen holds a Bachelor of Ministry, a Master of Theology and a Doctor of Bible Studies Degree.

Recovering the heart of church planting

  • Stephen Leston
  • 8 December 2016

Church planting isn't just for the young—it's the natural result of discipleship.

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The Epic of Gilgamesh and an open door for the gospel

  • Stephen Leston
  • 2 September 2016

A night at the orchestra caused Stephen Leston to realize that God has created within each of us a longing for eternal life.

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The best pastoral advice I ever received

  • Stephen Leston
  • 6 May 2016

Stephen Leston shares his surprising answer to a young minister’s question.

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A pastor’s journey: How the text shaped my ministry

  • Stephen Leston
  • 18 January 2016

I‘ve been going through a season of soul-searching recently. One of the things I’ve reflected on is that, as you progress in ministry, you have to manage change on a constant basis. I understood this on one level going into ministry. I understood that the world changes, people change, and cultures change. But one area I had not given a lot of attention to was the fact that I change over the course of ministry.

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From mission field to mission station: Lessons from Acts 11:19-30

  • Stephen Leston
  • 18 September 2015

I am currently preaching through the book of Acts. It is my second time preaching through this book, and I love it! I just recently finished preaching through Acts 11:19-30: the formation of the church in Antioch. This account is one that has always intrigued me.

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The question of the millennium

  • Stephen Leston
  • 15 June 2015

Matthias Media recently published a book by Steve Morrison called Born This Way, addressing the issue of same-sex attraction by examining both the scientific studies and what God says in the Word. After reading the book, I felt the need to write a short post to encourage others to read it too (no, I wasn’t asked by Matthias to do so!).

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Easter: Room for the world to worship

  • Stephen Leston
  • 3 April 2015

I am sitting in the Copenhagen Airport after spending the last several days in Norway talking with church planters from Norway, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic. We were discussing plans on training and releasing thousands of church planters into Central and Eastern Europe. It was an incredible time.

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A huge lesson learned from Ephesians

  • Stephen Leston
  • 22 July 2014

I was recently teaching a group of young men and women who were training to be missionaries a class on the book of Ephesians. While we were discussing the book, something hit me that opened my eyes to another layer of Ephesians. Having taught through Ephesians several times I had

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Reflections on Pastoral Counseling: Understanding the Christian Life

  • Stephen Leston
  • 23 January 2014

I have been thinking a lot about counseling lately. I suppose as we move to the post-Christmas season people tend to get a little depressed. When they get down they tend to fight with family members. When they fight with family members they tend to call me. Somehow people want

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Just do what I told you

  • Stephen Leston
  • 29 October 2013

When I was a boy, I had a weekly summer chore of mowing the lawn. My dad liked it done every Thursday. You would think that it would not be too difficult for me to get that task done—after all, I knew exactly what I needed to do and when

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