My name is Steven Harper, and I have been preaching the gospel full-time since February 1994, and a Christian since May 1974. I have been married since November 1984, and have four children. I have worshiped with churches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, New Mexico, California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas, as well as with brethren in Germany and China. I have worked with congregations in Missouri, California, Arkansas, Arizona, and now Texas.
I did not go to any of the 'brotherhood' colleges or universities for a degree in 'Biblical Studies' or Theology, but I hope you won't hold it against me. I am a diligent Bible student who had such a love for the truth and lost souls that I simply could not not give my life fully to the work of preaching and teaching God's word. After a series of coincidental [Providential?] occurrences that made me think about the possibility of making that leap, I decided to seek a congregation with whom to work, and found a place relatively soon afterwards. I must thank those good brothers and sisters of the Elm Street congregation in St. Charles, Missouri, who took a chance on me. They were very patient, helpful, and loving to me and my family, and those brothers and sisters are still some of my closest friends to this day [and I haven't been at that congregation as their preacher in almost 20 years].
I did work with the brethren there for almost five years, and then moved to the San Diego area to work with a congregation there for about a year before parting ways due to some serious issues that would not be solved by me. From there, I went to North Little Rock, Arkansas, and worked with a small congregation for about four years before getting an invite to work with the Lord's church in Glendale, AZ. The choice to move there was, in part, due to the health of my in-laws; we wanted to be close to them at a time when they were having some difficulties. Fortunately, their health improved and we were not 'needed' for that reason, but we enjoyed 11 years in that location and made some life-long friendships. In September of 2015, I and my family [except my oldest son, who was and is attending Arizona State University] moved to southeast Texas to work with the Avenue N church in Rosenberg. After a little over a year here, I cannot say enough about how glad I am to be here. The brethren here have a love for the truth, want to grow personally in their spiritual strength, and seek to do what they can to reach out to the lost souls in our surrounding area. If you asked me, I would tell you that I am planning on this being my last work, which means I plan on staying here for at least 20 years or so. Lord willing, of course.
If you are a Bible student, I strongly encourage you to make sure you study the right way; I have seen some pretty poor Bible study habits over the years [many methods of which I was guilty of using], and I am a firm believer in what is called the inductive method of Bible study. I plan on posting some material to this website in the coming months, so keep your eyes open for it! I know it will help you gain a better and deeper understanding and love for God's written word. The riches of the text are endless, and the more we know, the better we know our God and our Lord, the surety of the written word, and the surety of those promises contained within.