Reverend Steve Jones

Steve was born and raised in Chippenham in Wiltshire. Leaving school at sixteen, Steve joined the Royal Marines at Lympstone. While at CTCRM he met Denise, who was later to become his wife (now of 36 years). Following completion of his marine training in 1982, Steve was posted to Plymouth, just as the Falklands War was about to commence. Still only seventeen, Steve sailed south with the Task Force. While at the Ajax Bay settlement on East Falkland, he was right under a 500lb bomb dropped by an Argentine jet, however was miraculously protected from harm. In an air-raid bunker later that day, Steve prayed and trusted Jesus Christ with his life and his eternity. At the end of the conflict Steve proposed marriage to Denise by telex message from Port Stanley. They were married in All Saints Church, Kenton in 1983. After six years in the Royal Marines, he joined the Wiltshire Constabulary, and served as a police officer in Swindon and Devizes. He then left the police in 1990, and went to Exeter University, where he read Law. After qualifying as a barrister, Steve practiced from chambers in Taunton and Exeter, specialising in Family Law.

In 2001, Steve, Denise and their two children, Katie and Charlie, moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, where Steve took up his first full-time ministry. In 2003 the family moved back to Devon, where Steve planted a community church. In 2007 the whole family moved again to the USA, this time for Steve to take up an associate minister position in a large Baptist Church, just west of Detroit, Michigan. In 2012, Steve was appointed as senior minister of
that congregation. After several years of discernment discussions with the Diocese of Exeter, in 2015 Steve and Denise moved back to the UK, for Steve to attend Trinity Theological College, Bristol. He graduated with a Durham University Master’s degree in Theology and Mission in 2016. Steve also has a Master’s degree in Ministry Leadership from Summit University, Pennsylvania.

Following his time at Trinity College, Steve has served his curacy in the Totnes Mission Community. Steve is an accredited mediator and mediation trainer, and has provided training on conflict resolution internationally, as well as here in the UK. Later this year, Steve is going to be teaching a comprehensive training programme for new mediators across the Diocese of Exeter.

Steve likes running, fishing, reading, bodyboarding, flying remote-controlled aircraft, and spending time with his family. Denise has a degree in fine art and is a freelance artist. They have a little white American Cockapoo dog, named Winston.