Dr Stephen Young

Dr Stephen Young is an Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Academic Dean at PBC. He has been in Christian education for 18 years and specialises in the New Testament.

Stephen was at the Fuller Theological Seminary in the United States from 2005 to 2021. He taught in their English-speaking program and Centro Hispano program, which offered degrees in Spanish.


Stephen’s path to biblical teaching

Stephen chose to dedicate his career to Christian education as he saw many young people in his early undergraduate education years – whom he considered Christian leaders on campus – abandon their faith because of the approach to biblical studies taken in the classroom.

He agreed that if God wanted to use him to pursue that biblical teaching better, he would be willing to do that.

Although hesitant initially, as he felt unworthy of God’s calling, Stephen eventually pursued his MAT as the first step on his journey to a PhD. Stephen’s goal has been to teach the Bible in a way that encourages faith and a deeper life of discipleship.


Stephen loves discovering God and the Bible

Stephen loves the journey of discovery of God and the Bible with his students and the people he works with. He enjoys making sense of who God is and what He wants for us in this world.

Stephen feels that there is no greater sense of fulfilment than watching someone grow and interacting with someone at the end of a trimester who is a different person due to what they have learned.

Stephen sees his biblical and theological education role as a ministry rather than a career. He values humility, friendship, integrity, genuineness and honesty. He aims to make his learning environments fun and hopes to demonstrate this in his personal life through the value system that he teaches.

Stephen loves going on adventures with his wife Susan and discovering things in Western Australia. He loves God’s living creatures, especially dogs and enjoys going for walks to pat every dog that comes his way. He also likes to watch and listen to Australian birds.

He likes listening to music and, although he would love to read more, enjoys re-reading J. R. R. Tolkien or Ursula K. Le Guin (sometimes out loud to his family).


How does Stephen think PBC equip students to serve God's purposes in our generation?

As an interdenominational institution, PBC equips students to think outside the box, value a diversity of opinions, and think critically yet generously.

Learning in this context becomes not simply a validation of what students already believe or think they know but stretches students through new vistas and challenges to grow.

Stephen’s main goal of his teaching is to equip students to recognise what God is doing in the world and to join Him in that work, a purpose that is shared across the faculty and staff at PBC. This means not only learning to interpret the Bible (and allowing it to interpret us!) but also learning to interpret the world that surrounds us to see it anew through the eyes of the Christian faith.


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“The thing I loved most about PBC was the environment. We have a Christian community on campus, support from the lecturer, lovely students and fellowship. It has encouraged me to feel part of the community.”

OBANG BACHELOR OF MINISTRY (BMIN)