Stephen Austin was born in Abilene, Texas, April 24, 1962. After graduating from Abilene Christian High School, he was accepted into Abilene Christian University where he received the following degrees:

• Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies
• Master of Arts in Biblical and Related Studies
• Master of Divinity
• Doctor of Ministry

On December 20, 1983 he married Lynette Blackburn and they have been blessed with two children: Alison, a 9th grader, and Daniel, a 5th grader.

From 1984 to 1987, Austin returned to Abilene Christian High School where he taught Bible, chorus, and Spanish. During most of that time he preached for the church of Christ at Old Glory, TX. He also designed the ACHS Bible curriculum for grades 7-12, and taught each course in the curriculum at least once.

In 1990 Austin began a missionary tour in Buenos Aires, remaining there until mid-1997. His duties included teaching the Bible, formally and informally, to all kinds of groups. He taught several college-level courses in the Bible academy of the churches of Christ in Buenos Aires. He mentored several young men of the congregation in their spiritual growth and their involvement in the church. He designed and taught, for several cycles, a 30-lesson series for new Christians that emphasized personal, practical spiritual growth in the context of small groups. He also translated materials from English to Spanish, or Spanish to English.

In 1998, Austin took the position of bilingual minister at Impact, an inner-city church of Christ project in Houston. In addition to the normal ministerial work of preaching, teaching, evangelism, and visitation, his duties included facilitating and translating many kinds of interactions between Anglo and Hispanic members of the church, and planning and leading the periodic bilingual services of Impact. He taught the new Christians’ course mentioned above several times, and designed and taught a 12-lesson follow-up course in the same small-group, interactive style.

His thesis for his Doctor of Ministry degree dealt with the topic of how the church can and should respond biblically and legally to the needs of undocumented Hispanic immigrants. His daily experience and contact with the Hispanic population of Houston has reinforced the conviction of the need for more and better outreach to this vast population.

Austin has taught or co-taught several courses, including a Doctor of Ministry course at Abilene Christian University on urban missions; contemporary issues of the church (also at ACU in the D.Min program, three times); a week-long intensive course on John at the Instituto Baxter in Tegusigalpa, Honduras; and part of an undergraduate urban ministry course sponsored by ACU but located at Impact.

In the past seven years, Austin has had the opportunity to travel to Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Mexico, and Argentina, as well as other U.S. cities, where he has preached in campaigns, visited churches and mission points, counseled with ministers and church leaders, and given seminars on church music. He has benefited and will continue to benefit from networking with many new brothers and sisters, not only in these places but also of course in the Houston area.

In 2001, Austin was certified as a mediator at the Montgomery County Dispute Resolution Center, and has over 120 hours of mediation experience in family and small claims mediation, both in English and Spanish.

Austin also serves as editor of Cantos del Camino, a Spanish hymnal with a combination of old and new praise and worship songs.