Biographical Sketch of Lauston Stephens

Born and raised in rural New Jersey, Lauston graduated high school in 1968 and attended Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, in the school of engineering and science. He worked as a computer programmer in Princeton, NJ, from 1970 to 1973 and has been employed with a small dairy in Rutland, VT from 1976 to the present time. Married in 1977, he and his wife, Cynthia, have four children.

Lauston's family joined an Assembly of God (Pentecostal) church when he was five and he made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ at age eleven, but neglected his faith when he left home for college. A series of five "natural" but dramatic events in the space of three months changed that. He understood the events as God's call to an adult commitment of discipleship. This included two and a half years living in a Jesus people era "house ministry" where several housemates became pastors or missionaries in various denominations. Lauston has served in a variety of laity roles in the church with a recognized gift in teaching.

Not formally schooled in theology, Lauston has pursued a sometimes esoteric study of the Church on his own, with an interest in both church history and the current Church universal. The unity of the Church has proven to be a continuing and compelling focus.