Interview with Brian Way of Steps to Life Ministry in Australia

We are grateful for the opportunity to share the following interview we had with Brian Way, the director of Steps to Life Ministry in Australia. The mission of STL Australia is to use various media to spread the Three Angels’ Message around the world.

Andy Roman: Tell us about yourself and your ministry. What is “Steps to Life Australia”? And what burden has God placed on your shoulders?

Brian Way: The Steps to Life (Australia) Ministry was commenced and operated by Colin and Cherryl Martens many years ago. It has been through a series of phases over the years. Colin sadly passed away, but before he did, my wife (Carolyn) and I (Brian) were approached to see if we could support and keep STL operating after Colin’s demise. Our background was in education. We were asked to come and support STL as Colin was passing away. I am one of four directors of STL and have the role being the Programs Coordinator. Cherryl is the Managing Director of our Ministry. Our other directors include Danny Brooks and Nelson Hopkins.

Steps to Life’s mission is to provide spiritual nourishment for both Adventists and non-Adventists, pointing to the soon coming of Jesus in a world that is falling to pieces. This is the ‘burden that God has placed on our shoulders’. We try to emphasize the principles of health via programs like our Sunday Morning Health Seminar. Living healthfully is a spiritual duty as we care for the ‘body temple’ that God entrusts each of us with. STL is traditional in our Adventist beliefs, and we emphasize what the Bible says about what is happening right now, what is to come in the future, and what will be happening right at the end of time. Prior to Covid, we were conducting a three Sabbath traveling seminar in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, with weeknight programs in between en route from Melbourne to Brisbane. This happened two or three times each year. With the arrival of Zoom, and while much of Australia was locked down with Covid regulations, we commenced Zoom broadcasts. These broadcasts attracted overseas viewers as well as folks in Australia. We also operate a film studio as part of our administration base. We have conducted many health seminars, including Depression Recovery Programs (Dr. Neil Nedley) in past years. All of our presentations are filmed and converted into DVDs for those who use DVDs. We run an instore and online resource shop that carries an extensive range of appropriate books (including an extensive range of Ellen White publications) and DVDs that are sound in their theology. The shop stocks a range of natural health products.

Speakers STL has hosted in person or online include – Dr. Norman McNulty, Pr. Conrad Vine, Scott Ritsema, Kaye and Peter Sehm (Australian ), Rod and Desley Bailey (Australian),), Fereti Sa’aga (Australian), Rod Walsh (Creation Ministries – Noah’s Ark, Australian), Dr. Coralia Jigau  (Australian), Pr. Denis Priebe (In person and online with his son, Matthew.), Diamond Garcia/ Jonathan Zirkle/ Danny Strever, Eric and Sarah Wilson, Diamond Garcia and Janet Neumann, Joel Ridgeway (Australian), Pam McCrohan (Australian), Sibilla Johnson (Australian), Nikolai and Ivanka Millen (Australian), Dr. Galen Comstock, Elaine Cotzee (Australian), Pr. Duane Haora (Australian), Pr. Gordon Lee (Australian), Dr Ronald Robin, Jenifer Skues (Australian), Julian Archer (Australian), Carl Martin, Dr. John Anderson (Creation Ministries Australia), Pr. Justis St Hilaire, Pr. Rod Anderson (Australian), Dr. Richard Gee (Australian), Pr. Randy Skeete, Pr. Dwayne Lemon, Pr. Geoff Youlden (Australian), Pr. Dick and Betty O’Ffill, Pr Jeff Wehr, Derrol Saywer, Joshua White, Pr. Doug Batchelor, Mark Woodman, Dr/Pr. Walter Veith,  Dr. David Bird (Australian), Pr. Ron and Claudia Woolsey, Dr. David Rankin (Australia), Pr. David and Becky Gates, Christian Berdahl, Pr. Alden Ho, Pr. Jim and Neva Bracket, etc, etc.

Andy Roman: Some have argued that there is no Sunday law coming down the pipeline or that Jesus’ return isn’t imminent. What are your thoughts about the current state of our world?

Brian Way: The coming Sunday law – We see that most of the world has all the mechanisms in place for the enforcement of a ‘green Sunday law’. While the present pope from his encyclical, Laudato Si’ and on, has really accelerated the Sunday law possibility. Politicians in the USA and in ‘the feet of iron and clay’ (Europe) are embracing the agenda and the lead Pope Francis is providing in a variety of ways. In Australia, our federal and state governments have used the opportunity of the fear of Covid to phase in a socialist/ Marxist form of government. Digital currency is waiting in the wings in Australia, and digital ID is already starting to be trailed in countries like Japan. The Ukrainian/Russian war, while bad enough (Wars and rumours of wars), along with all the others in other countries, tends to hide the stealthy move toward the enforcement of a green Sunday Sabbath law. But it is a sabbath of no work, much sport and entertainment, not reverent worship of God, even on the wrong day, Sunday. The state we live in (Victoria) is floating the ‘safe cities/towns’ concept, which, along with digital currency, will provide a total control mechanism to enforce Sunday law. This will only happen as God allows the angels to stop holding back the winds of strife. The transgender and gay agenda is really exploding here in Australia and starts with requiring schools to conduct classes for primary-aged children, encouraging them to explore their sexual identity. It is illegal for parents to counsel their children on God-created sexuality in the state we live in. Australia just hosted the World Gay Madi Gras in Sydney and had our prime minister and his cabinet in the front row of the marches! STL attempts to help people stand against the flood of immorality and alert them to being ready for what is ahead.

Andy Roman: The ecumenical movement appears to be the catalyst that is uniting not only the religions but also the entire globe. What action should Seventh-day Adventists take in light of this development?

Brian Way: Ecumenism – STL believes the SDA church is far too quiet and compliant on this matter. It should desist from being part of it at every level, from the General Conference to the Local Conference. At every level, it should be politely but clearly speaking against it and giving its Bible-based reasons for doing this. (That includes what Ellen White has warned about in this respect). It should be pointing out that Adventism is not called to compromise but to say, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18: 4). It’s not a matter of how close we can get to win the world; it’s about calling people to separate themselves from the world and false churches.

Andy Roman: Do you see the coming centralized digital currency or the social credit scoring system as part of the mechanism for the coming crisis?

Brian Way: Our answer is a big ‘yes’.

Andy Roman: What are your thoughts about the argument that says that we shouldn’t focus on current events or the end times, but rather we should preach Jesus only? What balance, if any, is there?

Brian Way: Jesus, His love and grace, His justification and sanctification, and our relationship with Him are central to our salvation. We should be preaching this in the context of the Three Angels’ Messages and the Fourth Angel’s Message in Revelation 18.

Andy Roman: Finally, what projects are you currently working on to spread the gospel, and how can someone who wants to contribute to this project do so? How can they contact you?

Brian Way: During the Covid laws and lockdowns in Australia, we were not able to run the traveling seminars with invited guest speakers that we were conducting prior to lockdowns. (The lockdown laws were different in different states of Australia and between designated country and city areas).  Our seminars moved to being conducted over Zoom, which also allowed participants from places like the UK, New Zealand, Europe, and Asian countries to join in. This was an unexpected bonus that God provided. However, people missed out on the physical fellowship of the meetings we had been conducting, so we have started planning meetings out of our studio again and then broadcasting these meetings over Zoom as well.

Another project we launched involved encouraging people who could afford to buy a lot of witness books to give money so that we could buy them. We then made the books available to people who could letterbox and distribute them to others. Our estimate is that around AU $50,000 has been provided and distributed as witness type books in the past 12 months.

We also encourage folks to donate their old, unwanted books of a spiritual or health type, etc., to us. We then advertise these books at a minimal price to cover our expenses in processing the books, enabling people to obtain the books when they can’t afford the cost of new books or the books are no longer available.

STL can be contacted by phone at +61 3 9739 4093, by email at admin@steps.org.au, or by visiting us at 15 Industrial Park Dve, Lilydale, Victoria, Australia, 3140.