New Minister at High Kirk Presbyterian Church, Ballymena – Rev Stephen Lowry

Everyone at High Kirk Presbyterian Church in Ballymena were delighted to welcome Rev Stephen Lowry to the congregation as their new Minister on Friday evening, 4th September 2026.

Originally from Belfast, Stephen, (47) is married to Louise and the couple have three children, Beth (20), Rose (16) and Andrew (12.)

Stephen grew up in North Belfast and attended Cavehill Primary School. Afterwards, he went to Campbell College for First and Second Year, and then moved to Regent House in Newtownards for Third, Fourth, and Fifth year.
Subsequently, Stephen studied engineering (electronic and electrical) in Belfast Metropolitan College before completing a master’s degree at the Ulster University in Jordanstown. 

Sharing a little of his personal testimony, Stephen told The Church Page: “Growing up, my parents brought me to a wee Gospel Hall on the Shankill Road, until I was old enough to choose not to go. My teenage years, however, developed into years of rebellion and hostility towards God and Christians, which involved much sinful behaviour.” He went on: “It was when I met Louise, she had a desire to start going to a church, and especially when we were planning to get married, we were required to attend on Sundays as prerequisite. Although I wasn’t particularly pleased about it, I started to attend Sunday morning worship in the run up to us getting married. I guess deep down in my heart I was always inclined towards the Gospel and so when I encountered a godly fellowship with vitality and authenticity, I agreed to attend an Alpha Course they were running at the time.

“The perfect storm of Gospel truth, conviction of sin, and a credible display of Christian living made it impossible for me to deny what I knew deep down to be true. I gave my life to the Lord and committed myself to live for Him”, added Stephen. Before entering the Ministry, Stephen worked in Nortel Networks before becoming a medical engineer working in hospitals all over Northern Ireland and Ireland.  Reflecting on his call to Ministry, Stephen remembered: “My call to ministry was one of great reluctance. I always had a drive to study theology and delve deep into God’s Word, but I’ve always had an issue with confidence. I had a stutter as a child and struggled with shyness or social anxiety and so could never see myself as an ‘upfront’ person. However, we often talk in terms of internal and external calls – and I seemed to be experiencing both of those. a stirring in my heart that I couldn’t understand which was often vocalised by others within the church family. I dread to think for how long I was disobedient to respond to this, but eventually the disobedience became too much to live with. I agreed to apply for ministry in the hope it was a no. However, it turned out different to that.”

After three very enjoyable years at Union Theological College, Stephen served his assistantship alongside Rev. Dr. Noble McNeely in First Holywood Presbyterian Church. 
Remembering this with fondness, Stephen recounted: “I had a fantastic assistantship there and was grateful for Noble who treated me as an equal and provided me with exposure to all aspects of ministry. The people there were great and I spent time with some wise and godly women and men who taught me much about life in general as well as church life snd ministry.
During my time there, Noble was nominated and elected as the Moderator of General Assembly, and very kindly offered me to opportunity to be ordained into First Holywood as the Moderator’s Assistant. This extended my time by another 18 months – for which I was grateful.”

From First Holywood, Stephen was called to be the next minister/teaching elder of Whitehouse Presbyterian Church.
This was a change in demographic, situated between Rathcoole (Loyalist estate) and Bawnmore (Republican estate), both areas of socioeconomic deprivation.
Says Stephen: “I had the privilege of serving there for eight years and saw God do amazing things through the preaching of His Word and through using opportunities to love the people around us. One notable experience was leading a young man to faith, and discussing baptism with him. During his baptism classes we discussed the crucifixion and he made the comment “yeah, it really hurts”. When I asked him what he meant, he showed me his hands revealing scars from a punishment attack he’d received called ‘crucifixion’. He’d had his hands nailed to a table. I remember thinking ‘You can’t learn that from a theology textbook!’” 

Stephen admits to feeling a mixture of ‘excitement and terror’ as he enters the pulpit at High Kirk. He added: “I am stepping out in faith and seeing what God will do in and through my weakness. I hope to fully surrender myself and my abilities to the work God would have me do and to experience the joy that comes from that.” 

Outside Church, Stephen likes to hit the gym and do some strength training/weightlifting. He also enjoys studying Integrative Counselling. 

Discover more about High Kirk Presbyterian Church in Ballymena on their website.