Stephen was born and raised in northern New Jersey. He grew up in a churchgoing family and came to faith in Christ in middle school. Stephen attended Princeton University, where he studied chemical and biological engineering. While in college, he became very involved with campus ministry, spending a good part of his junior and senior years discipling underclassmen.
After graduating in 2016, he moved across the street to Princeton Seminary (long story), where he received his Master of Divinity degree in 2019. At seminary, Stephen served in campus ministry at Princeton, leading a number of Bible studies. While there, he was introduced to Hope Presbyterian Church, accomplishing his field education at Hope during his final year. In 2017, Stephen married his wife Krista, whom he had been dating since high school. They currently reside in Lawrence with their two children.