Stephen Parris was born on Carlos Street Wood brook, Port of Spain Trinidad in the early 1950's,

of a well known established household. His early years were spent receiving moral, behavioral and spiritual

upbringing from his grandparents, his paternal granddad being a pastor.aws

His uncles, however, ensured he had a different upbringing. He learned fighting through his uncles by fights arranged by them in the nearby park, on weekends. His schooling ranged from the toughest elementary schools in the city to the most prestigious in the land. This varied upbringing allowed him to meet & appreciate people from all walks of life and learn from them; a trait which remains to this day. Despite his Anglican upbringing and the strict discipline and love of his elders, further experiences awaited that would shape the destiny and his life forever.

His cousins from New York encouraged him to further his fighting skills by pursuing karate. His elder sibling Tony and him showed great interest, and were under the tutelage of greats like Master George Coffield & Thomas LaPoppett. The changing political environment in his native land and around the world, led Mr. Parris to participate influenced this young man. The independence of Trinidad from the United Kingdom & the Black Power Movement were factors that shaped him. The 60's and 70's were times of experimentation and a departure of the conservative values of the 50's. Many Eastern religions were introduced to the West as well as different forms of music.

Mr Parris being spiritually inclined tried them all-Shinto, yoga, TM, obeah, astral travel etc. His karate reached to new heights of excellence and he founded with his brother Anthony the Trinidad and Tobago Associated Schools of Karate (aka T.A.S.K Int'l) which became the largest school in the country and the official representative of karate with WUKO & FAJKO for Trinidad. He began to introduce karate to various islands of the Caribbean.

His hard work reaped results. Opportunities arose, from world championships, to coaching national teams, training the army & establishing a new business, Parris Health and Fitness Centre; Mr. Parris became a household name. His reputation and high standard of excellence drew clients and he outgrew his capacity - it was then he decided to introduce a well established franchise of health and fitness to the Caribbean: Gold's Gym International.

While this afforded him many personal and professional successes from a world standpoint, his personal and spiritual life suffered. His marriage strained and children becoming more alienated on account of his business demands; there was void there that no religion could seem to fulfill.

His father introduced a young pastor one day to the dojo to preach. He afforded him time for his little church to conduct service there. Scoffing at the little preacher, Mr. Parris and his brother openly teased and disturbed the little church & their parishioners. He was invited to attend one day, he acquiesced, intending to laugh and mock the little preacher but also interested in this new perspective on Christ.

Soon, the intention to mock became an earnest intent to listen to the Truth & Light of God's Word. The laughter stopped, the soul-searching began. In 1985, after much personal upheaval Stephen Parris gave his heart to Christ. He was joined by his wife and children. From then on life was changed. His next step again accompanied by his family, was water baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit. When finally baptized, the Holy Spirit entered as described in Scripture: like a mighty rushing wind and he was slayed; demons that tormented his soul through past experiences and experiences with different religions were violently removed. The Holy Spirit was here to stay!

Mr. Parris studied the Word of God with great enthusiasm, learned prayer and intercession, participated in church rallies and crusades, ministered to the sick, maimed and wounded, gained counseling skills, reconciled with his wife and family, grew from faith to faith. As he grew he became increasingly aware of spiritual warfare and the deliverance ministry as satanic attacks increased on all fronts. This person was doing damage to Satan's kingdom!

His sons suffered from chronic asthma. Peer pressure to adopt the world standards and deviate from the Lord plagued his daughter. Liaisons from prior affairs harassed his wife, culminating in court battles and attempts to assassinate his character and destroy his life. But he would not run away, but having done all he did stand. This was the opportunity to give up but instead he pressed on. Study and application of the Word effectively coupled with deep intercessory prayer became absolutely essential. This increased his faith and made himself and his family stronger.

In 1987, he received a vision from the Lord to depart from Trinidad and immigrate to Canada; reminiscent of Abraham's call from the Ur of the Chaldees. In faith he did. In 1988 the family moved and settled there. One year

ON MINISTER STEPHEN A.PARRIS

Your servant, Stephen Alan Parris