33 Facts About Steve Chalke

Steve Chalke is the author of a large number of books and articles as well as a former presenter and now regular contributor and commentator on television, radio and other media.

Steve Chalke graduated from Spurgeon's College in South Norwood, was ordained a Baptist minister in 1981, and served as a local minister for four years.

Steve Chalke was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1981, after studying at Spurgeon's College in London.

Steve Chalke was minister of Tonbridge Baptist Church in Kent for four years before setting up the Oasis Trust.

Steve Chalke later formed a developing network of community churches around the UK which began with the foundation of Oasis Church Waterloo, London SE1, in 2003 and now includes churches in Salford, Bath, Hull and Reading as well as a growing number of other locations.

In 2004 Steve Chalke set up Oasis Community Learning as part of the Oasis Group of charities in order to deliver secondary education through the UK Government's Academies programme.

Steve Chalke, who was working as a presenter for GMTV, suggested to Peter McHugh, the Director of Programmes, that the station should run an appeal to build a hospital as a response to the crisis.

Steve Chalke, who was only just beginning the work of Oasis in India, suggested that the completed hospital be given to the Emmanuel Hospital Association.

The Association was already running a series of hospitals in the north of the country and Steve Chalke believed it had the capacity and infrastructure to sustain the work that Oasis and GMTV had begun.

Steve Chalke has been a regular broadcaster for over 30 years.

Steve Chalke hosted various shows for ITV during the 1990s as well as being part of their GMTV morning breakfast show team from 1993 to 1999.

Steve Chalke presented BBC1's Songs of Praise during that period, as well as hosting a regular show on BBC Radio 4 about community development, Changing Places.

Steve Chalke currently contributes across the media as a social, religious and political commentator as well as being a regular presenter of Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2 and 'Prayer For The Day' on BBC Radio 4.

In 2005 Steve Chalke became the holder of the Guinness World Record for the largest amount of sponsorship money ever raised by an individual through a single event.

Steve Chalke has taken on many causes in his career, from working with vulnerable children on the African continent, to community learning through his Oasis Academies, to championing LGBT and BAME rights to helping churches to realize their potential for helping people in their communities with such issues as poverty and homelessness, to stopping human trafficking, and a myriad of other things.

In 2001 Steve Chalke founded The Faithworks Movement, along with a companion magazine, to raise awareness of the role the Church can play within local communities.

Steve Chalke has become a spokesman for the church in the national debate about the provision of public services by faith-based groups.

In 2005 Steve Chalke founded Stop the Traffik, a global coalition which works to raise awareness of human trafficking in all countries and communities and to stop the buying and selling of people.

In 2003 Steve Chalke co-authored The Lost Message of Jesus with Alan Mann.

Steve Chalke's views drew much criticism as well as support, with numerous articles, blogs and books being written on both sides of the debate.

Steve Chalke is a prominent social activist and leading advocate of the role of Christian faith in public life and the delivery of public services including education, health care, youth services, etc.

Steve Chalke has drawn strong criticism from leading atheists and secularists such as Polly Toynbee and Keith Porteous Wood, with whom he has publicly debated, as well as Terry Sanderson and others for his stance.

However, Steve Chalke maintains that though Christian faith is personal, it is never private, and has written extensively about public theology.

Steve Chalke contends that there are two elements to healthy democracy; representative and participatory.

Steve Chalke developed the Charities Parliament, now known as the People's Parliament, in order to establish a stronger voice for third-sector organisations in public life.

In early 2013, Steve Chalke sent what The Independent said would be "shockwaves through Britain's evangelical community", of which he is a leader, by stating, both on the Oasis Trust website and in an article in Christianity magazine, that he supports monogamous same-sex relationships and marriage.

Steve Chalke criticised traditional Christianity's rejection of "faithful gay relationships", saying that it has left far too many people feeling "vulnerable and isolated".

Steve Chalke has officiated at a number of services celebrating and welcoming transgender people into Oasis Church Waterloo.

Steve Chalke married Cornelia Reeves in 1980 and they have four adult children; Emily, Daniel, Abigail and Joshua and six young grandsons.

In 2012 Steve Chalke was chosen as one of the Olympic torchbearers for London 2012.

In 2017 Steve Chalke was installed as an ecumenical canon of Southwark Cathedral.

In 2018 Steve Chalke was given the 'Spirit of London' award by the London Marathon.

Steve Chalke has written monthly columns for Prima Baby on fatherhood and for Christianity magazine on church leadership.