Arland Steen, Pastor and Founder of Living Well Church, is a native South Carolinian but has lived in California for over 35 years.

Arland is the son of Merlin Steen, who was a respected Assemblies of God minister and pastored churches in Iowa and South Carolina.  Merlin was Arland’s first spiritual mentor.  He was a solid example to his son in character, integrity and compassion.   Arland accepted Christ at an early age and, in addition to usual childhood interests, spent many hours praying and reading his Dad’s theology and missionary books.  He read the entire Bible through 3 times before he was 12 years old.  He began speaking in churches when he was 19.

Arland always seemed to sense the call of God on his life and in response, attended Rhema Bible Training College in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with an emphasis on pastoral ministry.  Kenneth E. Hagin became his second spiritual mentor and imparted to Arland an understanding of the authority of the Word of God, how to be led by the Holy Spirit and how to walk in love.    He also ordained Arland into full-time ministry.

Pastor Arland founded his first church in 1981, and after a few years, became acquainted with a man who would come to be his third spiritual mentor.  Jack Hayford was a renowned pastor and for over 40 years led The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California.  Pastor Jack’s School of Pastoral Nurture provided the interactive setting for this mentorship to occur.  Pastor Jack was an example of a man with a shepherd’s heart who knew how to lead a congregation with a balance of grace and authority.

God has graced and gifted Arland in such a way that he is:

• A pastor whose primary goal is to help people become what they were created to be, believing that building big people will build the Church
• A teaching pastor who presents the Word of God in a clear, concise way that can be easily applied to everyday life, believing this is the foundation for spiritual growth
• A pastor who is passionate about discipleship, teaching people to have confidence in their personal walk with God, thus allowing that walk to be “interactive”

The love of his life is his wife, Barbara.  He describes her as “a woman like no other.”  They have much in common and together, they fit like a hand in a glove with complimentary personalities.  She keeps him smiling and laughing as she is the joy of his life.  Together, they are an example of what it looks like to ‘Have fun building the Kingdom’.