Dr. Steven D. Bagley

Steve’s academic background includes a bachelor’s degree with a double major in Psychology and Christian Education from Azusa Pacific University. He received his master’s degree in Christian Education from Talbot Seminary and received his Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from California Graduate Institute.

After serving the church as a pastoral staff member for 20 years, Steve became the COO of Alpha Counseling Center. He guided 60 out-patient therapists, serving 6 Southern California counties, and helped design four in-patient Christian treatment programs. Steve then founded Marriage & Family Matters Counseling in 1991 with his wife Linda, the Clinical Director and Supervisor. They lead this Christian counseling and training center until Linda’s unexpected dead in 2013. MFM Counseling trained over 50 Christian counselors by providing professional supervision.

While leading MFM Counseling, Steve served Saddleback Church and Pastor Rick Warren's "Purpose-Driven Church" ministry training team, where Dr. Steve helped develop the "S.H.A.P.E." training course (Saddleback Church's 301 Class for "moving members to ministry") and helped deploy that training to over 800 churches.

In 2002, Steve joined Arms of Love International’s Board of Directors. This NGO operates children’s homes for orphaned and at-risk children in Nicaragua and the Philippines. From 2014-2018 Steve served as the President and Chairman of the Board.

Jim Seiler, president, and founder of Divine Business Appointments, began in the Philippines, guided by Steve’s advice to train those in poverty to find their way out by starting small businesses. Today Steve is on the DBA board, directing training in the Philippines, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Nigeria, and Chadd. Their materials appear in English, Spanish, and French. Online classes are being developed and Concordia College students have been involved in the Philippines by raising funds for micro loans and as online business coaches.

In addition, Steve has served the Kojo Church network in Tokyo, Japan for 15 years, helping train dozens of ministers in counseling, small group development, and men's ministry. He leveraged business community ministry opportunities for evangelism in a gospel- resistant culture.

Before her passing, Steve and Linda traveled extensively throughout northern China for China Gospel Outreach Ministries, training pastors and holding marital counseling training seminars for pastors and their wives. Steve has also pioneered a mentoring/discipleship vehicle for men that he calls The Power of Four which helps Christian men form strong bonds in small groups to empower each other and to hold one another accountable to fulfill God's call on their individual lives.

These days, Steve challenges men to become spiritual mentors and to seek out others as mentors for themselves in alignment with the biblical model found in the relationship between David and Jonathan. Steve has presented The Jonathan Factor: King David’s Mentor to many cross-cultural groups.

Steve has two adult children, a son and daughter, along with a total of seven grandchildren.