How a steelworker became a minister

By Jim Fagan

So how does a qualified civil engineer who started work as a steelworker in Wollongong decide religion and a life in the ministry is for him?

For Phil Stolk, the new minister at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at Tewantin, it was, as he says, “a no brainer.”

“I grew up in a Christian family in Shellharbour in New South Wales,” Phil (32) told Noosa Today, “and, while I was working in the steelworks, I went to university, graduating as a structural engineer.

“My work took me to the nickel refinery in Townsville and I joined an Anglican church that didn’t have a minister. Like the rest of the congregation, I became heavily involved in supporting the church until the new minister came.

“After…