This Is My Story: Steven Thomason

Welcome to "This Is My Story," a new blog series dedicated to highlighting the journeys of individuals within the Polyphony Music Resources family.

In these posts, we turn the spotlight on some of our dedicated church musicians. Through personal anecdotes and professional milestones, we’ll learn a little more about them and hopefully, get to know one another better.

This series aims to inspire and celebrate the invaluable contributions of our musical leaders. Join us as we delve into their stories and continue to strengthen our connections.

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Meet Steven Thomason

Minister of Music - Derbyshire Baptist Church, Richmond, VA

Hometown - Cary, North Carolina

Education:

Bachelor of Music (Concentration in Church Music) - Campbell University

Master of Arts in Christian Ministry - Campbell University

Tell us about your family.

Anna, my wife, and I love serving together at Derbyshire. She is the Minister of Faith Development and in addition to her responsibilities overseeing spiritual formation at the church, she is very active in the music ministry and directs both the handbells and one of the children's choirs. We have a dog, Abby, who is a Shetland Sheepdog and brings lots of joy into our lives.

Both Anna and I have multiple family members who have served in ministry and I come from a long line of musicians on both my mother's and my father's side. Growing up, my twin, older brother, and I would often sing trios together or quartets with my mother while my dad accompanied us on piano. My grandfather was a music minister for 45 years in the same church and his ministry (as well as my grandmother's ministry alongside him) was a huge inspiration for me.

Favorite hobbies?

I love spending time with my dog; and Anna and I enjoy traveling whenever we get the chance, whether it's to the mountains to see the leaves change in the Fall or internationally whenever Anna can find good plane tickets. I'm also a BIG Star Wars fan and my favorite character is Chewbacca! When I have time, I like to try new recipes since I'm the main cook in our family, and so a perfect day off would probably consist of good food, a walk with our dog, traveling to a new location, and then capping off the evening with a movie, preferably a new Star Wars or other sci-fi release!

How have you participated in Polyphony?

I heard of Polyphony several years ago and attended a few Zoom sessions during COVID. Then, in 2023, I participated in the Harmony project, which led to me attending the Polyphony conference (and joining Polyphony) in January of 2024 in Rock Hill. That year, I joined the Thriving in Ministry cohort. I also attended the conference this past year in Stone Mountain and I look forward to participating more in the future!

What do you think God is up to in your life right now?

One of the reasons that Anna and I believe God has planted us at Derbyshire and in Richmond right now is so that we can learn how to do ministry together. We are trying to take advantage of this opportunity in this season of our life and we have found that many of our connections in the greater Richmond community and beyond have blossomed into some close friendships. I joined Polyphony during a moment of great transition, but I have discovered that through the support of my colleagues, I have been able to grow as both a musician and minister, at my church, through CBF Virginia, and throughout the state. I'm grateful for how God continues to speak to me through the extremely dedicated members of the DBC choir and music ministry. I also continue to be amazed every single week with how supportive and encouraging the entire church is of music and worship. It is truly a gift to serve at a church that values music ministry as highly as Derbyshire does.

Tell us about your faith journey.

I have been a CBF Baptist for most of my life - my brothers and I learned from a very early age that Sundays and Wednesdays were for church. So when my twin started contemplating baptism in late elementary school, I looked into it too. When we found out that our beloved pastor was about to retire, we joined about a dozen other children and youth who wanted to be baptized by him on one of his last Sundays. At the time, baptism for me didn't have much more meaning than that: I liked my pastor, and I knew that if I was going to be baptized, then I wanted him to do it. A few years later, as an active member of my youth group, my faith began to grow, and the concept of God, my Creator, and Jesus, my Savior, became very real to me. It wasn't until after I experienced some struggles in college that I recognized the presence of the Holy Spirit. Through the guidance of some very wise mentors, along with some personal trials, I discovered that music education was not the right path for me, so I found refuge in the local churches where I served as a paid soloist. It was in Greenville, NC, working as a young music director and attempting to convince a group of handbell ringers to actually pay attention to me, that I felt the presence of the Spirit. The Spirit nudged me towards church music, and I eventually transferred to Campbell University. Ever since that day, when I started listening to where I believed the Spirit was calling me, I feel that God has walked beside me, occasionally pulling me back onto the path, but always guiding me. God led me to Anna, God led me to FBC Wilmington, NC, where I first served as a full-time music minister, and God continues to call me to the people of Richmond and Derbyshire.  

Something interesting most people would not know about you.

I worked at a local bakery for two years in high school. My job was mostly baking cookies and warming up the breakfast pastries in the morning, but occasionally I got to write (using the piping bags and icing) "Happy Birthday" for people. My handwriting was usually so bad that people couldn't even tell what I had written!

What adjectives best describe you?

Passionate, Nerdy, Introverted