“I long for nothing more earnestly than to serve God with all my might.”
~Charles Spurgeon
Church Leadership Team
About Our Pastor
Pastor John Snyder is an international pastor, conference speaker, and Amazon best-selling author, known for “Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting on God” from Thomas Nelson Publishers, “A Series of Fortunate Events-A Christmas Devotional,” and “Sheltered with God: Finding God’s Peace in a World of Fear” from Theology Mix, “Resenting God: Escape the Downward Spiral of Blame” from Abingdon Press, and “Reincarnation vs. Resurrection” from Moody Press.
The Walk Podcast with John I. Snyder takes you inside the faith walk of influential Christians changing culture today. From the entertainment world to politics, to inspiring speakers and writers, musicians and artists, worship leaders, church ministers, podcasters, movie makers, and beyond, he takes listeners behind the scenes of the leaders making a difference in the world for Christ. As host of The Walk Podcast on Theology Mix, he has interviewed Max McLean, Norman Stone, John Lennox, John Gronski, Judith Briles, Cameron Arnett, Jessica Peck, George Barna, Anthony Thompson, Tim Mahoney, R.C. Sproul, Jr., and more. As The Walk nears 10,000 listeners, Theology Mix will share The Walk’s top episodes and host a giveaway to celebrate 10K!
Pastor John has been featured on Focus on the Family, Moody Radio, Fox News, Faith Radio Network, Cru, In the Market with Janet Parshall, The Bottom Line with Roger Marsh, Miracle Channel, American Family Radio Network, and many more.
As an ordained Presbyterian pastor, Pastor John has served congregations in the United States and planted churches in California and Switzerland. He is the advisor and lead author for the theology and culture blog Theology Mix (theologymix.com), which hosts more than 100 authors, podcasters, and visitors from every country worldwide. Drawing on faith experiences and life lessons from Christian leaders of all walks of life – writers, pastors, speakers, movie makers and business leaders, actors and athletes, theologians, apologists, professors, and many more – Theology Mix highlights Christian voices making a difference in the world today. Theology Mix recently passed 700,000 visits, with readers from every country worldwide and a steady monthly readership between 10,000 and 20,000+.
Pastor John received his Doctor of Theology degree magna cum laude in New Testament Studies from the University of Basel, Switzerland, where he studied with acclaimed professors Bo Reicke, Markus Barth, Martin Schmidt, and Jan Milic Lochman. He also has Master of Theology and Master of Divinity degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey.
Some of Pastor John’s articles can be found in academic journals, online magazines, and newspapers, including Theology Today, Theology Mix, Outreach Magazine, the Christian Post, Dialog, Theologische Zeitschrift, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, The Washington Times, and others. John has also served on the adjunct faculty of New College Berkeley and the World Journalism Institute.
Favorite books of the Bible: Genesis and Acts, records of the fantastic and inspiring faith history. Genesis declares the works of God and Acts records the works of the risen Christ.
A Favorite Bible verse: Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. –Ephesians 3:20-21.
Hobbies: John loves to take walks, read, watch old black and white films, and travel!
Favorite vacation spots: Italy and Switzerland.
John is married to his beautiful wife, Shirin, and together they refer to their two children as their “most precious treasures and best gifts from God.”
About Our Leaders
Warm, outgoing, with an engaging smile for all, Alastair Hayward has been a part of Starnberg Church for several years. He serves on the Church Leadership Team as well as the preaching team.
Originally from the UK, Alastair has lived and worked in Munich since 2016. He is currently employed as a Chartered Accountant with a large, Munich-headquartered insurance company. Alastair has worked with the company for the last 30 years in various roles, previously living in Kenya, London, and Chicago, USA.
Although he grew up in a churchgoing family, Alastair didn’t become a Christian until his first year at Bristol University when he gave his life to Jesus in a personal way. He and his lovely wife Susan have three grown-up children.
Ministry beyond the church: Alastair enjoys helping on InterAction bilingual Christian camps for teenagers. He adds, “They are a lot of fun and it is really exciting to see the campers engage with the Bible.”
Hobbies: Alastair enjoys running and has completed 4 marathons in the past, but has now dropped down to half-marathons as he says that a full marathon is a very long way! (He also promptly accepts invites for ice cream!)
Favourite Book of the Bible: Ecclesiastes, as it is about the search for meaning in life. His search for an answer to the question, “What is the point of life?” was an important part of his becoming a Christian and his faith certainly brings purpose to his life.
Favourite Vacation Spot: Definitely a safari—a legacy of his time in Kenya. Don’t forget to ask him for stories about it!
Mike Page has been a part of Starnberg Fellowship since its founding in 2008. He serves on the Church Leadership Team and SF Vorstand as well as the preaching team. You can also find him taking an active part in the annual Christmas pageant.
Originally from the UK, Mike has lived and worked in Munich since 1990. Mike received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wales and currently works with patents in the field of biotechnology.
Although he grew up attending a small village church, Mike didn’t become a Christian until his first year at Aberystwyth University. After 6 months of hearing the Gospel at least once a week on Sundays, the message drew him in. He laughingly says, “I’m a slow learner!”
Mike is married to his wonderful wife, Sharon. Together, they have been involved in church ministries in the Munich area since the early 90s. Rhiannon and Joshua, their two dynamic children, generously give of their time to SF ministries and are an active part of the church family.
Hobbies: Mike will be out and about in the countryside with a camera in hand in his free time. He also sings with Herrenbesuch, Munich’s foremost male barbershop choir.
Favourite book of the Bible: Hebrews—because of the way it puts the Old Testament into the context of Christ and the cross. Without the Old Testament, we can’t comprehend the need for the cross, and without the New, we can’t see the hope of the cross.
Favourite vacation spot: Pretty much anything involving a mountain. If you really want to pin him down, then he’d say the Dolomites in northern Italy.
Sharon Page moved to the Munich area in 1993 after meeting and marrying Mike Page. She works as a lab manager for a gene therapy company in Munich. Sharon joined Starnberg Fellowship in 2008 and is a member of the Church Leadership Teams and chairs the Children’s Ministry Team and the Congregational Life Team. She is also the co-chair of our Annual Family Church Retreat.
Born and raised in Cambridge, Sharon never went to church, “Not even at Christmas or Easter,” she smiles. It was only in 6th Form (ages 16-18) that she had a chance to gain some understanding of what faith is from the witness of her Christian friends. But she didn’t go to church then either.
From Cambridge she moved to Wales to attend the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where she received her B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Zoology and Developmental Biology respectively. Again, God surrounded her with a lot of Christians. She joined the hiking club, who were a much better evangelical group than the CU at the time.
Semi-interested in what all the Christians believed, Sharon didn’t really think it was for her. Then God dramatically stepped into her life on a typical winter hiking trip that suddenly turned “interesting” when a white-out transformed the landscape to a winter in Narnia! (For those who may not know, Wikipedia describes a white-out as a weather condition in which the contours and landmarks in a snow-covered zone become almost indistinguishable with no visible horizon.)
Stuck on a frozen mountain, with no visibility, Sharon made a pact with God. If he got the group home safely, she would go to church. God got her off the mountain, and Sharon found herself in church, beginning her faith journey. Since then, Sharon has generously given of her time and talents to the church. She enthusiastically participates in all aspects of children’s ministry as well as utilizing her gift of hospitality to share her wonderful culinary skills.
Sharon and Mike have two wonderful children, Rhiannon and Josh.
Hobbies: Hiking, cross-country skiing, photography, cooking, and baking.
Favourite books of the Bible: Ecclesiastes and Hebrews.
Favourite vacation spots: Mountains—the Dolomites. She loves the south of France, but not in high summer!
Lional T. Rajappa joined the Starnberg International church in 2019 along with his wife Anne. Born and raised in India, he moved to Germany for his Master’s studies and subsequently obtained his PhD from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He currently works as a senior scientist with a group studying structure and dynamics of molecular machines at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry.
He grew up in a God-fearing Christian household and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior at a very young age. There were many instances in his life where he experienced God’s abundant blessings and miracles.
Favorite book of the Bible: The book of Proverbs particularly inspires him as it teaches man about the importance of wisdom and knowledge and, most importantly, putting God above all else.
Hobbies: Photography, collecting vintage cameras, 3D printing, reading, traveling, etc., to name a few.
Favourite travel destinations: Greece, Italy, Switzerland, and Thailand.
Will Powell has found exciting adventures in North America, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and South Korea. He moved from the UK to Munich in 2006, and states, fondly, “Cambridge will always be special to me, simply because so much of my life and fond memories are linked to it.”
Will joined Starnberg Fellowship in 2010 and serves on the Church Leadership Team, SF Vorstand as well as the preaching team. Will also leads the Tuesday evening Prayer and Bible Study Group.
Will received his Ph.D. in Computer Vision from the University of Manchester in 1997 and currently works in the mobile telecommunications industry in Test & Measurement.
After growing up in the UK and attending his local Anglican Church, Will went on to be part of the University Christian Union. This led him to work with Austrian Student Mission (ÖSM) in Vienna for two years following his first degree. The “ÖSM-Christians at University” is a collection of Christian students at Austrian universities who want to show that belief in God is logical, rational, and of particular relevance to students.
Will is married with two wonderful children. He loves spending time with them—sometimes playing music and sometimes just hanging together throwing a frisbee or playing table tennis.
Will enjoys playing the cello and shares his gifts during regular worship services as well as special events. He loves walking in beautiful countryside. A little known fact: Will is a highly accomplished ballroom dancer.
Favorite book of the Bible: The Gospel of John. It brings together so many threads about who Jesus is and how he cares for us.
Favorite places are linked to favorite people and memories: Crantock in Cornwall and Pooley Bridge in the Lake District are special for him. He includes the beautiful locations of the coast of Brittany, around Lake Garda, and Nin in Dalmatia.
