Dennis Stephen Hamilton is not your typical pastor, nor is his ministry confined to one particular church. Instead, he refers to himself as "pastor-at-large." The 52 year old Hamilton lives in Ventura, California and is well known throughout that area as a speaker, lecturer, author and presenter of a weekly gospel hour radio program. In addition, he is the founder and president of a publishing company.

His is a very active ministry that touches the lives of a great many people. Not only does he spend his time conducting Bible studies and lecturing at Christian writers' groups in the Santa Barbara area, but he also preaches at various churches, sometimes filling in for pastors who are away. At one such church, he was invited to present a Bible study and preach in the absence of the pastor. He chose to focus the study on praise because, as Hamilton says, "When praise goes up, blessing comes down." The people were very interested in the subject matter and consequently Hamilton created a significant amount of material over the months that followed. That material gave birth to his first book, "Turning Praise Into Power - A Biblical Approach to Praise" and the founding of DCTS Publishing Company. The acronym, "Discover Christ Totally Saves," is the mission and main purpose of the company. His second book, "Strength for Your Journey - Be Thou Strong", was published shortly after and both have been accepted throughout the country in stores such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. "We Shall Come Rejoicing" is the title of Hamilton's third book which was written to stimulate and maintain joy in the life of a Christian. Says Hamilton, it is an evangelistic book that expresses to Christians a three dimensional joy when they share their faith with others. He explains that first there is the joy of the person who receives the Good News. Secondly, the Christian sharing his or her faith also receives joy in that and third, heaven rejoices because of the lost who have been saved. More information about DCTS Publishing Company and how to order Hamilton's books can be seen on his website at www.dctspub.com.

Hamilton also conducts a popular weekly radio program called "The Better Way Gospel Hour." Broadcast from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He preaches for approximately thirty minutes every Sunday morning emphasizing the strong points and principles of the Sunday school lesson. "It's like a portable package that gives the listener a heads-up before attending church services," he says. Hamilton, along with two other colleagues, have broadcast the program for the past twenty years. "God has blessed and prospered us in that ministry," he says, "and the people in the community look forward to hearing the Sunday school emphasis."

As Hamilton looks to the future, his goal is to continue writing and publishing books and to help others with the saving message of Jesus to publish theirs also. He is currently working with three pastors on their books and believes his ministry is essential because of the far reaching effects of the written word. "Writing is different from preaching," he explains. "It moves beyond yourself and across the world while preaching only reaches the particular audience who hears you."

Hamilton has been a Christian for over 25 years, the last twenty of which have been as an ordained and licensed minister in California. " Hamilton's life and ministry reflects the good news he found and it is his desire to tell others that Jesus can change people's lives. "I want people to know Jesus is the answer for the world today," he states. "Whatever problems that confront us, he is able to solve them. If we receive Christ and cultivate his spirit within us and live for him, we can have victorious lives."

"That is what I have found and that is what I try to convey as a lecturer, author, and minister. We need to make Jesus the central theme of our lives." -Sallie Bachar, Obadiah Magazine