"My wife's been bugging me to do te reo anyway and I'd be quite keen to go along with Stephen. I've thought about it for quite a bit."
Stephen is a talented artist and ten-pin bowling champion, but he spends hours every day studying New Zealand's indigenous language.
"I love all the song and all that," he said. "The Māori singing."
On Sunday, Stephen puts on his best shoes and coat and goes to church where he greets visitors in Māori.
"It just shows that anyone can learn te reo Māori," Jackson said.
"Te reo Māori is for everyone, not just for Māori but for those who aren't Māori also. And Stephen highlights that."
Te reo classes are rising in popularity across the country with more and more people interested in learning our native language.
Across the Bay of Plenty, they are widely on offer, some even for free. And while Stephen may not be fluent just yet, he has no plans to stop learning.