Plant the Seed
Stephen Ministry is our congregation's one-to- one caregiving ministry. God works through Stephen Ministers to plant a seed of hope and healing in a person whose life seems barren and forlorn because of some crisis or tragedy.
Water the Seed
Stephen Ministry training will equip you, and our congregation will support you, so that you can show God's mercy, care, and compassion to another who is hurting. You will walk beside your care receiver, pray for him or her, and help him or her work through life's difficulties.
God will make it grow
Through this ministry God will bring forth new life and renewed faith in both your care receiver and in you as a Stephen Minister.
Is God calling you to serve in this way?
Stephen Ministers:
- Listen
- Explore feelings
- Pray
- Share Christ's love
- Maintain confidentiality
- Attend to the caregiving process
- and leave the results to God
Stephen Ministers care for people who are:
- Grieving
- In a crisis
- In need of long-term care
- Dying
- Hospitalized
- Divorcing
- Experiencing losses as they age
- Going through a crisis of
- childbirth
- The family and friends of people in crisis
To learn more about becoming a Stephen Minister, contact:
Larry Sensing at 843-3942 ext. 109
What Exactly is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry is a ministry in our congregation in which trained and supervised laypersons, called Stephen Ministers, provide one-to-one Christian care to individuals facing life challenges or difficulties.
Who Is Involved?
Stephen Leaders are the ones who oversee and direct our Stephen Ministry. They recruit, select, train, organize, and supervise our Stephen Ministers, identify people in need of care, and match them with a Stephen Minister. Stephen Leaders make at least a two-year commitment.
Stephen Ministers are the caregivers. They have been through 50 hours of training in Christian caregiving, including general topics such as listening, feeling, boundaries, assertiveness, and using Christian resources in caregiving. In addition, their training covered specialized topics such as ministering to the divorced, hospitalized, bereaved and aging. Stephen Ministers make a two-year commitment to train and serve.
Care receivers are the recipients of Stephen Ministers' care. They are people from our church or community who are experiencing divorce, grief, loss of a job, loneliness, hospitalization, terminal illness, or any of an endless number of other life difficulties. Stephen Ministers usually meet with their care receivers once a week for about an hour for as long as the care receiver will benefit by the relationship.
What Do Stephen Ministers Do?
Stephen Ministers are caring Christian friends who listen, understand, accept, and pray for and with care receivers who are working through a crisis or a tough time.
Are Stephen Ministers Counselors?
No. Stephen Ministers are not counselors; they are trained lay caregivers. Their role is to listen and care - not to give advice or counsel. Stephen Ministers are also trained to recognize when a care receiver's need exceeds what they can provide. When that happens they work with care receivers to help them receive the level of care they really need.
What Kind of Training Do Stephen Ministers Receive?
- 50 hours of initial training (20 sessions of 2.5 hours each)
- The Stephen Ministry Training Manual plus three books:
- Christian Caregiving-a Way of Life
- Speaking the Truth in Love
- When and How to Use Mental Health Resources
- Continuing education
- Skills directly applicable to all aspects of life
Can I Trust a Stephen Minister?
Yes. Trust is essential to a caring relationship, and Stephen Ministers are people you can trust. Confidentiality is one of the most important principles of the Stephen Ministry, and what a care receiver tells his or her Stephen Minister is kept in strictest confidence.
How Can Someone Become a Stephen Minister?
- Pray
- Discover your Spiritual Gifts
- Assess your current responsibilities
- Look at your life circumstances
- Talk to a Stephen Leader
- Fill out a Stephen Minister Application and go through an interview and selection process
Why the Name Stephen?
The name Stephen comes from the first layperson commissioned by the apostles to provide caring ministry to those in need as recorded in Acts 6.
What's the Pastor's Role?
Pastors will always be the primary caregivers, but there is no way pastors can meet all the needs for care. God has called all of us, not just pastors, to minister to one another. Stephen Ministry multiplies ministry by turning pastor into equippers, so they can enable lay people to provide caring ministry as well.
Where Did It All Start?
Stephen Ministry has been around since 1975, when Kenneth Haugk, a pastor and clinical psychologist, began the ministry to multiply the care giving in his congregation in St. Louis, Missouri. We are one of more than 7,000 Stephen Ministry congregations from more than 90 denominations. Stephen Ministries St. Louis, the organization behind this international ministry, is headquartered in Missouri.
What Is the Cost to the Care Receiver?
Stephen Ministry is a care-giving ministry available to our members and community free of charge.
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