Stephen Ministry
Questions and Answers
What is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry is a system through which members of our church are trained and organized to help provide distinctively Christian care giving to members of the congregation and community.
Why Lay Ministry?
Stephen Ministry is based on the idea that all Christians are ministers. The responsibility for passing on God’s love is for all Christians, not just for a chosen few. God has given us all gifts for ministry and called us to put those gifts to use. Stephen Ministry is a place where people with special gifts for caring ministry can use these gifts to bring Christ’s love to people in need.
Why Stephen Ministry?
We have many needs for care in our congregation and community: people experiencing divorce, grief, loss of a job, relocation, an empty nest, retirement, hospitalization, loneliness, and many other stresses or challenges. Often people with needs suffer silently or do not request or receive the level of care they really need. With only 2 pastors for a congregation of over 2000 members, it is not possible for our pastors to meet every single need of every single person. Stephen Ministers expand the care our church can offer by equipping and organizing members to provide Christian care. This gives us a larger pool of people with gifts, skills, and calling to bring Christ’s love and care to those who most need it.
Who Benefits from Stephen Ministry?
Everybody benefits from Stephen Ministry. Those receiving care from Stephen Ministers benefit because they receive prayer and support throughout the crisis they face. Stephen Ministers benefit through the spiritual growth they experience from being involved in meaningful ministry. Our pastors benefit because caring ministry at our church is expanded. Most of all, you benefit from the knowledge that special care is available to you should you need it.
Who are Stephen Ministers?
Stephen Ministers are members of our church who have gone through 50 hours of training in providing high quality Christian care to individuals experiencing a crisis or challenge such as divorce, grief, loss of job, hospitalization, relocation, or loneliness. Stephen Ministers are each assigned a care receiver and meet with that care receiver for about an hour each week. This caring relationship will last as long as the care receiver needs it. If you would like more information on how to become a Stephen Minister or to receive care from one, contact one of our pastors or call the church’s Stephen Leader, Craig Preston. You may also fill out the card in the pew rack and place it in the box marked Stephen Ministry located at the entrance to the church sanctuary.
How Does Stephen Ministry Work?
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 Ministers are the caregivers. They have been through 50 hours of training in Christian caregiving, including general topics such as listening, feelings, 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.
Care Receivers are the recipients of Stephen Minister’s care. They are people from the 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’s 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 from 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?
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 exceed what they can provide. When that happens they work with are receivers to help them receive the level of care they need.
Can I Trust a Stephen Minister?
Trust is essential to a caring relationship, and Stephen Ministers are people you can trust. Confidentiality is one of the most important principles of Stephen Ministry, and what a care receiver tells his or her Stephen Minister is kept in the strictest confidence.
Why the Name Stephen?
The name Stephen comes from St. Stephen, who was the first lay person commissioned by the apostles to provide caring ministry to those in need as recorded in Acts 6.