What Is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry is a ministry in our congregation in which highly trained and supervised lay persons, called “Stephen Ministers,” provide one-to-one Christian care to individuals facing life challenges or difficulties.
Who Is Involved?
Stephen Leaders 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. Our Stephen Leaders, Anna Humble and Winston Morris, recently went to a week-long Leadership Training Course where they received extensive training on how to lead our congregation’s new Stephen Ministry program.
Stephen Ministers are the caregivers. They have engaged in 50 hours of training, 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. We are currently recruiting our first class of Stephen Ministers!
Care receivers are the recipients of Stephen Ministers’ care. They are people from our church or the outside community who are experience divorce, grief, loss of a job, loneliness, hospitalization, terminal illness, or any of a number of other life difficulties.
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. Stephen Ministers’ do a very different kind of care than the care already provided by our pastors or Carenet. Stephen Ministers meet with care receivers for about once a week for about an hour for only as long as the care receiver will benefit by the relationship. Stephen Ministers receive ongoing group supervision, commit to two years of service, and may care for someone from our church or from our wider community.
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 recognized 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.
Is Stephen Ministry Confidential?
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, names of care receivers and what they tell their Stephen Ministers is kept in strictest confidence.
Will Stephen Ministry Replace Pastoral Care?
Stephen Ministry is an extension, not a replacement, of our pastors’ care. Our pastors will always be the primary caregivers, especially in moments of crisis, but there is no way our 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 pastors into equippers so they can enable lay people to provide caring ministry as well.
How Can Someone Receive Care from a Stephen Minister?
Anna Humble is our Stephen Leader coordinates referrals. If you or someone you know could benefit from the care of a Stephen Minister, you can talk to Anna, to Rev. Ng, or to Winston Morris.
How Much Does It Cost?
Stephen Ministry is a caregiving ministry available to our members and community free charge.
How Can I Become a Stephen Minister?
Begin by talking to Anna Humble or Winston Morris and they can tell you more. We are planning to begin training our first class of Stephen Ministers January 2012.
