Stephen Ministry

WHAT EXACTLY IS A STEPHEN MINSTER?

Stephen Ministry is a ministry in our church in which trained and supervised people, called Stephen Ministers, provide one-to-one Christian caring to individuals facing life difficulties or challenges.

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 Minster. They are Karen Sheelsey, Inez Hymers, and Lee Ann Myers.

Stephen Ministers are the care givers. 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 Ministers’ care. They are people from our church family who are experiencing divorce, grief, loss of a job, loneliness, hospitalization, terminal illness, or any other of an endless number of life difficulties. Stephen Ministers usually meet with their care receiver once a week for about an hour for as long as the care receiver will benefit by the relationship.

WHAT DO STEPHEN MINISTER 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.

CAN I TRUST A STEPHEN MINSTER?
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 Minster is kept in strictest confidence.