Stephen Ministry
What is Stephen Ministry?
The Stephen Ministry provides congregations with the training, resources, and ongoing support to organize and equip a team of lay caregivers - called Stephen Ministers - in the congregation.
Stephen Ministers provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care and support to people experiencing grief, divorce, cancer, job loss, loneliness, disability, relocation, and other life difficulties.
With Stephen Ministry-
Pastors
- Don't carry the burden of being the congregation's sole caregivers.
- Have a team of gifted, trained, committed lay caregivers ready to minister to hurting people inside and outside the congregation.
- Reach more of the congregation with quality Christian care.
- Discover, cultivate, and use the spiritual gifts they have been blessed with.
- Find all aspects of their lives enriched by the distinctively Christian caregiving skills they learn and practice.
- Grow spiritually as they experience the Lord's loving presence in community with other Christian caregivers.
- Becomes a more loving community that is sensitive and responsive to people's need for care.
- Is able to provide more quality Christian care so that fewer people slip through the cracks.
- Sees itself not as only being served by the pastors but as a caring body of believers actively involved in serving one another in love.
- No longer suffer alone. A caring Christian friend comes alongside them to provide emotional and spiritual care for as long as the need persists.
Stephen Minister Training
Our Stephen Leaders, who were trained at a weeklong Leaders Training Course will recruit, select and train members of our congregation to be Stephen Ministers. Stephen Ministers receive 50 hours of training in Christian caregiving skills. This training involves general topics as listening skills, feelings, assertiveness and boundaries, and specialized topics like how to minister to someone experiencing grief, divorce, a terminal illness, and more.
Stephen Minister training starts Oct 3, 2012.
Please consider this wonderful ministry of caring for others.
Download and Fill out this application to become a caring Stephen Minister.
Call the church at 239-542-4051 or email debbiemann49@gmail.com.
To find out more, visit www.stephenministries.org.
