What Is Stephen Ministry?

Stephen Ministry is our congregation's one-to-one care giving 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.  Through Stephen Ministry God will bring forth new life and renewed faith.

 

​How Stephen Ministry Works

The best way to understand how Stephen Ministry works is to learn about three groups of people involved in this ministry: Stephen Leaders, Stephen Ministers, and care receivers

 

​​Stephen Leaders

Stephen Leaders establish and direct Stephen Ministry in a congregation. They:

• Build awareness of Stephen Ministry within the congregation and community

• Recruit and train Stephen Ministers

• Meet with potential care receivers to assess their needs

• Match care receivers with Stephen Ministers

• Provide Stephen Ministers with ongoing supervision and continuing education

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​​​Stephen Ministers

Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained by Stephen Leaders to offer high-quality, one-to-one Christian care to people going through tough times. A Stephen Minister usually provides care to one person at a time, meeting with that person once a week for about an hour. Twice a month, Stephen Ministers gather with their Stephen Leaders for supervision and continuing education.

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Care Receivers

Care receivers are people—congregation members and others in the community—who receive care from a Stephen Minister. These are people struggling through a difficult time in life—experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or some other life crisis.

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Need Help?

If you or someone who you know could benefit from talking to a Stephen Minister, please fill out the referral form below and one of our Stephen Ministers will contact you.