Stephen  Ministries     

What is the difference between Care ministry and Stephen Ministry?  Care Ministry meets the short term needs of people.  They provide rides to appointments, meals upon the arrival of a new baby or a return from time in the hospital, flower delivery during the week to shut-ins or people who haven’t been able to be at church due to illness or other difficulties.  They send out birthday cards and deliver cookies and cards at Christmas.  Everyone in the church can be a part of Care Ministry.

Stephen Ministry provides emotional care for the long term.  Stephen Ministers are members of the congregation who have gone through special training on how to develop relationships built of trust, where a care receiver can feel safe to express their deepest feelings.  Stephen Ministers know that God is the cure-giver and they are simply the caregiver.  Knowing this, they don’t feel that they have to fix the person but simply walk beside them, listen to their story, and provide emotional support for as long as needed.  

Everyone's Job, Everyone's Joy  The opportunity and responsibility for doing ministry has been given to all Christians.  When was the last time you heard someone say, "That is the Pastor's job," when referring to some aspect of ministry?  Ministry is not just the job (or, better yet, the opportunity) of the clergy.  The upcoming fall Stephen Ministry training class is a chance to be trained and equipped for caring ministry.  So, exactly what do Stephen Ministers learn during training???  A big part of a Stephen Minister's care-giving is concerned with helping care receivers recognize, accept, and express their feelings, and then trust God to give them healing and wholeness.  Stephen Minister trainees are taught to create a "Safe House" for care receivers, founded on grace-based acceptance and structured around listening, empathy, trust and confidentiality.  If this is something that you would like to learn more about, contact your Stephen Leaders and register for the next Stephen Ministry Training class that is forming now!  You can also download the application here and return it to the church office; then a Stephen Leader will contact you directly.  Your Stephen Leaders are:  Alison Jones and Skip & Leslie Armbruster. 

Top of page