What Is a Stephen Minister?
Stephen Ministers are lay people. Christian men and women that are trained to provide one-to-one care to people experiencing a difficult time in life, such as grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, relocation, or separation due to military deployment. Stephen Ministers come from all walks of life. Their commonality? A passion for bringing Christ's love and care to people during a time of need. Since 1975, more than 600,000 people from more than 11,000 congregations and other organizations have been trained as Stephen Ministers.
Training to Become a Stephen Minister: Stephen Ministers are trained by their congregation's Stephen Leaders. The training they receive in the congregation equips them to provide high quality care to people who are hurting. A Stephen Minister begins a caring relationship when he or she is matched with a person experiencing a life crisis. The Stephen Minister then meets with that person on a weekly basis to listen, care, encourage, and provide emotional and spiritual support. The caring relationship lasts as long as the person is in need of care; from several months to (but never more than) two years. Stephen Ministers have cared for over one-and-a-half million people in one-to-one caring relationships, and they have touched countless more with compassionate understanding and encouragement. If you sense that God might be calling you to serve as a Stephen Minister, the first step is to find out more about getting involved. Under Pastor Jen, a trained Stephen Ministry Leader, our congregation is going to resurrect our Stephen Ministry program here at Hope. If you wish to learn more about Stephen Ministry or wonder if it is a right "fit" for you and your ministry in the world, please speak to Pr. Jen. Training for our new Stephen Ministers, a 50 hour interactive, fun, empowering, and exciting class, will begin this summer. Please pray about Stephen Ministry and see if God is calling you to serve Him in this way! The blessings continue to flow as together we serve God by sharing Christ's love with all!
