StephenMinistry

• Stephen ministers come alongside of hurting people who do not need professional care.
• Stephen Ministers are not lay pastors or chaplains or professional therapists, counselors or mental health specialists.
• Stephen Ministry training does include many of the tools of pastoral and mental health care, but Stephen Ministers are not trained to diagnose or treat mental or emotional disturbances, and are not equipped to handle problems such as active addictions, psychosis, suicidal situations, eating disorders, medication assessment or management just to name a few.
• Stephen Ministers are volunteers from our congregation who have responded out of their God-given gifts and passions to offer compassion care to the suffering. They are lay caregivers who are recruited, interviewed, selected, trained, commissioned and supervised for Christian care-giving ministry.
• Stephen Ministry Caregiving relationships are with persons going through divorce, terminal illness, grief, recovering from illness, adjustment to a new baby and similar situations.
• Stephen Ministers are caregivers who respect boundaries and confidentiality.
• Stephen Ministers are always assigned a care-receiver of the same gender.

Our congregation’s Stephen Ministry equips people to provide confidential, one-to-one Christian care to individuals in our congregation and in our community who are experiencing difficulties in their lives.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the command of Christ.”  -  Galatians 6:2

Pastors will always be on the front lines of care, especially during times of crisis. But, there are always many more needs for ongoing, one-to-one care than pastors can effectively meet on their own.  Stephen ministry provides a Biblical solution by equipping God’s people for caring ministry.