Stephen ministry is a ministry in our congregation in which trained and supervised lay persons, called Stephen ministers, will provide one to one Christian care to individuals facing life challenges or difficulties.

Stephen leaders are the ones who oversee and direct our Stephen ministry. They recruit, select, train, organize, and supervise our Stephen ministers, identify people in need of care, and match them with a Stephen minister. We have three Stephen leaders. They are: Fr. Ed McNeill, Phoebe Goold and Dianne Growitz.

Stephen ministers are the caregivers. They receive 50 hours of training in Christian care giving, including general topics such as listening, feelings, boundaries, assertiveness, and using Christian resources in care giving. In addition, their training covers specialized topics such as ministry into the divorced, hospitalized, bereaved, and aging.

Pastors will always be the primary caregivers, but there is no way pastors can meet all the needs for care. God has called all of us, not just pastors, to minister to one another. Stephen ministry multiplies ministry by turning pastors into equippers, so they can enable lay people to provide caring ministry as well.

Care receivers are the recipients of Stephen ministers care. They are people from our church or community who are experiencing divorce, grief, loss of the job, loneliness, hospitalization, terminal illness, or any of an endless number of other life difficulties. Stephen ministers usually meet with their care receivers once a week for about an hour for as long as the care receiver will benefit by the relationship.

Stephen ministers are caring Christian friends who listen, understand, accept, and pray for and with care receivers who are working through a crisis or a tough time. Stephen ministers are not counselors; they are trained lay caregivers. Their role is to listen and care, not to give advice or counsel. Stephen ministers are also trained to recognize when a care receivers need exceeds what they can provide. When that happens they work with care receivers to help them receive the level of care they really need. Trust is essential to a caring relationship, and Stephen ministers are people you can trust. Confidentiality is one of the most important principles of Stephen ministry, and what a care receiver tells his or her Stephen minister is kept in strictest confidence.

If you or someone you know could benefit from the care of a Stephen minister, you can talk to Fr. Ed, to Rev. Ann Sullivan, or Phoebe Goold.  Stephen ministry is a caring ministry available to our members and community free of charge.

If you are interested in becoming a Stephen minister, begin by talking to one of our Stephen leaders and they can tell you more. We hope to train a new class of Stephen ministers every two years. Stephen ministers make a two-year commitment to train and serve.

To learn more about Stephen Ministry click here.