What is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry is a ministry of caring
Stephen Ministers are people in our congregation who are trained to listen and help others sort through their feelings. They are not counselors or therapists; rather, they are caring Christian friends who can offer a listening ear to help others through the tough times in life.
Stephen Ministry is a one-on-one ministry
As a Stephen Minister, you will never be assigned more than one person (care receiver) at a time. While you commit to serve two-years as a Stephen Minister, the number of care receivers you have during that time will vary depending upon the need, but it will never be more than one at a time. The length of time you spend with a care receiver will vary. You may find one person needs to meet only a few times, while another may need to meet over a period of several months.
Care is given gender to gender
Male Stephen Ministers meet with male care receivers; women meet with women. You will not meet with couples and you will not meet with minors. A Stephen Leader meets initially with each potential care receiver, and, if it is determined during that process that the person is in need of professional help, he or she will be encouraged in that direction and not paired with a Stephen Minister.
Training and Support
We will begin our next training class in January 2012. Classes will be held on the dates and times as noted on the attached document. Click here to view the Q1 2012 Training schedule.
Click on the image below to download an application.
Supervisory Meetings
Once you are trained and commissioned, we want that confidence to continue, so we ask that all Stephen Ministers participate in Supervisory Meetings twice a month. These are designed to provide support to the Stephen Ministers. A facilitator leads the group, and it is during these meetings that the Stephen Ministers can share concerns, struggles, etc., and receive the answers and support they need, in addition to continuing education.
Confidentiality is of the utmost importance
All Stephen Ministers are trained in this regard, and the system of care that we use is set up in such a way to promote this in every area - from record keeping to the bi-weekly Supervisory meetings. We cannot stress enough the importance that this program places on confidentiality. In order for care receivers to participate, they must feel that they can trust this lay-oriented system, so we will do all in our power to generate a system worthy of their trust.
Length of Service
We ask Stephen Ministers to serve for two years, which begins with the training classes.
After People
Just call Stephen Ministers the "after" people. After you find the pink slip in what's now your final paycheck, after the doctors have said there's nothing more they can do, after the relationship ends but the wounds are still bleeding, after family and friends have heard your story one too many times but you still need to talk it out--that's when the Stephen Ministers step in. Click here to learn more about what this means.
If you would like more information about the Stephen Ministry or are interested in becoming a Stephen Minister, please contact our Stephen Leader, Julie Warren, Director of Congregational Care, via email or at 804-739-4535, ext. 32.