Stephen Ministry, a lay-led Christian caring ministry for those in need, is a vital part of our congregation’s mission. Join in the celebration! Come pray for and show your support for this caring ministry and these gifted people whom God has called and equipped for this important role in our congregation.
Preparing loved ones to receive Stephen Ministry
The more we live in God’s family, the more we do His will, the more we will realize how much He loves and cares for us. Stephen Ministry has been given to our congregation to show what it means to live as members of God’s family. However, some of our family might be hesitant to receive care giving from a Stephen Minister. The person may be reluctant or apprehensive for many different reasons. So how can we prepare a loved one to accept this helping hand? The following steps can minimize a potential care receiver’s (one receiving care) concerns.
Encouragement
Think about how you would treat a family member who needed care. You wouldn’t give up until the loved one got the needed care. Treat the members of your congregations like family members. Encourage the potential care receiver to accept the care of a Stephen Minister, especially if the problems are difficult. A Stephen Minister could help give them some relief from their pain by listening and caring. He or she would visit on a regular basis - a person whom they could count on.
Try It – You’ll Like It
Perhaps you could try having a Stephen Minister for a month or two. If it doesn’t work, if you don’t like it, or if it’s not helping you, you can stop at that point. This approach gives the potential care receiver clear control of the situation. Once the person experiences the genuine care of a committed Christian, he or she will almost always continue the relationship.
Are Laypersons qualified to minister to me?
Did you know that Stephen Ministers receive 50 hours of training before they are even assigned to care receivers? After training, part of their two-year commitment involves supervision meetings and continuing education classes.
Why can’t the pastor visit me more
often? I’d like to talk to the pastor.
When you multiply the number of people in a congregation by the number of problems each of them encounters on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, you can see that there just aren’t enough hours in day for the pastor to meet all the needs of everyone in the congregation. The pastor is always there for you and cares about you, too. However, these Christian brothers and sisters also love you and want to listen.
SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS! STEPHEN MINISTERS ARE HERE TO HELP!
Stephen Leaders: Marlene Bergstresser, Barbara Heivly, Barbara Slonaker, and Elaine Lichtenwalner
Stephen Ministers: Barry Joseph, Robert Ritter, Sr., Renee Sansone, Wendy Fay, Jennifer Houp, Violet Kosc, Elaine Treby, Connie Mueller, Linda Held, Pamela Hittinger, Darlene Stella.