For more information on Stephen Ministry or if you are in need of a Stephen Minister, call 314-843-3245 x 303
or email stephenministry@sclparish.org
I am interested in becoming a Stephen Minister. Click here for application:
STEPHEN MINISTER APPLICATION
CHRIST CARING FOR PEOPLE
THROUGH PEOPLE
Stephen Ministries
From Brokenness To Wholeness
Equipping Lay people to provide a continuing effective and caring ministry to meet the needs of people
When you or someone you know is hurting.
"I had lots of people around me, but felt like the loneliest person in the world. Everyone told me what they thought I should do, but no one wanted to hear me."
"My Stephen Minister is very special to me. I was listened to, cared about, prayed for, taught, loved and nurtured. I have a true sister/brother in Christ."
A Stephen Minister is a trained lay member of the congregation who will visit with you weekly, listen, pray with and for you and offer Christian love and respect. They are caring supportive Christian people who have a desire to be with you in a time of need, grief or crisis.
Do I Really Need Help?
Am I confused about events in my life?
Do I feel like I have lost control of my life and my problems?
Do I doubt God's presence and love for me?
Am I hurting?
Do my job worries seem too great to handle? Are they getting me down?
Am I feeling lonely? Do I often wish I had someone to share my thoughts with?
Have there been changes in my life that have caused readjustments in my lifestyle?
Am I having difficulty making decisions and finding answers?
Have I recently suffered a loss?
Do I ever feel like I just want some one to listen?
Can A Stephen Minister Help Me?
"I didn't know what to expect from my Stephen Minister, but he put me at ease. I had a friend I could trust and who really cared about me. My helper showed me how to work things out for myself and had the patience to let me do it."
"When I really needed a friend, my Stephen Minister was there. We cried together a lot, prayed together, talked and now we laugh together."
. . . "I wanted answers and she asked questions. She knew how to see things a new way and her questions helped me find my own answers. I thought God had forgotten me, but my Stephen Minster helped me grow close to God. She loves me. So does God. So do I."
"I wish the whole world was made up of people like my helper . . . Christians with God's own heart."
WHAT IS STEPHEN MINISTRY ?
Stephen Ministry is...
A lay, caring ministry in which one person reaches out to another in time of need.
An ongoing helping relationship - people who need help, receive help.
A meaningful way for our parish to more fully use our talents in sharing one another's burdens and joys.
A Stephen Minister is...
A caring Christian - desiring to offer his/her support to others in time of need.
A sharing Christian - bringing who he or she is to each helping relationship, as a partner in another's life experiences.
A trained Christian - having developed his/her helping skills through intensive course work.
A dedicated Christian - commissioned by our parish to confidential, in-depth caring.
A Stephen Minister is not...
A professional counselor or psychologist.
A social worker providing lots of physical services.
An expert in law, finances, church doctrine, etc.
A brief superficial visitor, "touching base" with people now and then.
Okay, admit it . Stephen Ministry has crossed your mind a few times. You might even have picked up a brochure or talked with your pastor about it.. But now you want to take a closer look at the idea of becoming a Stephen Minister. You're wondering: Is this right for me? Following are some guidelines that might help you in your decision making.
Gifts - A Stephen Minister is a person with the gift of mercy, who shows compassion and gives encouragement to and intercedes for those he or she cares for. Many Stephen Ministers say that they receive much more from the caring relationship with their care receiver than they give.
Commitment - A Stephen Minister devotes time, energy, and resources to this ministry. In return, a Stephen Minister has the chance to participate in meaningful ministry, make a major difference in another person's life, and grow as a joyous child of God.
Training - A Stephen Minister completes 50 hours of training before ever meeting with a care receiver. He or she learns about listening, assertiveness, confidentiality, and many other aspects of care giving. After completing the initial training, there is continuing education. Stephen Ministers find that their relationships become richer and deeper at home, church, at work and with friends.
Dedicated Service - A Stephen Minister serves wholeheartedly. This isn't a casual ministry. It involves prayer, thought, consideration, study, and commitment. In return, the Stephen Minister receives grateful thanks from his or her care receiver, our Stephen Leaders, the congregation, and our Lord.
Accountability - A Stephen Minister is accountable to God, the congregation, the Stephen Leaders, the other Stephen Ministers, and the care receiver. In return, he or she receives support, encouragement, and guidance in Small Group Peer Supervision.
Continuous Learning - A Stephen Minister is open to adjusting and adapting his or her care giving to fit the needs of the care receiver. He or she learns more about care giving at each meeting with a care receiver and at each supervision session. Stephen Ministry is an experience of continuous learning, growth, and joy.
The Holy Spirit may be calling you to the joy, commitment, growth, meaning, training, service, and care of being a Stephen Minister. Pray for God's guidance as you consider this opportunity. For more information, call 314-922-4946.
Stephen Ministry - where did it all begin? It dates back to 1974 when Kenneth C. Haugk, a pastor and clinical psychologist, was pastor of St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Fresh out of seminary, his strengths and heart were in care giving ministry, and he was looking forward to making a positive impact on his congregation and community by providing pastoral care to all those experiencing divorce, grief, hospitalization, discouragement, and other life difficulties.
Very quickly though, he found that the needs for care by far exceeded that which he alone could provide. He faced one of a pastor's greatest frustrations: seeing people slipping through the cracks because their urgent needs were going unmet. In November of 1974, he discussed the situation with two seminary friends over a cup of coffee. The conversation turned to Ephesians 4 and "equipping the saints for the work of ministry." Haugk realized that God didn't intend for pastors to monopolize ministry. Rather, God gave all his people gifts for ministry and one of his roles as pastor was to equip others to use their gifts in ministry.
Haugk returned to St. Stephen's with a plan. In the coming months he recruited nine lay people who had the gifts and heart to do caring ministry. He then used his combined backgrounds in theology and psychology to develop a training program in Christian care giving. By March 1975 the nine were commissioned as "Stephen Ministers." Their first care receivers included a widower, a blind person, a young woman with cancer, a truck driver forced to retire early, and an inactive member struggling with faith issues.
The impact was immediate. People began receiving the focused Christian care they needed. Fewer people were slipping through the cracks, and Haugk found he had more time to perform his other pastoral duties. The Stephen Ministers were surprised by the spiritual growth they encountered as they saw God working through them to bring love and healing to others.
The story would have ended there, had not two of the Stephen Ministers cornered Haugk on a hot May morning after worship services. "This is good stuff," they said to him. "We're not going to let you go until you promise to bring this ministry to other churches!" Still wearing his vestments and perspiring from the heat, Haugk gave in and agreed to find a way to bring Stephen Ministry to other churches.
In November 1975 Haugk and his wife Joan founded the not-for-profit Stephen Ministries organization and began bringing Stephen Ministry to other congregations. It spread like wildfire. Church of the Savior is one of more that 7,000 congregations from more than 90 Christian denominations that now has Stephen Ministry. Over a quarter million people have been trained as Stephen Ministers, a number that grows by tens of thousands each year. More than a million people across the United States, Canada, and the world have been touched by God's love through a Stephen Minister. And that is the mark of God's doing, because finally the story of Stephen Ministry is a million stories and more of caring ministry.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
about
Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministry
What is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry is a caring ministry in which trained laypersons provide confidential, one-to-one, Christ-centered care to members of the congregation struggling with a crisis such as grief, divorce, illness, hospitalization, unemployment, relocation, loneliness, or similar experiences.
Who is involved in Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Leaders are members of our congregation who oversee and direct our Stephen Ministry. They recruit, select, train, organize, and supervise our Stephen Ministers and match people in need of care with Stephen Ministers. The St. Catherine Laboure Stephen Leaders are Diane Jokerst, Suzanne Althoff, Nancy Griffin, Jill Fitzgerald, John Koenig and Sue Spaeth.
Stephen Ministers are parishioners who are trained as care givers. They complete over 50 hours of training in Christian care giving; the training topics include listening, feelings, boundaries, confidentiality, assertiveness, and using Christian resources in care giving. Additionally, Stephen Ministers are trained to provide care in specialized situations such divorce, hospitalization, bereavement, and aging.
But, Stephen Ministers are not counselors; they are trained lay care givers whose role is to be present, to listen and to care. Those who receive Stephen Ministers’ care are members of our parish who are experiencing difficulties such as those listed above. Stephen Ministers usually meet with their care receivers once a week for about an hour for as long as the care receiver will benefit from the relationship. The relationship is completely confidential.
How can I receive a Stephen Minister’s care?
If you feel that you could benefit from having a Stephen Minister, please contact one of the Stephen Leaders at 314-843-3245 x 303 or stephenministry@sclparish.org