Stephen Ministries
What Is Stephen Ministry?
|
Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2, NRSV).
Stephen Ministry is one-to-one lay caring ministry at Discovery Church. Stephen Ministry training equips and empowers lay caregivers—called Stephen Ministers—to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting at Discovery Church and in our community. |
|
|
How Stephen Ministry Works The best way to understand how Stephen Ministry works is to learn about three groups of people involved in this ministry: Stephen Leaders, Stephen Ministers, and Care Receivers. Stephen Leaders—direct the overall ministry in the congregation by:
|
Stephen Ministers
Stephen Ministers are lay caregivers that receive 50 hours of training by Stephen Leaders to offer high-quality, one-to-one Christian care to people going through tough times. A Stephen Minister usually provides care to one person at a time, meeting with that person once a week for about an hour. Once a month, Stephen Ministers gather with their Stephen Leaders for supervision and continuing education.
Care Receivers
Care Receivers are people going through tough times and are being cared for by Stephen Ministers.
These are people struggling through a difficult time in life—experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or some other life crisis.
Some important guidelines for this caring relationship protect both the care receiver and the Stephen Minister:
- The relationship between a care receiver and a Stephen Minister is confidential.
- Men are matched with men; women with women.
- When a care receiver’s needs exceed what a Stephen Minister can provide, the Stephen Ministry
Could you benefit from the confidential one on one care of a trained Stephen minister? (Click Here)
Are you interested in training to become a Stephen Minister? (Click Here)
