Stephen Ministry
Christ Caring for People Through People

Stephen Ministers are the caregivers. They have been through 50 hours of training in Christian caregiving including topics such as listening, feelings, boundaries, assertiveness, confidentiality, and using Christian resources in caregiving.

Care receivers are the recipients of Stephen Ministers’ care. They are people from our church or community who are experiencing divorce, grief, loss of a 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.  Male care receivers are paired with male Stephen Ministers, and female care receivers are paired with female Stephen Ministers.  All sharing between care receivers and Stephen Ministers is strictly confidential, including the fact that a care receiver has a Stephen Minister.

What Do Stephen Ministers Do? 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. Their role is to listen and care – not to give advice or counsel. Stephen Ministers are also trained to recognize when a care receiver's need exceeds what they can provide. When that happens they work with care receivers to help them receive the level of care that is needed.

How Can Someone Receive Care from a Stephen Minister? Contact the church office or one of the Stephen Leaders if you want to have a Stephen Minister help you through a difficult time in your life.  If you want to talk about Stephen Ministry for someone else, make sure you get his or her permission first. Confidentiality is one of the most important principles of Stephen Ministry. Except for the Stephen Leader who assigns a Stephen Minister to a care receiver and the Stephen Minister assigned, no one else knows who is receiving care from our Stephen Ministers. What a care receiver tells his or her Stephen Minister is kept in strictest confidence.

The Stephen Series Logo consists of a cross and circle together with a broken person and a whole person. The broken person behind the cross symbolizes the brokenness in our lives due to our sin and imperfections. The whole person stands in front of the cross because it is only through the cross of Jesus that we are made whole. The circle symbolizes both the wholeness we receive through Christ and God’s unending love for us.

To learn more about Stephen Ministry,
visit the Stephen Ministries web site:
www.stephenministries.org
or talk to one of Meadows’ Stephen Ministers
or Stephen Leaders.