Consistory President’s Notes

This past Spring, the Consistory voted upon the recommendation from the Evangelism Committee, to enroll our congregation with the national body of Stephen Ministries.  We have paid the one time fee to enroll which provides many benefits, some of which include: 

• A step-by-step system for establishing a lay caring ministry that works and lasts;
• Access to high quality training and resources; and
• Free ongoing consultation and support.

 This past Sunday Dave Fulton, co-chair of our Board of Evangelism, and I provided a formal introduction to the Stephen Ministry program as a dialogue sermon.  The following comments are from that dialogue.

 Why is this ministry called the Stephen Ministry? 

Stephen was one of the first lay people commissioned by the Apostles to provide a caring ministry.  His story can be found in Acts 6 and 7 of the New Testament.   The Disciples felt they should spend their time praying, preaching and teaching the word of God, not be administrators of the church.  Stephen was one of the first Deacons of the church, and as such he distributed food to the needy.  He was known for his spiritual qualities of faith, wisdom, grace, and power and for the Spirit’s presence in his life.  One of the many lessons that can be learned from Stephen’s life is that real understanding of God always leads to practical and compassionate actions towards others.

 There are two types of people who are involved in the Stephen Ministry.  What is the difference between a Stephen Leader and a Stephen Minister?

Stephen Leaders are pastors and/or lay leaders who direct Stephen Ministry in their congregation and community.  They attend a one-week Leader’s Training Course where they learn how to:

•  Build support for Stephen Ministry;
•  Recruit, select, and train Stephen Ministers;
•  Find people in need of care; and with their consent, match them with Stephen Ministers; and
•  Provide Stephen Ministers with regular support and supervision.

 Stephen Ministers are laypeople who receive 50 hours of Christian care giving training in their congregation—and then after commissioning from the congregation, provide one-to-one Christ-centered care to hurting people.  Each Stephen Minister typically has one care receiver at a time and meets with that person once a week for about an hour.  They also meet with their Stephen Leaders twice a month for ongoing support and continuing education.

In our congregation, who will be trained as our Stephen Leader?

John Barber has graciously agreed to attend the Stephen Leader’s Training Course which will held August 1-7 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  After his training, he will join the Rev. Cyndi Burns, pastor of New Friendship UCC, in enlisting potential Stephen Ministers.  Rev. Burns is already a Stephen Leader.  She and John will be conducting the training of the Stephen Ministers from both our church and New Friendship.  As time goes by, other selected individuals will be sent to the Leadership Training program as the ministry grows.

 What qualities and skills is the Stephen Leader looking for in someone who might be interested in being a Stephen Minister?

The potential Stephen Minister should be someone who is compassionate, full of faith, willing to learn the care-giving skills, trustworthy, able to maintain confidentiality, willing to make a potential long-term commitment to your care receiver, and lastly but most importantly one who is Christ-centered.

The ability to listen is one of the most important skills that a Stephen Minister has.  You will be trained in the Art of Listening.  Listening is caring.  You will have the ability to listen as a care receiver shares his/her painful feelings—feelings of joy, feelings of hope, and eventually feelings of gratitude to God for healing.

What types of care-giving situations are Stephen Ministers used in?

Those individuals of our church who complete the 50 hour training and are commissioned by our congregation to be Stephen Ministers will be equipped to provide one-to-one care to individuals who may be facing many challenges or crises—grief, divorce, cancer, financial difficulties, hospitalization, chronic illness, loss of a job, disabilities, loneliness, a spiritual crisis, or other life struggles.

 Not only will the Stephen Ministers provide care to members of our own congregation, they can also provide care to nonmembers.  This means that Stephen Ministry can be a powerful outreach ministry of our church to unchurched people in crisis.

 The Rev. Kenneth Haugk, founder of Stephen Ministry, states in his book Don’t Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart, “You may never be more Christ-like than when you participate in the suffering and sorrow of a hurting world, wrestling with the pain and providing the comfort of community.  Christ set the pattern: death, then rebirth; dying, then living again; suffering, then consolation.  As you model the life of Christ in ministry to others, you become Christ to hurting people….So when you care for those in need, you are offering a doubly powerful witness to the presence of Christ in the world—Christ alive in you and in the one to whom you are offering care.”

 The Board of Evangelism will be working with John Barber when he returns from the national training.  They will begin the process of selecting, recruiting and training laypeople within our congregation for this exciting new ministry opportunity.