Stephen Ministry

by Paula on January 20, 2012

in Christian Education, General News

WHAT IS STEPHEN MINISTRY?  Our congregation’s Stephen Ministry equips lay people to provide confidential one-to-one Christian care to individuals in our congregation and community who are experiencing difficulties in their lives.

 

A STEPHEN MINISTER IS… 

1.    A child of God who walks beside a person who is hurting

2.    A congregation member with gifts for caregiving who was carefully selected to serve in this role

3.    A lay person who has received 50 hours of training in providing emotional and spiritual care

4.    A Christian friend who listens, cares, prays, supports, and encourages

 

STEPHEN MINISTERS CARE FOR PEOPLE FACING TOUGH TIMES.  We all experience challenges in life—times when we could benefit from the support of a caring Christian friend.  Stephen Ministers are ready to provide the emotional and spiritual care we need when faced with a crisis or difficulty such as—

Loss of a loved one

Hospitalization

Divorce or separation

Loneliness or discouragement

Spiritual crisis

Unemployment or a job crisis

A terminal illness

Incarceration

Aging

Birth, adoption, miscarriage, or infertility

A chronic illness

Relocation

Recovery after an accident or disaster

And many more

 

Stephen Ministry is a confidential ministry.  The identity of those receiving care and what takes place in each caring relationship remain private.

 

FIRST REFORMED UCC STEPHEN MINISTRY CORE VALUES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1.    Every person is a child of God.  All God’s people have been blessed with spiritual gifts and God calls all of us to active ministry.

2.    Every person shall have the opportunity to achieve wholeness and healing.  We want our church to be a place where hurting people can receive compassion, care, and Christ’s healing love.

3.    Every care receiver will be honored and confidentiality will be kept.

4.    Every care giver will be given the necessary training and resources so that their ministry will be reflective of Jesus’ ministry of love and healing.  We believe strongly in Ephesians 4:12, that the role of the pastor and other church leaders is to “prepare God’s people” for works of service.

5.    God calls everyone to be his servant.  God does not want any of us to suffer alone, but wants us to love, encourage, and care for one another.

 

FIRST REFORMED UCC STEPHEN MINISTRY VISION STATEMENT IS AS FOLLOWS:

Jesus Christ taught us to love each other as we love ourselves; and, that if we serve those who are hurting, troubled, and in need, we are serving God himself.

We at First Reformed United Church of Christ demonstrate these values by caring, loving, and encouraging members of our congregation and our community through the Stephen Ministry.

The table below shows a summary of all the caregiver contacts made by our Stephen Ministers from July 29 through November 20, 2011.  Categories of care receivers include shut-ins, hospitalizations, deaths of congregational members and other.  These 143 contacts include 46 phone calls, 66 visits, and 31 other.  This totals almost 102 hours in 4 months.  We should be proud of this new ministry now functioning in our church.

 

 

Date                            Contacts Made
     Minutes Spent
July 2011                                 6              280
August 2011                            29              887
September 2011                      20              463
October 2011                           37            1520
November 2011                       51            2940
 December 2011                      44            1795

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Toys and Books

by Director of Christian Education on January 9, 2012

in General News

The Roads to God children’s classes have started a new rotation called “Giving and Receiving Hospitality.” As part of their study they are doing a mission project for Crisis Ministries. Each child is asked to bring “gently used” toys and books they are no longer using to donate to the children at Genesis House. (Parents, this is a great way to clean out toy boxes and book shelves.) There is a box in the green room downstairs for the items. All toys and books need to be in the box by January 29th. They will be delivered to Crisis Ministries the first week in February. Thank you Roads to God children for sharing your hospitality with our community!

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Prayer Shawl Ministry

January 1, 2012 General News

 With the Blessing of 31 Prayer Shawls on Dec. 18th, we are pleased to start the New Year ready to minister to those who need to be wrapped in love during difficult times. But they will go quickly. So as you are sitting by the fire during the wintry months, please keep the needles clicking. [...]

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Did You Know?

October 10, 2011 Christian Education

For Information, Coming Events, Important Dates check:  church website – www.frucc.org church Facebook page – www.facebook.com/firstreformeducc bulletin board in the hallway of the education building “We Need You” – bulletin board outside Paula’s office

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Kids’ Club

January 22, 2011 Christian Education

Kids’ Club met on Jan. 8th with Amy McNeill. The children’s lesson was “Consider the Ants.” Ants are great models for us to follow. They do their “chores” without being told and without anyone checking up on them. We have jobs that Jesus wants us to do – caring about others, inviting people to church, [...]

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Children’s Church

January 8, 2011 Christian Education

The next Children’s Church will be January 22. The next “Jesus, Who He Is” lesson will be  “I Am the Light of the World.” All children in Roads to God are invited to Kids’ Club and Children’s Church. The children leave the sanctuary after the Children’s Moment on designated Sundays. Watch the newsletter, bulletin board, [...]

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