Christ Caring for People Through People
Stephen Ministry prepares God’s people for service to bring compassionate care and Christ’s healing love to hurting people.
Pandemic Resources
Our Stephen Ministry equips lay people to provide one-to-one Christian care to people in our congregation and community who are experiencing difficulties in their lives. Stephen Ministry is a confidential ministry – the identity of those receiving care and everything they discuss with a Stephen Minister remain private.
Since Stephen Ministry was founded in 1975:
- In addition to St. Mary’s, more than 12,000 congregations have become “Stephen Ministry Congregations”
- More than 70,000 pastors and lay leaders have been trained as Stephen Leaders
- More than 600,000 laypeople have received training as a Stephen Minister
- More than 1.5 million Care Receivers have had a Stephen Minister walk with them through a difficult time in their lives
Leaders, Ministers, Receivers
What are Stephen Leaders?
Stephen Leaders have attended a week-long training session which will equip them to establish and direct Stephen Ministries at St. Mary’s.
They are responsible for:
- Building awareness within our congregation
- Recruiting and training Stephen Ministers
- Meeting with potential Care Receivers to assess needs and make referrals to Stephen Ministers
- Providing Stephen Ministers with ongoing supervision and continuing education
Our current Stephen Leaders are:
Contact any of our Stephen Leaders for questions:
Email – Cindy Eaton
Email – Dwight Geiger
Email – John Lockwood
Email – Darla Cederberg
What are Stephen Ministers?
Stephen Ministers are congregation members who are recruited, selected, extensively trained and commissioned to provide one-to-one lay caring ministry to people who are experiencing a difficulty in their life. Some examples of the type of care Stephen Ministers provide include:
- Listening
- Praying
- Sharing Christ’s love
- Showing compassion
What does it take to be a Stephen Minister?
- A 24-month commitment of service to this ministry
- Attendance at and participation in a 50-hour training program
- Study of training materials
- Service as a Stephen Minister (usually involving a one-hour weekly one-to-one visit) for about 18 months following training
- Participation in twice monthly supervision meetings for about 18 months
If you feel you are being called by God to this Ministry, please contact one of the Stephen Leaders or email stephenministries@stmarys-stuart.org.
Our current Stephen Ministers are:
Front row L-R: Barbara Taft, Linda Brown, Lee Morrison, Jane Gilson, Marian Metznik, Eleanor Hanley
Back row L-R: Nan King, Bob Brown, Shelly Taft, Courtney Santorella, Tom Gilson, Don Metznik
What are care receivers?
Care receivers are congregation members and others in the community who are suffering physically, spiritually, emotionally and/or financially and who receive care and support from a Stephen Minister. Care receivers are trying to cope with a difficult time in their life, such as:
- Loss of a loved one
- Divorce or separation
- An illness
- Aging
- Unemployment
- Loneliness or discouragement
- Spiritual crisis
The relationship between a Stephen Minister and Care Receiver is confidential. Men are matched with men and women with women. And most importantly, when a Care Receiver’s needs exceed what a Stephen Minister can provide, the Stephen Ministry team can help make a referral to an appropriate mental health professional or other community resource.
Although the relationship between a Stephen Minister and a care receiver is confidential, there are care receivers who have voluntarily shared their stories so others may know the benefits of having a Stephen Minister. To access these testimonials, please click on the following link:
https://www.stephenministries.org/stephenministry/default.cfm/1597?mnbsm=1
Stephen Ministry Training
Training Starts Mid-October
Please contact a Stephen Leader if you are interested in being in partnership with this wonderful ministry.