Do you need to talk to someone who knows how to listen?  Would you like to talk with a qualified person about a personal situation in your life? Are you looking for a caring person to help you through a personal crisis? Stephen Ministry is a free and confidential program that provides one-to-one Christian care to hurting people within our congregation and surrounding community.

• Do I feel like I have lost control of my life and my problems?
  
• Do I often feel overwhelmed?
  
• Do I doubt God’s presence and love for me?
• Am I hurting?
• Do my job worries seem too great to handle? Are they getting me down?
• Am I feeling lonely? Do I often wish I had someone to share my thoughts with?
• Have there been changes in my life that have caused readjustments in my lifestyle?
• Am I having difficulty making decisions and finding answers?
• Have I recently suffered a loss?
• Do I ever feel like I just want someone to listen?

Stephen Ministers are committed Christian men and women who:

• Express God’s care through their lives to others
• Receive 50 hours of initial training in important caring ministry skills including: How to listen; how to deal with feelings; how to be professional; how to express honesty, warmth, and care; how to help in times of crisis; how to minister to those dealing with grief, divorce, death and dying, depression, illness, aging, hospitalization, and many other areas
• Are commissioned as Stephen Ministers after completing their initial training
• Visit his or her care receiver regularly and dependably
• Participate in regular support and supervision twice a month under the guidance of trained Stephen Leaders for purposes of ongoing evaluation
• Are committed to preserving the confidential nature of the caring relationship
• Serve for at least two years
• Receive continuing education and skill-building throughout their years of service
• Recognize when a care receiver’s needs go beyond the care a Stephen Minister can provide and where and how to refer the care receiver for additional care.
• How does the Stephen Series work and how are Stephen Leaders trained?
• Stephen Leaders attend a seven-day Leader’s Training Course, taught by pastors and clinical psychologists from the Stephen Ministries' St. Louis faculty.  They in turn provide 50 hours of training for lay people who feel called to be Stephen Ministers. Upon completion of their training, Stephen Leaders then link each Stephen Minister with a care receiver – a member of the congregation or community who is in need of quality Christian care. A Stephen Minister is normally assigned to only one care receiver at a time and meets with the care receiver for an average of about one hour each week.

Stephen Ministers pledge a vow of confidentiality regarding anything discussed between an individual and their Stephen Minister. The only exceptions are when a possible suicide or harm to another person exists. The reputation and integrity of the Stephen Ministry program depends on that vow of confidentiality.

There may, on occasion, be times when a care receiver is asked to give permission for the Stephen Minister to consult with a pastor or a Stephen Leader about how to most effectively provide care. This would be similar to a family doctor consulting with a specialist.

If you are embarrassed to talk about your difficulties and concerns, Stephen Ministers have been trained to be non-judgmental and to accept you exactly as you are. In fact, they have probably felt much this same kind of embarrassment at one time or another. While it may be difficult at first, a Stephen Minister can help you learn to get over embarrassment so that you can go on from there.

Needs that can be met by a Stephen Minister include, but are not limited to:

• Hospitalization
  
• Declining health, disability, or terminal illness
  
• Illness of a loved one
  
• Death of a loved one
  
• Divorce or separation from a spouse
  
• Severe financial setback
  
• Difficulties associated with aging
  
• Transition to assisted living or nursing homes
  
• Family or domestic problems
  
• Isolation
  
• Loneliness
  
• Depression
  
• Job crisis
  
• Struggles in faith
  
• Childbirth or adoption
  
• Moving into or out of the community
  
• Retirement
  
• Intense stress or an overwhelming burden