Stephen Ministry Stephen Ministry Frequently Asked Questions
What is Stephen Ministry? Stephen Ministry is a system through which members of FUMC are trained and organized to help provide Christian caregiving to members of our congregation and community. This will multiply the amount of caring ministry FUMC can provide by giving us a whole team of skilled caregivers who are equipped to bring Christ’s healing love to people who are grieving, in crisis, or experiencing other stresses in life.
Why Lay Ministry? Stephen Ministry is based on the idea that all Christians are ministers. The responsibility for passing on God’s love is for all Christians, not just for a chosen few. God has given us all gifts for ministry and called us to put those gifts to use. Stephen Ministry is a place where people with special gifts for caring ministry can use those gifts to bring Christ’s love to people in need.
Why Stephen Ministry? We have many needs for care in our congregation and community: people experiencing divorce, grief, a terminal illness, loss of a job, relocation, an empty nest, retirement, hospitalization, loneliness, and many other stresses or challenges. Often people with needs suffer silently or do not request or receive the level of care they really need. With only one pastor for a congregation of over 600 members, you can quickly see why it would be impossible for our pastor to meet every single need of every single person. Stephen Ministry expands the care FUMC can offer by equipping and organizing members to provide Christian care. This gives us a larger pool of people with the gifts, skills, and calling to bring Christ’s love and care to those who most need it.
Stephen Ministers - Who, What, How? Stephen Ministers are members of FUMC who have gone through 50 hours of training in providing high-quality Christian care to individuals experiencing a crisis or challenge. Stephen Ministers are each assigned a care receiver and meet with that care receiver for about an hour a week. This caring relationship will last for as long as the care receiver needs it. Some may need to meet only a few times, while another may need to meet over a period of several months.
As a Stephen Minister, you will never be assigned more than one person (care receiver) at a time. While you commit to serve two-years as a Stephen Minister, the number of care receivers you have during that time will vary depending upon the need, but it will never be more than one at a time. The length of time you spend with a care receiver will vary. .
Care is given gender to gender - male Stephen Ministers meet with male care receivers; women meet with women. You won’t meet with couples and you won’t meet with minors. Pastor Mary Jo meets initially with each potential care receiver, and if it is determined during that process that the person is in need of professional help, he or she will be encouraged in that direction and not paired with a Stephen Minister.
The goal of those of us in Leader Training positions is to train and develop Stephen Ministers in ways that build your feelings of confidence and success. That is the reason the training period is the length that it is – 50 hours, which can take as long as 6 months, meeting once a week for 2.5 hours. We want you to feel confident that you are well equipped to do this ministry.
And, once you are trained and commissioned, we want that confidence to continue, so we ask that all Stephen Ministers participate in Supervisory Meetings twice a month. These are designed to provide support to the Stephen Ministers. A facilitator leads the group, and it is during these meetings that the Stephen Ministers can share concerns, struggles, etc., and receive the answers and support they need, in addition to continuing education.
Stephen Minsters are "After People" Click here to learn what that means.
Who Benefits from Stephen Ministry? Everybody benefits. Those receiving care benefit because they receive prayer and support throughout the crisis they face. Stephen Ministers benefit through the spiritual growth they experience from being involved in meaningful ministry. Our pastor benefits because caring ministry at FUMC is expanded, and fewer people will slip through the cracks. Most of all you benefit from the knowledge that special care is available to you should you need it. In addition, you now have a place where you can refer a friend, neighbor, coworker, relative, or anyone else you know who is going through a difficult time so that they can receive special care when they need it most. Stephen Ministry makes FUMC a more caring place!
What About Confidentiality? Confidentiality is of utmost importance, so all Stephen Ministers are trained in this regard, and the system of care that we use is set up in such a way to promote this in every area - from record keeping to the bi-weekly Supervisory meetings. We can’t stress enough the importance that this program places on confidentiality. In order for care receivers to participate, they must feel that they can trust this lay-oriented system, so we will do all in our power to generate a system worthy of their trust.
Why the name Stephen? The name Stephen comes from St. Stephen, who was the first lay person commissioned by the Apostles to provide caring ministry to those in need (Acts 6).
CURE Giver or CARE Giver? Something that Stephen Ministers will hear time and again is that God is the CURE giver, we are the CARE giver. It is God who does the healing; we are present to listen, pray (if your care receiver is open to that) and be God’s healing vessel. If we become results-oriented, we will not be as effective, our ministry will suffer. The role of a Stephen Minister is to be a caring listener, offering encouragement and support. Often a listening ear is all your care receiver needs. That alone is major to someone struggling!
Where are we in the Stephen Ministry Process? Both Pastor Mary Jo and Sharon Fink have received training as Stephen Leaders through the extensive Stephen Leader Training Workshop system - Pastor Mary Jo while she was Associate Pastor at Worthington UMC and Sharon January 6-12, 2008. In her roll as Stephen Leader and with the help and support of Pastor Mary Jo, Sharon has been working to build awareness of the program, recruiting Stephen Minister candidates, and is preparing to lead the 50 hour Stephen Ministers’ training program on Monday evenings starting in November ‘08. We hope to have our first group of Stephen Ministers trained and ready to offer care by Spring 2009.
Statistics on the Conference Sharon attended:
There were 439 people at the Leader Training she attended in Orlando: 151 were men; 288 were women. Only 74 were pastors – the rest were lay people like us. This is a non-denominational program. Of the 295 Congregations represented, 158 participants were United Methodist, representing 108 congregations and 60 were Presbyterians, representing 43 congregations. Forty-seven congregations were new to Stephen like we are. This program has been going on for 33 years, and this past October welcomed the 10,000th congregation into membership. God is truly working through this incredible ministry.
If you would like to know more about Stephen Ministry at First United Methodist Church, please contact Sharon Fink at 593-3977 ext. 11 or fink@firstumcathens.org. You are also welcome to visit the national web site at www.stephenministries.org