Stephen Ministries

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Have you recently suffered a life change or loss that has caused readjustments in your lifestyle? Do you wish to have someone to share thoughts and feelings with? Are you hurting too greatly to handle these situations alone?

If you said “yes” to any of the above, then a Stephen Minister is available for you.  Stephen Ministers are trained, caring Christian people who desire to support you in a time of need. 

How can Stephen Ministries help you?

Stephen Ministry is a program that equips lay persons to provide distinctively Christian one-to-one care to those who are in need of having a Christian “traveling companion” along the journey of life.  We refer to persons who are in need as “Care Receivers.”  Care Receivers can be persons who are members of our congregation or can be persons from the community. 

Stephen Ministers, or “Care Givers,” are committed Christian people who express God’s care through their lives to others, and who have received 50 hours of specific training in caring ministry skills and concepts.  After these persons have received training, they are commissioned as Stephen Ministers in a Worship service held at Trinity United Methodist Church.  They then serve as a Stephen Minister for at least two years, during which time they are assigned to an individual to visit on a regular basis to offer Christian support and care. 

Stephen Ministers are committed to preserving the confidential nature of the caring relationship, and participate in regular support and supervision under the guidance of trained Stephen Leaders.  During their term of service, these persons receive monthly continuing education and skill-building experiences.

There are times when each of us needs the care of another person – a Christian friend with the gifts and training of a Stephen Minister. 

The following needs are best met through the ministry offered by a Stephen Minister:

  • The hospitalize
  • The terminally ill and their family members
  • People who move as newcomers into our community
  • Those grieving a death or serious loss
  • The home bound
  • Those with a job crisis
  • The aging and the elderly
  • Those with disabilities and their family members
  • Those needing the support of a Christian friend
  • Those facing life transitions
  • Those who are martially-separated or divorced
  • Households experiencing birth or adoption
  • Those in spiritual crisis

Those receiving care from a Stephen Minister can be sure that their identity and what goes on in the caring relationship will remain private.  Our Stephen Ministers work together with our pastor(s) to reach more people with Christian care than pastors can reach by themselves.  Stephen Ministry identifies our congregation to our community as a place where people’s needs are taken seriously.

Trinity’s Stephen Leaders are pastors, church staff, and/or lay persons who have completed a seven-day Stephen Series Leader’s Training course and are commissioned to lead the Stephen Ministry of our congregation.  Trinity’s Stephen Leaders can help you or someone you know receive care from a Stephen Minister, can tell you how to become a Stephen Minister, can tell you about Stephen Ministry training and our next training class, and can answer any other questions about Trinity’s Stephen Ministry program.

Here are ways that YOU can support Trinity’s Stephen Ministry:

  • Pray for our Stephen Leaders and Stephen Ministers as they provide Christian care to others
  • Pray for all who are receiving confidential care through the Stephen Ministry of our congregation
  • Tell Stephen Leaders about those who might benefit from the care of a Stephen Minister (but, please, get that person’s permission first!)
  • Tell others in our community about the availability of Trinity’s Stephen Ministry and about the care it can provide
  • Receive Stephen Ministry when you are in need of supportive Christian care
  • Consider serving as a Stephen Minister
  •  Support Stephen Ministry with your financial gifts

The 50 hour training class begins in September.  If this is a place that you feel God is calling you to serve, please call the church office at 817.274.1345.