What is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry is the one-to-one lay caring ministry. Grace Heartland has equipped and empowered lay caregivers—called
Stephen Ministers—to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered
care to people who are hurting.
The best way to understand how Stephen Ministry works is to learn about three groups of people involved in this ministry: Stephen Leaders, Stephen Ministers, and care receivers.
Stephen Leaders
Stephen Leaders establish and direct Stephen Ministry in a congregation. They—
People learn to serve as Stephen Leaders by attending a Leader’s
Training Course—a one-week conference that introduces the resources used
to lead Stephen Ministry, develops key skills, and gets people excited
about this caring ministry.
Stephen Ministers
Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained by Stephen Leaders to
offer high-quality, one-to-one Christian care to people going through
tough times. A Stephen Minister usually provides care to one person at a
time, meeting with that person once a week for about an hour. Twice a
month, Stephen Ministers gather with their Stephen Leaders for
supervision and continuing education.
Care Receivers
Care receivers are people—congregation members and others in the community—who receive care from a Stephen Minister. These are people struggling through a difficult time in life—experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or some other life crisis.
Some important guidelines for this caring relationship protect both the care receiver and the Stephen Minister:
