Stephen Ministry

               

 

In 2011 eleven lay women and men of FUMC each took fifty hours of training from certified trainer, our Pastor Dusty Sprague, to become certified Stephen Ministers.

 

 

General Background: Stephen Ministers are lay caregivers that are equipped to provide one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized, terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed, relocated, and others facing a crisis or life challenge. Stephen Ministry helps pastors and congregations provide quality caring ministry for as long as people need it.

 

Stephen Ministry began in 1975 and is now in 11,000 congregations in the U.S., Canada, and 23 other countries. More than a million people have received care from a Stephen Minister in a formal one-to-one caring relationship.

 

 

A Stephen Minister is different from a close friend, and it's important to understand the distinction. In a time of grief or crisis, the care receiver benefits from the care of both a Stephen Minister and close friends.

 

Stephen Ministers have a lot in common with close friends. You can depend on them; you can trust them; you know that they'll keep confidential whatever you tell them. They'll be there for you and help you through a rough time. But the Stephen Minister's role is different from the role of a close friend.

 

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 (as recorded in Acts 6).

 

Meaning of the Stephen Ministry Logo: The logo tells the story of a care receiver’s journey from brokenness to wholeness through the transforming power of the cross of Jesus. It serves as a simple reminder that it is not the Stephen Minister who restores a person to wholeness. Rather, it is only through the cross of Jesus that a person can be made whole.

 

The logo’s most dominant feature is the cross of Jesus. It reminds us that Christ is at the center of Stephen Ministry.

 

The broken person behind the cross symbolizes how we are all broken people, broken by our own sin and imperfections.

 

The whole person in front of the cross signifies the wholeness we encounter through the transforming power of the cross of Jesus. It is only through Jesus and His life, death on the cross, and resurrection that we, who are broken people, are made whole.

 

The circle is a symbol of God’s eternal and never-ending love for us. God’s love surrounds us, with the cross of Jesus at the center of that love. For it was Jesus, God’s Son, who allowed Himself to be broken on the cross to save us from our sin and give us the opportunity to be restored to wholeness through Him.

 

You may click on the icon at the top to go to the general Stephen Ministry website, which is http://www.stephenministries.org.