Church Home
About CLC
CLC News
Worship
Education
Alpha Groups
Family & Sports Ministry
Refugee Center
Community Kitchen  
Church Activities
Stephen Ministry
Church Staff
Contact Us
Where Are We?
Links

About Stephen Ministry

Back to Stephen Ministry homepage

What is Stephen Ministry?

Stephen Ministers give emotional care to hurting people at Christ Lutheran Church and in the community.  Stephen Ministers are carefully trained, supervised, and supported so that they are equipped to "stand with" others in a broad range of life concerns and crises.

What is Stephen Ministry?  It's sharing with others the love that God shares with us.

What do Stephen Ministers do?

- They listen.
- They help you work through hurts and problems.
- They pray and read the Bible with you if you wish.
- They help you talk about tough issues like illness and death and where God is when things go wrong.
- They spend an hour or so with you each week, for a week - a month - even a year if necessary.

As one Stephen Minister put it, "We walk with someone who is going through a tough time, to give them support, to pray with them, and just to listen."

Who can receive care from a Stephen Minister?

A care receiver might be someone who is
- lonely, depressed, or in a nursing home
- having family problems
- hospitalized, or just home from the hospital
- separated or going through a divorce
- new to the community
- laid off from their job
- grieving
- terminally ill
- struggling with their faith
or anyone else who needs to talk.

I would like to have a Stephen Minister.  What do I do?

Talk with Pastor Yohannes or Stephen Leader Lois Sparbel. They can tell you more about what a Stephen Minister can and cannot do, and help you decide whether a Stephen Minister is appropriate for your situation.

They will also know whether a Stephen Minister is available at the present time. If one is not available, they can help you make other arrangements to talk with someone. And, of course, they won't mention the conversation to anyone else.

If you're not sure what Stephen Ministry is all about, we encourage you to speak with any of the Stephen Leaders or Stephen Ministers to find out more about this caring ministry.

If I have a Stephen Minister, who will know?
Unless you choose to tell someone, the only people who will know are your own Stephen Minister and the Stephen Leaders.  The entire relationship between Stephen Minister and care receiver (that's you) is totally confidential.  You can talk about what's going on if you choose to do so, but neither the Stephen Minister nor the Stephen Leaders can talk about it -- not even to mention your name as a care receiver. Even during the support group meetings that Stephen Ministers attend, they will not give the name or identifying details of their care receiver.