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Break
Out!
Sometimes
it's comfortable to do things the same old way: buy the same brand of
breakfast cereal every week, drink from a favorite coffee mug every day,
snuggle into that old sweater that's a little too small. But sometimes
it's good to stretch into something new. Stephen Ministry may be where
God is calling you to
S - T - R - E - T - C - H. A Stephen Ministry training class is this coming
fall.
Contact one of our Stephen Ministry Leaders today to find out more about
this ministry: Jane & Paul Christopher at 952-442-1751 or Vicki Schwartz
at 952-679-4157, or Linda Stanton at 612-819-9855 .
New Stephen Ministers to Be Trained
Since we have begun using the Stephen Series here at Faith Lutheran we
have seen the great value of lay caring ministry. Another training class
for Stephen Ministers will begin this coming fall. Give serious consideration
to this question: "Would my gifts and talents be put to good use
as a Stephen Minister?"
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Caregiving
is not just a two-person relationship, but a three-person one.
There's the one you care for, there's you, and there's Jesus.
Ken Haugk, in Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart
How the Stephen
Series System Works
Step 1:
Congregations enroll in the Stephen Series, giving them access
to extensive training, resources, and ongoing support
from Stephen Ministries St. Louis. There is a one-time enrollment fee.
Step 2: The pastors and lay leaders who will lead
Stephen Ministry in their congregation attend a one-week
Leader's Training Course where they are equipped by the faculty of
Stephen Ministries St. Louis to serve as Stephen Leaders.
Step 3: Stephen Leaders recruit, select, and train
people in the congregation to serve as Stephen Ministers.
Step 4: Stephen Leaders assign Stephen Ministers
to people with needs for care. Stephen Ministers meet with their
care receivers for about an hour a week for as long as the person
needs this level of care.
Step 5: Stephen Ministers participate twice a month in
supervision and continuing education with their Stephen
Leaders.
Enrolled congregations continue
taking steps two through five as often as they desire, making Stephen
Ministry a vital
and lasting ministry in the congregation.
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Who Benefits from Stephen Ministry?
People Who Need Care
. . .
• Receive
quality, Christ-centered, confidential care for their hurts and needs
• Find hope, healing, and a new sense of self-worth through the
support of a Stephen Minister
• Know they are remembered and supported by their congregation in
times of personal difficulty
• Receive ongoing care for continuing needs long after the onset
of a crisis, when many others have forgotten about them
• Grow in a deeper relationship with their Lord as they experience
God's unconditional love for them through their
Stephen Minister
Your Pastors . . .
• No
longer shoulder the entire burden of caring in the congregation, as if
the pastor were the only one able, willing,
or called to do this ministry
• Receive support and care from the lay people who are part of the
congregation's Stephen Ministry Team
• Reach more members of the congregation with quality Christian
care
• Experience renewed joy and satisfaction as they equip others and
so extend the reach of their own ministries
• Have more time to focus on the ministries that only the pastor
can do
Your Lay People . . .
• Discover,
cultivate, and use the spiritual gifts they have been blessed with See
themselves as active partners
in the mission and ministry of the church
• Find all aspects of their lives enriched by the distinctively
Christian care giving skills they learn and
practice
• Experience great joy as they see God working through them to bring
hope and healing to a hurting person
• Grow spiritually as they experience
the Lord's loving presence in community with other Christian caregivers
Your Entire Congregation . . .
• Discovers
that many members want to be involved in meaningful ministry and will
respond to the call to become a
Stephen Minister or Stephen Leader
• Becomes a more loving community that is more sensitive and responsive
to people's needs for care
• Is able to provide more quality Christian care, so that fewer
people slip through the cracks
• Is able to reach out to the un-churched who are hurting and introduce
them to the healing love of Jesus in their time of need
• Sees itself as not only being served by the pastor, but
as a caring body of believers actively involved in serving one another
in love
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"When
you come to help me . . ."
Suggestions to Stephen Ministers from a Care Receiver
When you as a Stephen Minister come to help me, there are some things
I do not want from you:
• Do not tell me you know how I feel.
• Do not tell me what I need to do.
• Do not tell me I'm wrong.
• Do not rush me, because you don't know where I'm going.
• Do not take my burden from me.
There are some things that I do want from you:
• I want you to call me and let me know I exist.
• Tell me you are there and that you care.
• Ask me how I feel and then let me tell you how I feel.
• Let me express my anger and loneliness, and let me cry if I need
to.
• Ask me if I want to be touched with a hug or a prayer, and then
let me decide.
• When I say no, accept it.
• When I say yes, do it.
• Hear me, not only with your ears, but also with your eyes, touch,
and your heart.
• Let me feel your humanness, and please be honest with me.
I need to trust you. Care for me, and let God cure me. If you try to do
these things for me, we will both grow. And when I'm healed and whole
again, you must let me go.
Shared with Stephen Leaders at the 1989 San Antonio LTC
by Faith Wilkerson, Stephen Leader at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Lebanon,
Oregon.
For information regarding becoming a Stephen Minister, or to request
a
Stephen Minister, please contact on of the following Stephen Leaders.
Jane or Paul Christopher at 952-442-1751
Vicki Schwartz 952-679-4157
Linda Stanton 612-819-9855
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