Stephen Ministry

The Stephen Ministers at Eastminster have each received 50 hours of interactive training to help equip them to be care-givers in The Stephen Ministry program.  In this ministry of listening, these lay persons become a care-giver to a care-receiver, who is dealing with needs, concerns, or struggles that would be made easier with support and prayer.  Each Stephen Minister is willing to walk along side a person who is hurting, providing emotional and spiritual care.  Each faithfully meets with his or her care-receiver as one who listens, cares, prays, supports, encourages and makes no judgments.

The Stephen Ministry logo consists of a cross and circle, together with a broken person and a whole person.  The broken person stands behind the cross, symbolizing the brokenness in our lives as a result of our sin.  The whole person stands in front of the cross because it is through the cross of Jesus that we again are made whole.  The circle symbolizes both the wholeness we receive through Christ and God's unending love for us.

Stephen Ministry gets it's name from St. Stephen, the first layperson the Apostles commissioned in Acts 6 to provide caring ministries to those in need.  It is a biblical solution for equipping lay people who are specially gifted for care-giving.  The series has very clear guidelines for confidentiality, one-to-one care-receiver relationships and objective peer supervision.

To learn more about Stephen Ministry at Eastminster, please contact Doris Ward or the church office.