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Stephen
Ministry
History:
Stephen Ministry began in 1975 when the Rev. Kenneth C. Haugk, Ph.D., a
pastor and clinical psychologist, trained nine laypersons at his
congregation in St. Louis to be Stephen Ministers. They assisted
him in providing distinctively Christian care to members of the
congregation and community. These trained caregivers were so enthused
about their ministry, they encouraged Dr. Haugk to offer Stephen
Ministry to more congregations.
Over the next few years, Dr. Haugk traveled to congregations and trained
Stephen Ministers. This quickly proved to be inefficient, since he
could visit only a limited number of congregations, and these
congregations were then dependent on him to train additional caregivers.
There also was little organizational structure to supervise Stephen
Ministers after they were trained. So in 1978 Dr. Haugk held the first
Stephen Series Leader’s Training Course and trained the first Stephen
Leaders—representatives of various churches who then returned home
to train and supervise their congregation’s Stephen Ministers. Since
that time Stephen Ministries St. Louis has specialized in “equipping the
equippers” through the Stephen Series ministry system.
Definition of the Stephen Series:
The Stephen Series is a complete system for training and organizing
laypersons for caring ministry in and around their congregations.
The Organization:
Stephen Ministries St. Louis is a not-for-profit, transdenominational,
religious and educational organization founded in 1975. The St.
Louis-based staff of 45 includes five pastors. Dr. Haugk, who is also a
mental health professional, serves as the executive director.
The Name:
The name Stephen comes from St. Stephen, who was the first
layperson commissioned by the Apostles to provide caring ministry to
those in need (Acts 6).
Stephen Ministry Statistics
Congregations:
More than 9,000 congregations are enrolled in the Stephen Series.
These congregations represent more than 100 different Christian
denominations and come from all 50 states, 9 Canadian provinces, and 22
other countries.
People:
More than 50,000 people (pastors, church staff, and laypersons) have
been trained as Stephen Leaders at Leader’s Training Courses (LTCs).
These Stephen Leaders have returned to their congregations to train more
than 450,000 laypersons to be Stephen Ministers. It is estimated that
since 1975 Stephen Ministers have provided distinctively Christian care
to more than a million people through formalized one-to-one caring
relationships and have used their caregiving skills to touch the lives
of millions of others in an informal way.
The
Stephen Series Logo:
The logo Stephen Ministry congregations use 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.
How the Stephen Series Works:
Pastors, church staff, and lay leaders from a congregation attend a
one-week Leader’s Training Course (LTC), taught by the Stephen
Ministries faculty, to learn how to implement and direct the Stephen
Series in their congregations. These trained Stephen Leaders
then return to their congregations to set up and administer a
Stephen Ministry program.
Stephen Leaders recruit and select laypeople from the congregation
to serve as Stephen Ministers and provide them with 50 hours of
training in Christian caregiving. Some of the training topics
include listening, feelings, assertiveness, confidentiality, and
ministering to people in specific situations such as divorce,
terminal illness, grief, and childbirth. Stephen Ministers also are
trained to recognize when a care receiver’s needs go beyond the care
a Stephen Minister can provide and where and how to refer the care
receiver for additional care.
Upon completion of the training, these lay persons are commissioned
as Stephen Ministers. Stephen Leaders then link each Stephen
Minister with a care receiver—a member of the congregation or
community who is in need of quality Christian care. A Stephen
Minister normally is assigned to only one care receiver at a time
and meets with the care receiver for an average of about one hour
each week.
Stephen Ministers also meet twice monthly for peer supervision and
continuing education. Stephen Ministers initially commit to two
years of service, but after those years many recommit to serve
additional years.
Terminology:
The organization, based in St. Louis, is Stephen Ministries St.
Louis. The lay caregiving ministry system congregations
implement is the Stephen Series. Once the Stephen Series is
implemented in a congregation, it is usually called Stephen
Ministry. The pastors and laypersons trained at a one-week
Leader’s Training Course (LTC) to direct Stephen Ministry in their
congregations are called Stephen Leaders. Those who are
trained to provide one-to-one care to those in need are called
Stephen Ministers. Those who receive the care of Stephen
Ministers are their care receivers.
Important to Note
•Stephen Ministers are not counselors. They are trained Christian
caregivers. Their role is to listen and to care—not to counsel or
advise. Please do not refer to
Stephen Ministers as counselors.
•Stephen Ministry is a supervised ministry. Stephen Ministers
engage in twice-monthly supervision to ensure that they are
providing the best quality Christian care for their care receivers.
•Stephen Ministry is a confidential ministry. What a care
receiver tells a Stephen Minister remains confidential. Even in
supervision, the names of care receivers and specific details are
never discussed.
•Stephen Ministers do not make cold calls. They are assigned
to people who have agreed to receive care from a Stephen Minister.
Other
Ministry Systems and Resources
Stephen
Ministries St. Louis offers a number of ministry systems and resources
to enhance ministry in congregations. Besides the Stephen Series,
Stephen Ministries offers the ChristCare® Series—a
complete system that provides congregations with the training,
resources, and ongoing support they need to direct and grow ministry of
Christ-centered, life-transforming small groups.
Stephen
Ministries also offers a Breakthrough Leadership Conference to
equip pastors and lay leaders to provide strong Christian leadership in
their workplace, church, community, and elsewhere in life.
In
addition, Stephen Ministries offers a number of other ministry
resources:
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•Christian Caregiving—a Way of Life
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•Caring Evangelism: How to Live and Share Christ’s Love
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•Antagonists in the Church: How to Identify and Deal with
Destructive Conflict
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•Caring for Inactive Members
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•Discovering God’s Vision for Your Life: You and Your
Spiritual Gifts
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•Journeying through Grief
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•Don’t Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart: How to Relate to Those Who
Are Suffering
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