Stephen Ministries
The Stephen Ministry at East Liberty Presbyterian Church is an extension of pastoral care. It is a religious and educational system of training and organizing lay persons for caring ministry. Keep in mind that Stephen Ministers are not professional counselors or psychologists, social workers, experts in law, finance, church doctrine, or other specialty areas—they are also not brief, superficial visitor touching base with people now and then.
Stephen Ministers serve as. . .
- a child of God who walks beside a person who is hurting;
- a congregation member with gifts for caregiving, who was carefully selected to serve in this role;
- a lay person who has received 50 hours of training in providing emotional and spiritual care;
- a caring Christian friend who listens, cares, prays, supports and encourages;
- someone who will "be there" for his or her care receiver, meeting faithfully for about an hour each week, for as long as there is a need.
ELPC's Stephen Ministry addresses the needs of. . .
- people who are hospitalized,
- people who are depressed,
- people who are separated or in the process of divorce,
- people who are shut-in,
- people experiencing the birth of a child,
- people who are dying, as well as the families of those who are terminally ill,
- people attempting to cope with the death of a loved one,
- people experiencing loss of a job or financial setbacks,
- people and families of those who are in trouble with the law,
- people who are new to our church, or who are inactive members,
- people who are struggling with their faith with God.
Confidentiality: Stephen Ministers abide by the rule that, "All transactions, all observations or impressions, and all records made concerning the person are and will remain confidential."
The ministry was named for Stephen, one of the first deacons in the early church who was commissioned by the disciples to care for the needs of the community. It is one-on-one ministry by trained, caring lay members of this congregation, as a response to Christ's instruction to "Love one another. . . as I have loved you."
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