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Stephen Ministry

In Stephen Ministry congregations, such as Salem United Methodist, lay caregivers (called Stephen Ministers) provide one-to-one Christian care to the bereaved, hospitalized, terminally ill, separated, divorced, unemployed, relocated, and others facing a crisis or life challenge. Stephen Ministry helps pastors and congregations provide quality caring ministry for as long as people need it.

If you feel called to help others and can empathize with others’ pain and problems, this may be the ministry for you. A Stephen Minister is a regular church member who has receives training to learn how to care for others. A new class will be starting in the fall of 2008. The church office will give you the person to contact for more information.

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 our 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

    Our Pastor . . .

  • No longer shoulders the entire burden of caring in the congregation
  • Receives 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

    Our 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 caregiving 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

    Our 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 unchurched 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

Do You Know Someone Who Is Hurting?

If you know someone -- perhaps a friend, neighbor, coworker, or relative -- who is going through a difficult time, there's a wonderful way you can help them receive the care and support they need. Tell them about Stephen Ministry! Our Stephen Ministers have received training to provide high quality, confidential, one-to-one, Christian care to hurting people. Stephen Ministers meet weekly with their care receivers to listen, care, encourage, and provide emotional and spiritual support. (Males are matched with males, and females are matched with females.) The caring relationship lasts for as long as the person needs care. It's free, and it's a powerful way you can help a hurting friend.

To learn how to connect someone you know with a Stephen Minister, contact the Salem church office; you will be connected with one of our Stephen Ministry Leaders.

Our Stephen Ministers are there to care!