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Stephen Ministry 

Faith Family,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I continue to give thanks to our gracious God for putting you all in our lives. Your faithfulness and your enthusiasm fill my heart with joy and helps complete my hope in Christ. Every day, I look forward to serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ alongside each of you and growing in our discipleship journey together. I pray as God has continued blessings us, may we continue to be a blessing to others.

One way I have found that provides our congregation to be a blessing to others, while receiving God’s abundant blessings, is through Stephen Ministry. I, myself, have never been a part of a church that had a Stephen Ministry, and I am overwhelmed with joy to finally be a part of a congregation that sees the importance in congregational care, as well as community care.

“At its core, Stephen Ministry is about equipping congregation members to provide distinctively Christ care to those who need it.” This quote is taken from the pamphlet, “A Concise Introduction to Stephen Ministry.” Stephen Ministry provides several ways for a congregation to extend the pastoral care ministry already in place. 

Here are just a few of these ways:

· Equipping God’s people for the work of ministry

· Providing Christ-centered care in difficult times

· Helping people identify, develop and use their gifts in meaningful ministry

· Reaching out to the Unchurched with Jesus’ care and compassion.

· Growing as a caring Christian Community.

We have two folks in our congregation who have already been trained as Stephen Ministry Leaders – Rev. K.C. Blackketter and Mrs. Tonda Agold. These two will head up this ministry and provide training for those folks who would like to participate. We have received a small donation that will cover most of the cost for individual training. However, personal financial investment helps make the commitment stronger, so there will be some cost to participants.

Some of the areas Stephen Ministers are trained on are grief, job loss, divorce or broken relationships, miscarriages, family caregiver stress, and the aftermath of a natural disaster or human caused disaster. Having the Stephen Ministry in place and running will provide care for a community that has been hurt.

Please continue to pray and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit if you feel God is calling you to be a part of this ministry that provides us to be the hands, and heart of Christ. 

Have a blessed Week!

Pastor Frank