Stephen Ministries' Core Purpose is summed up in the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.
"To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12-13).
The Stephen Series is a complete system for training and organizing lay people to provide one-to-one Christian care to hurting people in and around our congregation.
The Stephen Series provides congregations with the structure, training, and resources to set up and administer a complete system for lay caring ministry (called Stephen Ministry) in the congregation. In Stephen Ministry congregations, 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.
At Hope, Stephen Ministers bring communion to shut-ins, hospitalized persons, etc.; may be present to pray with a person before surgery; send cards and notes to let peopple know we are praying for them; assist in many ways to offer Christian care.
- Receive quality, Christ-centered, confidential care for their hurts and needsFind hope, healing, and a new sense of self-worth through the support of a Stephen Minister
- Know they are remembered and supported by their 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
- 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
