Stephen Ministry at
The Village Presbyterian Church
Stephen Ministry is…
A program of The Village Presbyterian Church Northbrook, that equips lay persons to provide distinctively Christian one-to-one care to those who are experiencing all kind of life needs and circumstances in our congregation and community.
Stephen Ministers are committed Christian people who…
- Express God’s care through their lives to others
- Receive 50 hours of initial training in caring ministry skills and concepts
- Are commissioned as Stephen Ministers after completing initial training
- Visit another person regularly and dependably and offer support and care
- Participate in bi-monthly supervision under guidance of trained Stephen Leaders
- Committed to preserving the confidential nature of the caring relationship
- Receive continuing education and skill building throughout their years of service
Stephen Ministry Meets the Needs of People…
There are times when each of us needs the care of another person, a Christian
friend, a Stephen Minister! These needs include but are not limited to:
- Hospitalized
- Terminally ill and their families
- Newcomers to the community
- Those in grief
- Homebound or in care facilities
- Job crisis
- Aging, elderly
- Separated or divorced
- Life transitions
- Spiritual crisis
- Your Stephen Minister will meet with you regularly (typically up to once a week) in your home or at the church or a mutually agreeable location. Since Stephen Ministers are not professional counselors, they are not able to meet with couples or families.
- Your Stephen Minister will listen, offer support and encouragement, and help you express your thoughts and feelings. Your Stephen Minister will help you think about choices and options and help you set goals.
- Your Stephen Minister will pray for you and with you. Your Stephen Minister will encourage you to seek spiritual growth and healing.
- Your Stephen Minister will meet periodically for supervision with other Stephen Ministers to get support and guidance about how to provide the best possible Christian Care for you.
- Your Stephen Minister will keep your identity and your conversations in confidence. When Stephen Ministers meet for supervision, your situation may be discussed, but never your identity. Unless you’re planning to harm yourself or someone else, you can be assured your conversations will be kept confidential.
- Your Stephen Minister, when appropriate, will recommend you seek legal or financial counsel, medical care or professional counseling, or other forms of care that might be helpful in your particular situation.
- Your Stephen Minister will probably not socialize or talk much about himself/herself. If Stephen Ministers have had similar experiences that are relevant to your situation, they may let you know what it was like for them and what they found helpful.
- When your particular difficulty has been resolved or your goals have been achieved, your Stephen Minister will talk with you about closing your official Stephen Ministry relationship.
- Make every effort to meet regularly with your Stephen Minister. When you miss appointments or have infrequent appointments, it’s hard to keep a clear focus on your work together. Take responsibility and initiative in the relationship. Don’t always wait for your Stephen Minister to call.
- Be honest. Your Stephen Minister is not there to judge, so please talk as openly as you can about what’s really going on and what’s really on your mind.
- Realize that you are the key. So much depends on your willingness to take on the task of growth, your faithfulness in seeking to understand painful or threatening realities, your courage to bring about change by taking steps in a positive direction. Don’t expect your Stephen Minister to somehow change you or your situation. Actively seek your own understanding and change.
- During this difficult time, pursue spiritual growth and healing through worship and prayer, through Bible and devotional reading, through confession and service to others. You can’t change and grow without God, so ask God to guide you. Seek to know his will and his purpose for you. Ask God for courage, for insight and wisdom, for healing and for strength. Seek to cultivate an attitude of hope and trust in God’s ongoing work in your life.
- If your Stephen Minister recommends you consider additional types of counseling or other forms of care please do so. You may need to seek the assistance of others in addition to your Stephen Minister.
- Realize that your Stephen Minister, while not a professional counselor, is not an ordinary friend either. Unlike professional counselors, Stephen Ministers do not have years of training and do not receive payment for their services. They seek simply to show God’s love by offering Christian care. But unlike ordinary friendships, Stephen Ministers don’t usually socialize or talk much about themselves. Understand that their purpose is to help you in your situation. Their gift to you is the freedom to focus exclusively on helping yourself. Whether the two of you ever choose to develop an ongoing friendship or not, their greatest joy is that you will have moved forward and will one day no longer need a Stephen Minister.
Stephen Ministry is a confidential ministry: Care Receivers can be sure that their identity and what goes on in the caring relationship will remain private.
Who are Stephen Ministers?
Stephen Ministers are men and women who offer ongoing Christian care to people experiencing a variety of personal difficulties. Stephen Ministers have been trained in caring ministry skills and work in conjunction with the Pastoral Care staff of The Village Presbyterian Church.
What will my Stephen Minister do?
As a Care Receiver what should I do?
For more information about Stephen Minister or to have a Stephen Minister, e-mail us at StephenMinistry@tvpchurch.org.