Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministry is a ministry in our congregation in which trained and supervised lay persons, called Stephen Ministers, provide one-to-one Christian care to individuals facing life challenges or difficulties. These “caregivers” have been through 50 hours of training in Christian caregiving covering such topics as listening, feelings, boundaries, assertiveness, and using Christian resources in caregiving. Their training prepares them to minister to care receivers who are experiencing divorce, grief, loss of a job, loneliness, hospitalization, terminal illness, or any of an endless number of other life difficulties. Stephen Ministers are caring Christian friends who listen, understand, accept, and pray for and with their care receivers. They are not counselors; their role is to listen and care, not to give advice or counsel. Trust is essential to a caring relationship, and confidentiality is one of the most important principles of Stephen Ministry.
The name Stephen comes from St. Stephen, who was the first lay person commissioned by the apostles to provide caring ministry to those in need as recorded in Acts 6.
Stephen Ministry has been around since 1975, when Kenneth Hougk, a pastor and clinical psychologist, began it to multiply the caregiving in his congregation in St. Louis, Missouri. We have had Stephen Ministry here at Wheatland UMC since 2005, and are one of more than 9,000 Stephen Ministry congregations from more than 100 denominations.
Current Stephen Leaders:
Chuck Thorne
Mary Perry
If you need to talk with a Stephen Minister please contact the church office at 322-3899.