Stephen Ministry

What Is Stephen Ministry?

Our congregation’s Stephen Ministry equips lay people to provide confidential, one-to-one Christian care to individuals in our congregation and community who are experiencing difficulty in their lives.

During difficult times, a Stephen Minister may be called upon to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting.

How does it work?

A trained Stephen Minister is matched with a person experiencing a life crisis. The Stephen Minister then meets with the Care Receiver to listen, care, encourage, and provide emotional and spiritual support. He/she usually provides care to one person at a time, meeting with that person once a week for about an hour. Twice a month, Stephen Ministers gather with their Stephen Leaders for supervision and continuing education.

A Stephen Minister Is…

• A congregation member with gifts for caregiving who was carefully selected to serve in this role
• A lay person who has received 50 hours of training in providing emotional and spiritual care
• A caring, Christian friend who listens, cares, prays, supports, and encourages
• Someone who will “be there” for his or her care receiver, meeting faithfully for about an hour each week, for as long as there is a need

Stephen Ministers Care For People Facing Tough Times

Who are the Stephen Ministers?

Stephen Ministers are congregation members who have trained for 50 hours to offer high-quality, one-to-one Christian care to people going through tough times. Stephen Ministers come from all walks of life. Their commonality is a passion for bringing Christ’s love and care to people during a time of need. Since 1975, more than 650,000 people from more than 12,000 congregations and other organizations have been trained as Stephen Ministers.

“Stephen Ministers: The After People” — A concise, poignant description of what a Stephen Minister is.

Who are the Care Receivers?

Care receivers are people—congregation members and others in the community—who receive care from a Stephen Minister. These are people struggling through a difficult time in life—experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or other life crises. The caring relationship lasts as long as the person is in need of care. The identity of those receiving care, and anything that is shared, remains confidential.

Mountain View Lutheran Stephen  Ministry has a library of resources available to you covering many topics including Cancer, Grief, Divorce, Suicide, Death, and many more. Contact a Stephen Minister or the Pastor today to check out resources available.