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. It provides
a structure, training, and resources to set up and administer a complete system for lay
caring ministry, called Stephen Ministry, in the congregation. 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.
People Who Need Care
·Receive quality, Christ-centered, confidential care for their hurts and needs
·Find hope, healing, and a new sense of self-worth through the support of a Stephen Minister
·Know they are remembered and supported by our 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 Gods unconditional love for them through their Stephen Minister
Our Pastor
·No longer shoulders the entire burden of caring in the congregation, as if the pastor
were the only one able, willing, or called to do this ministry
·Receives support and care from the lay people who are part of the congregation's
Stephen Ministry Team
·Reaches more members of the congregation with quality Christian care
·Experiences renewed joy and satisfaction as he equips others and so extends the reach of
their own ministries
·Has more time to focus on the ministries that only the pastor can do
Our Lay People
·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 care giving
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
Coordinators for the John Knox Stephen Ministry program are Elders Sam Martin
and Lynn Lehner.
PBS recently had a segment on Stephen Ministry.
View the Stephen Ministry feature on the PBS Web site
We love because He first loved us.
-1 John 4:19