Stephen Ministries

 

Are you, or someone you know going through a difficult time? Stephen Ministers are members of our congregation who listen, care, encourage, and provide emotional and spiritual support to people who are facing a crisis. Stephen Ministries is for people who may be experiencing grief, loneliness, divorce, job loss, hospitalization, retirement, estrangement, or any other of life's difficulties that we all face from time to time. A Stephen Minister is not a counsellor or therapist, but rather, a Christian care giver who comes alongside of you for a while to walk with you, to listen, and to help share the load.

Stephen Ministry is named after Stephen, one of the first lay people commissioned by the Apostles to perform acts of caring ministry (Acts 6). The focus for Stephen Ministers is to help strengthen the church's ability to provide quality Christian care, support, and encouragement to people when they need it the most. It is a biblically based, psychologically sound approach that has been highly successful in thousands of congregations from more than one hundred denominations since 1975.

Anyone going through a difficult time who needs someone to care, listen, and share God's love with them on a one-to-one confidential basis should feel most welcome to phone the church to make an appointment to meet with Fr. Dale to explore if this ministry may be right for them.

 

St John's is currently training twelve Stephen Ministers for this exciting new ministry. Each minister receives 50 hours of training. Our new ministers will be commissioned and ready to serve the community and beyond on Sunday, November 1st, 2009.