Who Is Stephen Ministries?

What Is Stephen Ministry?

Stephen Ministry At St. Luke Cumberland Presbyterian Church

What Do Stephen Ministers Do?

Who Are Potential Care Receivers?

Who Are Not Potential Care Receivers?

How Is Confidentiality Maintained?

What Is Peer Supervision?

Process For Getting A Stephen Minister

FT. WORTH AREA STEPHEN MINISTRY NETWORK

AGREEMENT TO RECEIVE CARE

Stephen Ministry Photos

Stephen Ministries is an independent, non-denominational organization that was founded by  Kenneth C. Haugk, a pastor and clinical psychologist, in 1975.    This non-denominational ministry now (as of Aug. 2003) includes over 8600 participating Stephen Ministry churches, including over 108 different denominations world-wide.  There are over 600 Stephen Ministry churches in Texas with about 150 Stephen Ministry churches in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metro.  More than 45,000 Stephen Leaders have been trained as well as over 350,000 Stephen Ministers.   More than 1,000,000 care receivers have received Stephen Ministry care since 1975.

For more information about Stephen Ministries visit their website: Stephen Ministries  or write:

Stephen Ministries 2045 Innerbelt Business Center Drive
St. Louis, MO 63114-5765

• Is life more than you can handle right now?
• Is your health, your attitude, or your relationships suffering?
• Are you adjusting to a new job, change in marital status, a serious illness, the death of a loved one, a recent move?
• Would you like to have someone in  your life who really cares about you?

Stephen Ministers are trained and supervised lay-volunteers from our congregation.  They provide Christian caregiving to a care receiver of the same gender as the Stephen Minister.  A Stephen Minister cares for the care receiver by listening, praying, encouraging, and helping the care receiver bear their burdens and work through the crisis they are facing.  Stephen Ministers care for the care receiver; but God provides the healing, wholeness and peace to the care receiver.

Many people don't need a  professional caregiver.  Stephen Ministers are qualified and able to meet the needs of a large majority of those who need care and they are trained to recognize when a professional caregiver is needed.  Should a professional caregiver be  needed, the Stephen Minister will recommend one to the care receiver and help with the referral.
 

A Stephen Series enrolled congregation since 12 April 2000

The Stephen Ministry Team  is led by the following Stephen Leaders:

• Jack Guthrie - Referrals Coordinator
• Susan Johnson / Daryl Johnson - Stephen Minister Training Coordinators
• Jonette LaRoque - Continuing Education & Resource Coordinator
• Mary Manning - Stephen Minister Applications & Support Coordinator
• Sherrell Manning - Stephen Ministry Director
  

• Our first Stephen Minister training class was commissioned for service in May 2001.

• The Stephen Ministry service available at St. Luke Church is free; but all potential care receivers must be an adult.
   

• An interested care receiver does not have to be  a member of St. Luke Church and the Stephen Ministry is available irrespective of gender, race, religious beliefs or nationality.

• Care receivers must live in the Ft. Worth Metro area (specific boundaries to be determined) and their needs must be within the scope of the training and capabilities of our Stephen Ministers.  A care receiver referral to another Stephen Ministry church in Tarrant Co. may be recommended if the care receiver lives too far away for Stephen Ministry care by St. Luke Church.
  

• Provide one-to-one, confidential Christian care
• Care by listening, supporting and encouraging, praying, being dependable and trustworthy, and maintaining confidentiality in their caregiving.
• Meet privately with one care receiver of the same gender for about 1 hour each week
• Are trained and supervised lay-volunteers, not professional counselors or therapists, pastors, or physicians
• Stephen Ministers are Christians who call and care in the name of Jesus Christ.  They don't judge their care receiver or compromise their own
  religious beliefs.  They are willing to talk about spiritual issues, if the care receiver is interested, but this will not be forced on them. 
  
• Are CAREgivers and God is the CUREgiver
• Stephen Ministers are not problem solvers, personal advisors, "gophers" or "babysitters".

• Bereaved
• Terminally ill
• Separated or divorcing
• Hospitalized or convalescing
• Single parents
• Experiencing vocational stresses, such as relocation, reorganization, termination, or starting a new job.
• Refugees
• Students living away from home
• Residents of long-term care facilities
• Inmates of jails, prisons, or detention centers
• Caretakers of ill or disabled persons
• Adjusting to family changes such as remarriage, institutionalization of a family member, or a new baby
• Parents whose children present exceptional challenges
• Newlyweds
• Homebound
• Coping with infertility
• Entering or reentering the job market
• Retiring
• Dealing with adoption issues
• Victims of crime/New residents of a community
• Preparing for professional Christian care
• Chronically ill, in pain, or disabled
• Survivors of natural disasters or other catastrophes
• Veterans
  

• Minors
• Couples, families, or other groups
• Those who are suffering serious mental or emotional disturbances
• Those with personality disorders
• Manipulative individuals
• Those dealing with abuse issues
• Substance abusers or chemically dependent persons (e.g., drugs and alcohol)
• Those exhibiting suicidal behavior
• Those exhibiting violent behavior

Confidentiality is the "cornerstone " of the Stephen Ministry at St. Luke Church. The Stephen Leader Referrals Coordinator and  Stephen Ministry Director  do not serve as a Stephen Minister at St. Luke Church.   A Stephen Minister is trained to keep confidential whatever the care receiver shares with them in confidence.  This means that the Stephen Minister will not share the confidential information about their care receiver with the Stephen Minister's spouse, Pastor, Stephen Leader Referrals Coordinator or anyone else.

The only exceptions for breaking confidentiality are: abuse and life-threatening situations.

Stephen Ministers meet twice a month in small groups to give and receive peer supervision.  This is necessary to help them provide quality care and grow as caregivers.  In supervision Stephen Ministers talk about their caring relationships and their own feelings about caregiving.  They may share small amounts of information about their care receivers, but they never tell the care receiver's name and they do not share information that would reveal the care receiver's identity.  Stephen Ministers may also receive individual supervision from a Stephen Leader or Pastor, but the same rules apply.

2. Talk to the person who needs care about the Stephen Ministry at St. Luke Cumberland Presbyterian Church and how the Stephen Ministry could help with the
     problem or crisis he or she is facing.

3.  Ask the potential care receiver if he or she would be interested in receiving one-to-one, confidential, Christian caregiving from one of our skilled and trained
    Stephen Ministers and would they permit you to submit their name, in confidence, to our Stephen Leader Referrals Coordinator (Jack Guthrie).

4.  All care receiver referrals for a St. Luke Stephen Minister are handled by our Stephen Leader Referrals Coordinator (Jack Guthrie; 817-602-5190).  Sherrell
     Manning (817-293-7133) is responsible for care receiver referrals to other Stephen Ministry churches.

5.  In some cases a potential care receiver may wish to be referred to another Stephen Ministry congregation.  For example,  a long-time member of a Stephen
     Ministry congregation may feel uncomfortable having a Stephen Minister from their own congregation.

6.  The Stephen Leader Referrals Coordinator or backup (e.g., Stephen Ministry Dir. or Pastor) initially contacts potential care receivers to:

(1)  review the Stephen Ministry available at St. Luke Church

(2)  screen  potential care receivers to determine if their need is within the scope of our Stephen Ministry

(3)  set up a confidential face-to-face meeting for preparing the potential care receiver for possible Stephen Ministry care by  one of our Stephen
      Ministers.

8.  A candidate care receiver approved for care will be assigned an appropriate Stephen Minister of the same gender as the care receiver.  All  Stephen Minister
     assignments are tailored for the care receiver considering the strengths, interests,  personality,  and availability of  the Stephen Minister.  No arbitrary
     assignments are made based on Stephen Minister availability.   The Stephen Leader Referrals Coordinator makes Stephen Minister assignments as
     soon as possible and keeps the potential care receiver informed.  

9.  If a suitable Stephen Minister is not available at St. Luke Church, the interested care receiver can be referred to another Stephen Ministry church with the
     care receiver's permission.

St. Luke  Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a member of the Tarrant Co. Stephen Ministry Network, which includes fifty-nine churches in Tarrant Co. with an active Stephen Ministry.  Network churches work together in areas of common interest to strengthen the Stephen Ministry and to reach more people experiencing difficulties in their life.  Stephen Ministry Network churches in Tarrant Co. are divided into four quadrants as shown below.

With networking, potential care receivers can be referred by one participating church to another and vice versa.  This enables us to offer new levels of confidentiality and flexibility in our Stephen Minister caregiving / care receiver relationships.

Call our Stephen Ministry Director (Sherrell Manning; 817-293-7133) about care receiver referrals to other churches in the network.  He's one of the network Quadrant Coordinators for the Southwest Quadrant and serves on the Network Coordinating Council.   Also, he will help you locate Stephen Ministry congregations in other locations.

All care receivers must sign the "Agreement to Receive Care" document below before they can receive care from a Stephen Minister from the St. Luke Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

I, ____________________________________________, understand the description of Stephen Ministry as explained in this  agreement, and I desire to receive care from a Stephen Minister from St. Luke Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  I further understand confidentiality in Stephen Ministry as explained in this agreement.  I give my permission to my Stephen Minister and to the Stephen Leader and pastor of St. Luke Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Ft. Worth, Texas) to give and receive supervision and to obtain consultation as described in this document.
 

Signed  ____________________________________            Date  ________________

Selected photos of those involved in the Stephen Ministry at St. Luke Church are shown in the following.

Stephen Leader Team at Stephen Ministry  Dinner on 5/20/01	First Stephen Minister Training  Class at Stephen Ministry Dinner on 5/20/01
First Stephen Minister Training Class in Session (Jan - May 2001)	Pastor Eddie Jenkins recognized Susan and Daryl Johnson for training the Stephen Minister Class of  2003 at the installation service on 5/25/03
Stephen Minister Class of 2003 after the installation service on 5/25/03; Front  Row (L/R):  Carolyn Guthrie, Toni Duncan, and Connie  Hansen; Back Row (L/R):  Jack Guthrie and Mike Sherman	Stephen Minister Class of 2004 after training session; L/R: Ann Adams, Terry Morgan, Susan Johnson  (Stephen Minister Training Coordinator), Calvin Stover, and Bill Geurtz; (Mary Ellen Cobb not shown)
St. Luke Stephen Ministry Team (April 2006)

Requirements, expectations and training for Stephen Ministers are summarized in the following.

• Must be a member of St. Luke Cumberland Presbyterian Church
• Receive 50 hours of initial training usually in 2.5 hr. sessions
• Attend all training sessions
• Commit to at least two years of service after the 50 hours of initial training
• After commissioning, attend all continuing education training sessions and participate in twice-monthly small
group supervision  (Meets on 2nd and 4th Sundays from 5:00 - 7:30 PM; NOTE: Meeting covers both continuing education and peer supervision)
• Meet with assigned care receiver for at least 1 hour weekly
• Compassionate, full of faith, skilled and trustworthy
• Tell others about the Stephen Ministry at St. Luke Church
• Support and strengthen the Stephen Ministry at St. Luke Church