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The History of Stephen Ministry Current Stephen Ministers & Leaders Former Stephen Ministers and Leaders The History of Stephen Ministry @ First Presbyterian Scriptures Reference of Comfort and Assurance Stephen Ministry is ... "Love one another...as I have loved you." John 13:34
"Be kind and compassionate to one another." Ephesians 4:2
There are times when each of us needs the care of another person, a Christian friend, a Stephen Minister! Those needing support may include but are not limited to people who are...
"Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2
Our Stephen Ministers work together with our pastors to reach more people with Christian care than pastors can reach by themselves. People who receive care from a Stephen Minister...
"Encourage one another and build one another up." Thessalonians 5:11
Stephen Leaders are pastors, church staff, and/or lay people who have completed a Stephen Series Leader's Training Course and are commissioned to lead Stephen Ministry in our congregation. Our congregation's Stephen Leaders can ...
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20
The encouragement and support of a Stephen Minister is available by calling First Presbyterian Church, Aiken, SC (803) 648-2662 or email the church @ aikenpresbyterian@aikenpresbyterian.org Stephen Ministry is a structured process of one-to-one caring. The primary steps by which this caring is initiated are:v A person – either you, a relative, or a friend – is in need of Christian care, comfort, and support. v The Stephen Ministry Referrals Coordinator learns about this need for care from the pastors, or a friend, or you. v The Stephen Ministry Referrals Coordinator talks with the person to explain about Stephen Ministry. v With the person’s permission the Referrals Coordinator assigns a Stephen Minister to meet on a weekly basis with the person. v The Stephen Minister continues to provide distinctively Christian care for the person with strict confidentiality. History: In 1975 the Rev. Kenneth C. Haugk, Ph.D., a pastor and clinical psychologist, saw that people’s needs for care in his St. Louis congregation and community by far exceeded what he alone could provide. He developed materials to train nine of his congregation members to provide quality, one-to-one Christian care to individuals experiencing a life crisis. Upon completion of their training, he commissioned them as "Stephen Ministers" and linked them with people with a variety of needs for care. "Stephen Ministry" was so successful in his church that other congregations wanted to become involved. Dr. Haugk then founded the Stephen Ministries organization and developed the Stephen Series, which now has been implemented in over 9,000 congregations from more than 100 Christian denominations in all 50 states, nine Canadian provinces, and 22 other countries. An estimated 450,000 people have been trained as Stephen Ministers, who in turn have ministered to more than a million care receivers. The Definition of the Stephen Series: The Stephen Series is a complete system for training and organizing lay people for caring ministry in and around their congregations. Terminology: The organization, based in St. Louis, is Stephen Ministries St. Louis. The lay caregiving ministry system congregations implement is the Stephen Series. Once the Stephen Series is implemented in a congregation, it is usually called Stephen Ministry. The pastors and lay people trained at a seven-day Leader’s Training Course (LTC) to direct Stephen Ministry in their congregations are called Stephen Leaders. Those who are trained to provide one-to-one care to those in need are called Stephen Ministers. Those who receive the care of Stephen Ministers are their care receivers. The Organization: Stephen Ministries is a not-for-profit, transdenominational, religious, and educational organization founded in 1975. The St. Louis-based staff of 50 includes 6 pastors. Two staff people are also mental health professionals. Dr. Haugk serves as the executive director. The Name: The name Stephen comes from the first lay person commissioned by the apostles to provide caring ministry to those in need (Acts 6). The Stephen Ministry Logo: The logo Stephen Ministry congregations use consists of a cross and circle, together with a broken person and a whole person. The broken person stands behind the cross, symbolizing the brokenness in our lives as a result of our sin. The whole person stands in front of the cross because it is through the cross of Jesus that we again are made whole. The circle symbolizes both the wholeness we receive through Christ and God’s unending love for us. How the Stephen Series Works: Pastors, church staff, and lay leaders from a congregation attend a seven-day Leader’s Training Course (LTC), taught by the Stephen Ministries St. Louis faculty, to learn how to implement and direct the Stephen Series in their congregations. These trained Stephen Leaders then return to their congregations to set up and administer a Stephen Ministry program. Stephen Leaders recruit and select lay people from the congregation to serve as Stephen Ministers and provide them with 50 hours of training in Christian care giving. Some of the training topics include listening, feelings, assertiveness, confidentiality, and ministering to people in specific situations such as divorce, terminal illness, grief, and childbirth. Stephen Ministers are also trained to recognize when a care receiver’s needs go beyond the care a Stephen Minister can provide and where and how to refer the care receiver for additional care. Upon completion of the training, these lay people are commissioned as Stephen Ministers. Stephen Leaders then link each Stephen Minister with a care receiver – a member of the congregation or community who is in need of quality Christian care. A Stephen Minister normally is assigned to only one care receiver at a time and meets with the care receiver for an average of about one hour per week. Stephen Ministers also meet twice monthly for peer supervision and continuing education. Stephen Ministers initially commit to two years of service, but after those years many recommit to serve additional years. Important to Note: The Stephen Ministries St. Louis: The website for the headquarters in St. Louis for Stephen Ministries is http://www.stephenministries.org Current Stephen Ministers These are our current Stephen Ministers in active service on behalf of our congregation. Numbers by each name indicate years of service as Stephen Ministers. Kathy Brown - 1998-2001; 2005-present Jayne Cornell - 2004-present Rose Lewis - 2007-present Barbara Montgomery - 2007-present Charles Murphy - 2004-present Betty Robinson -1996-present Harriet Shallo - 2002-present Deno Verenes - 2005-present Current Stephen Leaders The leadership team of Stephen Ministry at First Presbyterian Church, Aiken, includes the following people. The "LTC date" is the year they were commissioned as Stephen Leaders. Jane Keisler - LTC 2003 Marilyn Sackett – LTC 1995 Former Ministers & Leaders We give thanks to God for these individuals who have served as Stephen Ministers and Stephen Leaders at First Presbyterian Church, Aiken. We list their names here in appreciation of their service. Numbers by each name indicate years of service as Stephen Ministers. (The "LTC dates" are the years of service as Stephen Leaders.) Larry Andrews - 2005-2007 Mary Andrews 2002-2004 Nancy Bebb 1997 – 2000 Beth Beckham 1996 – 1998 Allen Blancett 2004 - 2006 June Blohm 2000 - 2003 Robin Callicott 1998 – 2001 Will Cole 1998 – 1998* Merriane Corey 2002 - 2004 Jeanie Dynarksi 2002 - 2004 Martha Ebel LTC – 1997 - 2006 Maxine Eberhard 1999 - 2002 Bill Erickson 2005 - 2006 Dick Everard 2002 - 2004 Louise Gaddy 1999 – 2001 Rufus Gaddy 1999 – 2001 Keith Griffin 2004 - 2007 Sheila Jackson 1996 – 1998 Sally Jenkins LTC 1998 – 2001 Andrea Johnson 1999 - LTC 2004-2007 Bill Johnston LTC 1998 – 2001 Bill Jordan 1998 – 2000 Jean Jordan 1998 – 2001 Jane Keisler 1998 – 2001 Suzi Kilgo 2000 - 2001 Betty Knapp 1996 – 1998 John Knox 1998 – 2000 Robbie Knox 1996 - LTC 2000 - 2006 David Losey 1996 – 1997 Dot Matthews 1996 – 1997 Paul McCreery LTC 1995-2003 Tim McKinsey 1997 – 2001 Dianne Meyer 2002 - 2004 Ellie Miller 2000 - 2002 Clyde Moody 1996-1997, LTC 1997-1998 David Muhlbaier 1997 – 2000 Gordon Murtaugh 2002-2003 Lois Murtaugh 2002-2003 Coleen Neal 1998 – 2002 Kent Newell 1996 – 1998 Jeri Perkins LTC 1995 – 1998 Jane Anne Royal 2005 - 2007 Carol Ryder 2002 - 2006 Marjorie Seaman 1997 - 2000, 2002 - 2004* Bill Sholin 1996 – 2000 Al Siddall 1998 – 1999 Yvonne Siddall 1998 – 1998 Nellie Smith 1999 – 2001* Priscilla Smith 2000-2007 Bob Spencer 1996 – 2001 Frances Spencer 1996 – 2001 Jack Stumpfig 2005 - 2007 Sarah Williams 2004 - 2005 Mary Dean Williamson 2000 - 2002 Dorothy Wilson 1996 – 1997 Jon Van Deventer LTC 1999 - 2002 *Deceased Back To Top In 1995 the Session of First Presbyterian Church, Aiken, SC, made a commitment to involve the congregation in a program of caring lay ministry by enrolling in the Stephen Series. In July/August 1995 three Stephen Leaders were trained at a Leadership Training Course (LTC). These three Stephen Leaders recruited the first class of thirteen Stephen Ministers and training began in January 1996. This first class was commissioned June 2, 1996. In January 1997 another class of four began, and they were commissioned June 1, 1997. During the summer of 1997 two additional Stephen Leaders were trained at a LTC. The January 1998 class added eleven more Stephen Ministers who were commissioned May 3, 1998. Two more Stephen Leaders were trained at a LTC in 1998. In 1999 five additional Stephen Ministers were trained and commissioned April 18, 1999. One additional Stephen Leader was trained in 1999 at a LTC. In 2000 another five Stephen Ministers were trained and commissioned May 14, 2000. Also in 2000 one more Stephen Leader was trained at a LTC. In 2002 five more Stephen Ministers were trained with commissioning on May 26, 2002, along with two additional Stephen Ministers who had trained elsewhere and moved to Aiken. Another Stephen leader was trained at an LTC in 2003 and another at an LTC in 2004. In 2004 five more Stephen Ministers were trained in a combined training class with St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church. Commissioning for the First Presbyterian Stephen Ministers was April 18, 2004. In fall 2005, another combined training class with St. Thaddeus Episcopal church was held. The four First Presbyterian Stephen Ministers were commissioned on December 18, 2005, along with one additional Stephen Minister who had trained elsewhere and moved to Aiken. From January to April 2007, another combined training class was held with both St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church and Aiken First Baptist Church. The two First Presbyterian Stephen Ministers were commissioned on April 22, 2007. The initial commitment to Stephen Ministry is to serve for two years. Although some Stephen Ministers have gone on to serve in other ways, many have recommitted to serve additional years. Stephen Ministry has supplemented and enhanced the ministry of the pastoral staff in providing ongoing Christian care to many in our congregation and in our community. Scriptures Reference of Comfort and Assurance
When in sorrow When people fail you If you want to be fruitful When you have sinned When you worry When you are in danger When God seems far away When your faith needs stirring When you are lonely and fearful When you grow bitter and critical For Paul’s secret to happiness For understanding of Christianity When you feel down and out When you want peace and rest When the world seems bigger than God When you want Christian assurance When you leave home for labor or travel When your prayers grow narrow or selfish For a great invention / opportunity When you want courage for a task For how to get along with others When you think of investments and returns If you are depressed If you pocketbook is empty If you are losing confidence in people If people seem unkind If discouraged about your work If you find the world growing small and yourself great For dealing with fear For security For assurance For reassurance
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