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The four points of the compass remind Stephen Ministers to be caregivers who are:
- Compassionate - able to share the sufferings of their care receivers
- Full of Faith - relying solely on God to be the be the one who heals all wounds
- Skilled- knowing how to listen, understand, and empathize
- Trustworthy - maintaining confidentiality, visiting care receivers regularly, and remaining committed to their ministry
To minister comes from Latin and means “servant”. For most of my life, I was uncomfortable in serving others in their time of need. I marveled at many in our congregation that had this gift. They were the first to the hospital when people were ill, they knew those that were suffering or were “shut in” as we sometimes call them. When I was asked by Gail Steyer to consider being a Stephen Minister, I first thought “oh no, not me”. When I found out, that the training was over 50 hours over more than 4 months, I thought “oh no way”. At the time I was finishing my last year of being an Elder previously and I informed Pastor Gray that I would need to be excused from several session meetings, he politely informed me that it was not to be.
Long story short, I don’t remember why I chose to begin the training but found myself called to be a Stephen Minister and with the gracious help of makeup sessions, I found my faith grow stronger with each session. At the end of the training, I had never felt so well equipped to serve others in obedience to God’ s will. I am a testimony to how life changing this experience can be. We are now looking for new Stephen Minsters. Classes are beginning September 17 with commissioning in February. Classes will meet on Monday nights from 7:00 to 9:30. If interested please contact Rebecca Eldridge or myself.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Ephesians 2:10
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