Stephen Ministry

To bear one another's burdens is the supreme imitation of Jesus. In Galatians 6:2 it states: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." The Stephen Ministry is a ministry to help people who are hurting — because of the loss of a loved one, a loved one having cancer, or another difficult time in life. Stephen Ministers learn how to listen to, care for, and walk with those going through a difficult time.

This ministry is built around three groups of people:

• Stephen Leaders establish and direct the ministry — building awareness, recruiting and training Stephen Ministers, matching care receivers with Stephen Ministers, and providing supervision and continuing education.
• Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained to offer high-quality, one-to-one Christian care. They generally work with only one care receiver at a time, and the relationship is confidential. Men are matched with men and women with women.
• Care Receivers are the people receiving care. They can be congregation members or others in the community, and there is no cost.

While the Stephen Ministry is relatively new at Concordia, it has proven to be a powerful way to help those who are hurting — a blessing to the caregivers as well as the care receivers.