Stephen Ministry
Stephen Ministry is a special ministry that exists to offer, “Spiritual Friendship” to people experiencing hard times in life. If you are interested in receiving care from a Stephen Ministry please contact the church office at (402) 498-9000.
Here are some insights from one of our Stephen Leaders: Glenn Irwinn
The HEART of the Matter
As I enter into the third year of my involvement with the Stephen Ministry, I continue to be amazed by the program. It is a marvel that this ministry began in St. Louis in 1975 with a group of nine people, in order to bring caring and peace to hurting people. Today, a mere 37 years later, Stephen Ministry reaches into churches located in all fifty states as well as into other countries. In July of 2011 the Irving Bible Church in Irving, Texas, became the 11,000th congregation to enroll in the Stephen Ministry!
More than half a million lay people have been trained as Stephen Ministers who have served more than a million care receivers in their communities. The skills in which Stephen Ministers are trained stand them well in their daily lives as they mingle with their family members, friends, co-workers.
As I pondered what was to become the theme of this article for the Compass, what came to mind is the love and the whole-HEARTED commitment of my friends at Covenant who are involved in Stephen Ministry. I team with three wonderful leaders and Dr. Kevin McDonald, all of whom have received the intensive leadership training for this Ministry through via the St. Louis headquarters. I’ve participated in Peer and Supervision meetings with the dedicated Stephen Ministers who serve us here in our church.
This past October we began to work with our fourth group of trainees at Covenant. Our largest group to date, this excellent group was commissioned at the 11:00 am Sanctuary service on January 22: Bill and Wilma Wills, Tom Penney, Toddy Manson, Sherrie Schaich, Sara McCroden, Peggy Naro, Meg Ross, and Jessica Hensley. What an asset for our church!
Now, back to the HEART of the matter. The love, the commitment, the compassion that each of these leaders, this minister, these experienced and newly-trained Stephen Ministers have in their HEARTS absolutely radiates into their faces, their words, their actions! The closing words for this item come from Galatians 4:6: “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our Hearts.”
