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Heeding the Call to Ministry

By Laura Wasson Warfel, for Stephen Ministries

"Ten years ago I was a stay-at-home mom after teaching school for several years," said Stephen Leader Peggy Hammett of First Presbyterian Church, Greenwood, South Carolina. "Our pastor invited me to attend the Leader's Training Course (LTC) in St. Louis to be trained as a Stephen Leader.

"I remember sitting in the balcony of the church in the dark and saying, 'God, I can't do this. There is no way I can do this.' And God said, 'Yes, you can.' I was terrified that I couldn't carry through with it and that I wouldn't do a good job."

Peggy did attend the LTC in April 1995.

"God put together an interesting group from our congregation to attend that first LTC and form our initial Stephen Leader Team," said Peggy. "I was the educator and the one who was convinced that Stephen Ministry would work. Our associate minister attended to make sure the Stephen Series was theologically sound. Another person was the organized one. And one was the ‘doubting Thomas' that we knew we could count on to ask the important questions.

"We came back from the LTC as a united group--even the ‘doubting Thomas' was convinced that Stephen Ministry was right for our congregation," said Peggy. By the fall of 1995, the new Stephen Leader Team was already training their first class of Stephen Ministers.

Attending the LTC was just the beginning: Peggy's call to ministry continued to grow. Within that first year she was hired as part-time church staff person to direct First Presbyterian's Stephen Ministry. Ten years later, she now serves as full-time Director of Christian Education. She teaches Stephen Ministry training classes; she serves as Referrals Coordinator, connecting Stephen Ministers with people in need of care; she makes hospital visits; and she leads First Presbyterian's grief ministry.

That day she sat in the church balcony wondering whether she had the gifts to serve God as a Stephen Leader seems a long time ago.

"I've come to realize that I can't do this by myself--but I can with God," said Peggy. "I can also rely on our other Stephen Leaders and Stephen Ministers, who are very dedicated and creative people, and can draw on my life experiences as well."

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