Christian Caregiving--a Way of Life
Price: $14.95

The Heart of Stephen Ministry - VHS
Price: $7.95

Caring Criticism: Building Bridges Instead of Walls
Price: $9.95

Stephen Ministers Are Ready to Care--Customizable
Price: $5.00

More than a Parting Prayer: Lessons in Care-Giving for the Dying
Price: $15.00

Stephen Series
Downloadable Resources

You have permission to download these resources and photocopy them to build support for Stephen Ministry in your congregation or organization. (These items are all in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.)

Build Awareness
Tools
Information for Pastors
Quote Sheets
Articles

Build Awareness

Stephen Ministers: The After People--Stephen Ministers come into a person's life immediately after a crisis has hit and then provide emotional and spiritual care for as long after as needed. Download this very vivid description of a Stephen Minister and use it to help people see the value of Stephen Ministry in a congregation.

The Stephen Series: Caregiving for the Church of the Future--Shows how Stephen Ministry helps congregations strengthen and expand caregiving in the midst of significant shifts occurring in ministry today.

Tools

Stephen Ministry Implementation Timeline for New Congregations--Will help you develop a preliminary timeline for beginning Stephen Ministry in your congregation--from the time your congregation enrolls to when your first Stephen Ministers are ready to provide care.

Q & A: Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions about the Stephen Series--Two easy-to-read pages that will answer most of the basic questions people have about Stephen Ministry.

Christ Caring for People through People--Use this presentation to introduce others in your congregation to the Stephen Series and build support for enrolling. This page includes helpful downloads and a PowerPoint show you can use in delivering the presentation.

Congregation Care Inventory--A helpful tool that pastors, church staff, and lay leaders can use to assess the needs for care in their congregation and begin planning for lay caregiving ministry.

Ways Congregations Have Funded the Stephen Series--Some congregations include the costs for beginning Stephen Ministry in their annual budget. Other congregations find alternative ways to finance all or part of the costs for beginning Stephen Ministry. This document provides a wealth of ideas from people who recognized the value of Stephen Ministry and developed creative ways to fund it in their congregations.

Smaller Congregations and Stephen Ministry--Explores care needs in the smaller congregation and describes how intentional caregiving ministry can bring growth and vitality to smaller congregations.

Information for Pastors

How Stephen Ministry Benefits Pastors--This document describes the many benefits pastors say that Stephen Ministry has brought to them personally and to their pastoral ministry.

What Pastors Are Saying about the Stephen Series--Insights from pastors who share how Stephen Ministry has strengthened their own ministry and benefited their congregation.

Significant Growth through Stephen Ministry--An interview with a Stephen Series pastor who describes the significant affect Stephen Ministry has had on his once-small congregation.

Quote Sheets

Stephen Ministry in Action--Insights about the value of Stephen Ministry from people who have received care from a Stephen Minister.

The Blessings of Serving as a Stephen Minister--For more than a half-million Christian men and women since 1975, serving as a Stephen Minister has been a life-changing experience. Read what Stephen Ministers have to say about serving in this special ministry.

What Pastors Are Saying about the Stephen Series--Insights from pastors who share how Stephen Ministry has strengthened their own ministry and benefited their congregation.

Articles

Built to Last--More and more congregations are celebrating 20+ years of Stephen Ministry.

Stephen Ministry Marks 25 Years in Tioga County Parish--Read about how Stephen Ministry has been going strong in one Catholic parish--helping people receive care in times of need--for a quarter century. (Reprint from the Catholic Courier)

A Small Church with a Big Heart: Stephen Ministry in a Smaller Congregation--Read about how Zion Lutheran Church, a congregation with fewer than 50 people in weekly worship, has become a powerful, far-reaching caring presence in the community of Fairfield, Washington.

Stephen Ministry Responds to Life's Jagged Lines--Stephen Ministers at Our Mother of Sorrows Parish in Tucson have cared for more than 1,000 hurting people in 15 years of Stephen Ministry. (Reprint from the Diocese of Tucson newspaper.)

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant--A moving story about the relationship between a Stephen Minister and his first care receiver, providing a personal and powerful testimony to what Stephen Ministry is all about.

Stephen Ministry: Helping Dad Hang on during a Personal Earthquake--A story from the UPC Times about a Stephen Minister caring for a father grieving the death of his infant son.

On the Front Lines of Care--Read this story about Army Captain David Rozelle, who lost his foot in an explosion in Iraq in 2003. During his rehabilitation he trained as a Stephen Minister. He has since returned to Iraq to command another unit, and minister to those who need it.

Finding Jesus in the Storm--Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the Gulf Coast region. Almost immediately after, we began to hear stories of how churches across the nation were ministering to the victims. Read how one church's Stephen Ministry helped victims trust God through the storm.

Significant Growth through Stephen Ministry--An interview with a Stephen Series pastor who describes the significant affect Stephen Ministry has had on his once-small congregation.

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