Guide to Stephen Series Leader's Training Courses

Stephen Series Leader Selection Booklet (LSB)

When and How to Use Mental Health Resources
Price: $12.95

Reopening the Back Door: Answers to Questions about Ministering to Inactive Members
Price: $11.95

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

Leader's Training Courses (LTCs)

Each LTC is an exciting week of learning, discovery, worship, relationship building, and catching a vision for all that Stephen Ministry can be for your congregation.

What Happens at an LTC?
Who Should Attend the LTC?
Does the LTC Train People to Be Stephen Ministers?
When Are This Year's LTCs?
LTC Faculty
A Typical LTC Daily Schedule

What Happens at an LTC?

The purpose of an LTC is to equip representatives of your congregation with the knowledge, skills, vision, tools, and enthusiasm they need to begin and strengthen a highly effective Stephen Ministry in your congregation.

Each LTC attracts hundreds of pastors, church staff, and lay leaders from across the U.S., Canada, and beyond.

The Leader's Training Course:

• Combines different educational methods--video, demonstration, discussion, lecture, reading, and skill practice--for an enjoyable and productive learning experience
• Allows you to experience the kind of care that Stephen Ministry brings from the hundreds of committed caregivers who attend the conference with you
• Supplies wonderful opportunities for personal, professional, and spiritual growth
• Makes it possible for your Stephen Leader Team to build community, strategize, and plan for your congregation's Stephen Ministry
• Provides many opportunities for you to network and exchange ideas with hundreds of participants, many from congregations that have had Stephen Ministry for years
• Offers several optional special luncheons, focus groups, and Q&A sessions, giving Stephen Leaders even more occasions to learn and grow

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Who Should Attend the LTC?

Leader's Training Courses (LTCs) are for members of your congregation who will serve as Stephen Leaders. Stephen Leaders are pastors, church staff, and lay leaders who receive training at a one-week Leader's Training Course to direct their congregation's Stephen Ministry.

Newly enrolling congregations typically send a team of two to five Stephen Leaders--a pastor, perhaps a church staff person, and one to four lay leaders--to learn how to begin and manage Stephen Ministry in the congregation. Congregations with an established Stephen Ministry send additional leaders to LTCs in future years, as necessary, to strengthen their Stephen Leader Team and maintain a strong lay caring ministry.

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Does the LTC Train People
to Be Stephen Ministers?

The LTC does not train people to be Stephen Ministers (the lay caregivers in your congregation). The LTC equips participants to be Stephen Leaders--those who lead Stephen Ministry in the congregation. Your Stephen Leaders will recruit, select, and train members of your congregation to be Stephen Ministers.

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2008 Leader's Training Course Schedule:

Looking Ahead to 2009:

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LTC Faculty

The Rev. Kenneth Haugk, Ph.D., Executive Director of Stephen Ministries St. Louis, is a pastor and clinical psychologist. In 1975 he founded the Stephen Ministries organization and began the Stephen Series system of lay caring ministry, now used by more than 10,000 congregations from more than 150 denominations. Ken is the author of many books, including the best-selling Christian Caregiving--a Way of Life, Antagonists in the Church, Reopening the Back Door, The Quest for Quality Caring, When and How to Use Mental Health Resources, and the Discovering God's Vision for Your Life: You and Your Spiritual Gifts resources. More recently he has written the Journeying through Grief books, Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart: How to Relate to Those Who Are Suffering, and Leader Killers. He is also a frequent speaker at church conferences and workshops.

The Rev. Dr. David Paap serves as Program Director for Stephen Ministries St. Louis. As a congregation pastor and a chaplain in the Army Reserve for more than 25 years, David has experience in a wide range of ministry settings. David oversees the work of Stephen Ministries Pastoral and Program Staff; manages program planning, development, and delivery; writes communications and training materials; and teaches and preaches at Leader's and Equipper's Training Courses, church conferences, and conventions. He is the author of Caring for Military Families and Biblical Equipping: God's Word in Your World.

The Rev. William McKay is Director of Project Development for Stephen Ministries St. Louis. Bill led the teams that developed the ChristCare Series small group ministry system and the Caring Evangelism course, as well as the team that rewrote the Stephen Series Leader's Manual. Bill has also developed Leader's Training Course presentations on referrals, leadership, and supervision. He is the author of Nuts & Bolts Issues for Small Group Leaders and Me, an Evangelist? Every Christian's Guide to Caring Evangelism, and is the co-author of Christian Caregiving--a Way of Life Leader's Guide, and Spiritual Growth through Spiritual Gifts.

Pamela Montgomery has more than a decade of experience working on the front lines of Stephen Ministry both as a Stephen Leader since 1987 and as a Stephen Minister. She is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has worked for the Evangelical Lutheran Church as an Associate in Ministry in the area of Evangelism. Pam has also been a Caring Ministry Workshop presenter since 1992 and a Stephen Series Leader's Training Course faculty member since 2001.

Joel Keen is a member of the Pastoral Staff of Stephen Ministries St. Louis. In that role he coordinates conference directing activities and maintains training course technology. He has produced and edited numerous videos for Stephen Ministries, including The Gift of Stephen Ministry and Follow Me. He has served as a youth director, writing devotional materials, planning mission events, and speaking to young people about following Jesus. Joel is a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis with a Master of Divinity degree.

Janine Ushe, M.Div., a member of the Stephen Ministries staff since 2001, helps lead the customer service and human resources teams. She coordinates work with staff candidates and leads the training of new employees. A trained Stephen Leader and Stephen Minister, Janine also teaches at the Breakthrough Leadership Conference.

Amity Haugk came to Stephen Ministries in 2006 after serving as a restaurant manager at Walt Disney World. A trained Stephen Minister and Stephen Leader, she serves on the Stephen Ministries research team and teaches at training courses and workshops.

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A Typical LTC Daily Schedule

Download a more detailed LTC schedule in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.

LTCs begin at 6:30 P.M. on a Sunday evening and conclude at 11:00 A.M. the following Saturday.

Sunday

• Registration and check-in (after 3:00 P.M.)
• Opening Fellowship Banquet (begins at 6:30 P.M.)
• Equipping People for Life-Giving Ministry

Monday

• The Person of the Stephen Leader
• An Introduction to the Stephen Series System 
• PREPARE to Lead Stephen Ministry
• Helping Your Congregation Understand and Believe in the Value of Stephen Ministry

Tuesday

• Finding the Right People for the Right Ministry: How to Recruit and Select Stephen Ministers
• Training Your Stephen Ministers for Effective Caring Ministry
• The Benefits and Challenges of Being a Stephen Series Pastor
• Connecting Care Receivers with Caregivers: How to Generate and Make Referrals to Stephen Ministers 
• Leadership Skills for Stephen Leaders--Part 1: Four P's and a D for Empowering Leadership
• Feelings: A Deeper Look at a Key Skill 

Wednesday

• How to Train Your Stephen Ministers to Participate Effectively in Small Group Peer Supervision
• Practicing Essential Micro-Skills for Small Group Peer Supervision
• Identifying Those Who Need Care from Stephen Ministers
• Preparing Care Receivers to Receive Stephen Ministry

Thursday

• How to Train Supervision Group Facilitators
• Practicing Essential Supervision Group Facilitation Micro-Skills
• Listening Skills for Stephen Leaders and Stephen Ministers
• Leadership Skills for Stephen Leaders--Part 2: How to Build a Team of Caring Leaders
• Confidentiality: Essential Issues
• Caring for People Facing Death and for Their Family and Friends 

Friday

• Stephen Ministry and Mental Health Issues
• Spiritual Growth for Stephen Leaders, Stephen Ministers, and Care Receivers
• A Major Principle of Christian Caregiving: A Process versus Results Approach to Ministry
• Assertiveness Skills for Stephen Leaders
• Dedication Banquet
• Service of Worship and Dedication

Saturday

• Sexuality and Gender Issues in Caring Ministry
• How Pastors and Lay Leaders Can Tangibilify Their Support for Stephen Ministry
• Commissioning Stephen Leaders and Stephen Ministers
• Recognizing and Affirming the Work of Your Stephen Ministers and Stephen Leaders
• Eight Pithy Points about Closure
• Carry the Vision with You

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