Spotlight on Resources for Publicizing Stephen Ministry and Recruiting Stephen Ministers

This continuing education event focused on two key parts of the Stephen Ministry System: publicizing Stephen Ministry and recruiting and selecting members of your congregation to train as Stephen Ministers. It provided a variety of ideas, tools, and resources for getting the word out about your Stephen Ministry and finding people who have the gifts, character, and motivation to excel as one-to-one caregivers.

This webpage features additional resources to help you succeed in publicizing and recruiting. You can also refer back to the handout materials from the session at stephenministries.org/PRresources.

Key Leader’s Manual Resources

The Stephen Ministry Leader’s Manual, completely revised and updated in 2020, offers many invaluable resources for Stephen Leaders. It gives you the foundational knowledge and tools you need to build and maintain an effective, life-changing Stephen Ministry in your congregation.

Read these booklets in the updated Leader’s Manual for foundational information on publicizing and recruiting:

• S-1, “Publicize, Educate, and Cast a Vision”

• S-2, “Recruit and Select Stephen Ministers”

• S-2A, “Recruiting Stephen Ministers”

• S-2B, “Selecting Stephen Ministers”

To order the Leader’s Manual, call us at (314) 428-2600.

Additional Resources from the Stephen Leader Online Toolkit

The online component of the Leader’s Manual, the Stephen Leader Online Toolkit is a regularly updated library of web resources to support each aspect of your Stephen Ministry. Access is included with the new edition of the Leader’s Manual.

Publicizing, educating, and casting a vision for Stephen Ministry is covered in the S-1 section, and recruiting and selecting Stephen Ministers is covered in the S-2, S-2A, and S-2B sections.

Stephen Leader Training

The Stephen Leader Training Course is live, interactive training that allows you to add new Stephen Leaders to your team and learn from the latest Stephen Ministry resources. Call us at (314) 428-2600 or check out stephenministries.org/SLTC for details.

Additional Resources for Publicizing, Educating, and Casting a Vision

Many awareness-building items are available on our webstore. Here are a few highlights:

These full-color Help, Hope, Healing Brochures introduce what Stephen Ministry is, what Stephen Ministers do, and what kind of needs they meet. They also include space to add information about your Stephen Ministry. Handing these brochures out at worship or in other settings can be a great way to get people interested in learning more. Also available pre-folded.

The Stephen Ministry Customizable Business Cards are great to give to potential care receivers, Stephen Minister recruits, and others as you get the word out. You can personalize them with your name, Stephen Ministry role, and other information. These business cards come in flat sheets, ready to use with a printer or copy machine.

In “Real Ministry, Real Difference,” a retired naval officer tells his story of discipleship, ministry, and unexpected personal growth through becoming a Stephen Minister. This article can help people understand what Stephen Ministry is all about and build interest in serving as a Stephen Minister.

“I Began to Feel God’s Love Again” features a young woman who describes how her caring relationship with her Stephen Minister transformed her life. It’s a great resource for recruiting Stephen Ministers, finding care receivers, and building overall awareness and support for your Stephen Ministry.

Additional Resources for Recruiting Stephen Ministers

This easy-to-use “7 Reasons to Consider Becoming a Stephen Minister” recruiting tool shares meaningful benefits of serving as a Stephen Minister. The PDF contains a customizable text box for contact information and other helpful details. Also available from the S-2A page of the Stephen Leader Online Toolkit.

In this Stephen Minister Training Article, Stephen Ministers from many backgrounds share about the blessings they’ve experienced as a result of their training. It’s valuable for showing congregation members what Stephen Ministry is about and helping them see themselves as a part of this ministry.

The “Become a Stephen Minister” Webpage describes what Stephen Ministers do, how their ministry makes a difference for them and the people they care for, answers to frequently asked questions, and next steps for getting involved. It also features a video of Stephen Ministers sharing their experiences with the training and their caring ministry.