It Was Such a Burden Off My Shoulders from Stephen Ministries on Vimeo.

What is Stephen Ministry?

Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)

 Stephen Ministry is the one-to-one lay caring ministry that Christ United Methodist Church uses to equip and empower lay caregivers—called Stephen Ministers—to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting.  Christ United Methodist Church enrolled in Stephen Ministry in 2011, and we have 11 active Stephen Ministers and 7 Stephen Leaders, plus 2 pastors trained as Stephen Leaders.


There are Stephen Leaders, Stephen Ministers and care receivers.

Stephen Leaders

Stephen Leaders establish and direct Stephen Ministry at Christ United Methodist Church, after attending a 50-hour Leadership Training Course.  They:

  • Build awareness of Stephen Ministry within the congregation and community
  • Recruit and train Stephen Ministers
  • Meet with potential care receivers to assess their needs
  • Match care receivers with Stephen Ministers
  • Provide Stephen Ministers with ongoing supervision and continuing education.

STEPHEN Ministers

Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained by Stephen Leaders with a 50-hour course to offer high-quality, one-to-one Christian care to people going through tough times.  A Stephen Minister usually provides care to one person at a time, meeting with that person once a week for about an hour.  Twice a month, Stephen Ministers gather with their Stephen Leaders for supervision and continuing education.

Care Receivers

Care receivers are people—congregation’s members and others in the community—who receive care from a Stephen Minister.  These are people struggling through a difficult time in life—experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness or some other life crisis.  To protect this caring relationship,

  • The relationship between care receiver and a Stephen Minister is confidential.
  • Men are matched with men; women with women.
  • When a care receiver’s needs exceed what a Stephen minister can provide, the Stephen Ministry team makes a referral to an appropriate mental health professional or other community resource.  

For more information:

Contact Bonnie and Vic Reid by email or phone: 979-218-0058

For pressing issues, contact the pastor on call at 979-450-5101.