Helping the Church Be the Church
What is Stephen Ministry?
Stephen Ministry provides the training, tools, and support that will help our congregation train a team of lay caregivers, called Stephen Ministers, who then tap into their spiritual gifts and passions for caring. Stephen Ministry is a way for congregations to provide high-quality care and outreach to hurting people in the congregation and community.
Stephen Ministry is a confidential ministry. The identity of those receiving care and everything they discuss with a Stephen Minister remains private.
What are Stephen Ministers?
Stephen Ministers are lay people, trained in the congregation by their Stephen Leaders, to provide one-on-one Christ-centered care to hurting people experiencing grief, divorce, job loss, hospitalization, loneliness, financial struggles, and other life difficulties. These are people with compassionate hearts who've been equipped with the skills to listen, encourage, and offer support when someone is in need.
What are Stephen Leaders?
Stephen Leaders are men and women who work alongside the pastor and church leadership, who have attended the Stephen Series Training Course where they are trained as Stephen Leaders to introduce Stephen Ministry to the congregation. Their duties are to cast a vision, build awareness, recruit, select and train Stephen Ministers, identify people in need of care, provide ongoing supervision and continuing education.
Are you interested in becoming a Stephen Minister? Please contact Tom Eckert at 610.390.2902 - email tomeckert54@gmail.com, or Cas Eckert 845.220.8219 - email petsketch.cas@gmail.com.
Bio for Tom and Cas:
Tom and Cas attended the Stephen Ministry Leaders Training Course in 2016 where they received their Leader Certification from Stephen Ministry St. Louis to be Stephen Ministry Leaders. They launched the Stephen Ministry Series in their church later that year and trained over 30 lay men and women to receive their certificates to be Stephen Ministers.
What led them to having the desire to be involved in a caring ministry was the premature passing of both of their spouses and experiencing the sorrow that comes with loss, which led to seeing there was a great need in the church for this type of ministry.
Cas: "I grew up in a Christian home but didn't accept Christ until my early 20's. After some rebellious teenage years, I realized my need for forgiveness. That's when Jesus transformed my life from darkness to light."
Tom: "I grew up catholic and after 12 years of religion classes I gained a respect for Jesus but not much more. It wasn't until I was 21 when I found out that, through Christians, the God of the Universe wanted a relationship with me and that is when I said the sinner's prayer."
Tom & Cas Eckert’s Contact info:
Tom Eckert - 610.390.2902 - email tomeckert54@gmail.com
Cas Eckert - 845.220.8219 - email petsketch.cas@gmail.com.
Not Sure What to Do Next:
If you are unsure of what to do next, please feel free to contact us through info@bridgeschurch.net.