Stephen Ministry.

There is this ministry at church that I have been wanting to get involved in for YEARS!  And I literally mean years, no exageration there, and if I am honest, I have been thinking about it for four years.  FOUR years people - that is a LONG time, don't you think?  I was always turned off by the training commitment and the multiple retreats, and the fact that the training only happened once a year...I always found SOME excuse not to get involved.

Well this year I vowed that things would be different!  And Peter and I were going to get more involved at church...and guess what?  We have!  We signed up for Sunday School, which has been simply delightful, and I finally committed to Stephen Ministry!

So what is Stephen Ministry?

According to the website, "Stephen Ministry provides congregations with the training, resources, and ongoing support to organize and equip a team of lay caregivers - called Stephen Ministers - in the congregation."

And what is a Stephen Minister?

"Stephen Ministers provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care and support to people experiencing grief, divorce, cancer, job loss, loneliness, disability, relocation, and other life difficulties."

Like I said before, this is a ministry I have heard about for years, and every single year I have felt a tug at my heart, but this is the first year I have actually responded!  I love the basis of this ministry and I think it’s because this ministry recognizes the fact that we are all broken.  And even though we are broken beings, in need of a savior, we are human and so often we hide our brokenness from each other.  Yet the truth is, there is something so beautiful that happens when someone enters into that brokenness with you.  And I believe that is what Stephen Ministers do – they enter into that brokenness with another in hopes that they will be fully reconciled to Christ.   And I love this – how can you not?

Just typing this post gets me all excited for our first training session tonight!!  I spent hours last night reading about what it means to be a Christian caregiver - and I would like to think that I am a bit more educated, but who really knows right?

And so begins the journey with Stephen Ministry...

xoxo,

Malia