Stephen Ministry Matters

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Recognizing that God is the ultimate Cure Giver, the Mission of the Highland Hills Baptist Church Stephen Ministry is to serve God and bring Christ’s healing love to individuals who are experiencing life’s challenges through confidential, non-judgmental, one-on-one Christian care.

MODULE #7: MAINTAINING BOUNDARIES IN CAREGIVING

On Thursday, March 7, Stephen Leader Training Coordinator Cheryl Sjoquist facilitated Modules #7 and #8. The importance of maintaining boundaries is emphasized to protect Stephen Ministers from manipulation and to guard us against our own controlling impulses. In Module #7: Maintaining Boundaries in Caregiving, we learned the signs indicating problems with maintaining appropriate boundaries and the consequences of boundary infringements. We briefly explored the difference between servanthood (good) and servitude (bad). Crises affect every person sometime in his/her life. This certainly is the reason for Stephen Ministry: no church staff can conceivably care for all the crisis needs in any congregation. In Module #8: Crisis Theory and Practice – Danger vs. Opportunity, Cheryl helped us understand the effects of crises on people’s faith and the course a crisis can take. The key image of the caregiver was presented as being a “triangle tipper,” moving the care receiver toward wholeness. We identified the needs of people in crisis, learned appropriate ways to care for those needs and practiced those skills.

Stephen Leader Ruth Ducharme led an inspirational session on Spiritual Growth at the Stephen Ministry training class on Thursday, March 14. She opened with a mini-Taize service that set the tone for the evening. We discussed our own spiritual journeys: what and who formed our foundations of faith, what has meant the most to us, what elements we have discarded (or would like to discard) as we have grown spiritually. In order to provide distinctively Christian care to those in need, Stephen Ministers must be spiritually grounded. We participated in a discussion of spiritual disciplines to help us find our own true selves, including:

  • Worship—our acts to and for God

  • Prayers—communion with God

  • Fasting—releasing something within us (does not necessarily mean giving up chocolate for Lent)

  • Sabbath—rest that reaches the soul

  • Bible study—we participated in a Lectio Divina activity to enhance our Bible study skills

  • Companions on the journey—spiritual guides or directors to help us on our journey

  • Sacred hospitality—being the hands and feet of God

As Stephen Minister's trainees, we have been called to be actively involved in service and ministry. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to learn the skills necessary to become effective caregivers. Help us recognize our own tendencies to foster dependency by doing too much. Remember God is the Curegiver; the Stephen Minister is the caregiver.

Pray for us as we learn what happens when a person goes through a crisis, and how caring Christian ministry can help turn a potential danger into an opportunity for growth. Walk beside us on our spiritual journeys so that we can help our Care Receivers carry their burdens. Pray that we all continue to grow in faith.