Stephen Ministry Matters

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.

MODULES #14 and #15

MODULE #14: HELPING SUICIDAL PERSONS GET THE HELP THEY NEED

Pastor Jake Hall facilitated Module #14: Helping Suicidal People Get Help. Stephen Ministers are never knowingly assigned to someone who is or might be suicidal, but we may nevertheless find ourselves in a caring relationship with a care receiver who is suicidal. If so, we need to know what to do. We worked with a questionnaire that provided much significant information about suicide and showed us how to minister to suicidal people. This module taught us how to determine the level of risk and how to refer the care receiver to a qualified professional. Expressions of suicide are not to be taken lightly, and we trainees learned right up front that this behavior, along with homicide and abusive behavior, is an exception to the principles of confidentiality. The risk of harm to another outweighs the need to keep confidentiality intact.

Pray for your Stephen Ministry trainees as we continue to learn the skills necessary to get the proper care for someone who is so desperate that they contemplate suicide.

MODULE # 15: BRINGING THE CARING RELATIONSHIP TO A CLOSE

Stephen Leader John Jarrard facilitated Module #15: Bringing the Caring Relationship to a Close. Stephen Ministry relationships go on until the crisis is past, the need for care is diminished (not necessarily completely over), and the care receiver is able to cope on his/her own. As important as learning how and when to close a relationship is learning how to head off premature closure. The trainees practiced these skills and shared times from our own experiences when relationships have been helpfully and unhelpfully brought to a close.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide and direct us, your Stephen Ministers, to discern when and how best to bring a caring relationship to a close. Although closure can sometimes be a difficult process, help us turn it instead into a relationship strengthening event.