A Season of Rebuilding: Holy Week and the Stephen Ministry Logo
By Kam Cook
Stephen Ministry Coordinator
Spiritual renewal is just as important as physical and mental renewal. The season of reflection we call Lent culminates in Holy Week, when we focus on the suffering, humiliation, and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible to comprehend the hope of Easter unless we have walked through the shadows and darkness of Holy Week, unless we have realized the magnitude of sin and its consequences, and unless we have contemplated the ending and despair the Disciples felt following Jesus’ crucifixion.
As we approach Holy Week, let us remember our wholeness and redemption are possible only through the blood shed on the cross by Jesus. The Stephen Ministry logo is a visual reminder of how much God cares for us. Just as Holy Week symbolizes Jesus’ journey towards the cross and His ultimate resurrection, the Stephen Ministry logo symbolizes our journey from brokenness to wholeness through the transforming power of the cross of Jesus.
The logo’s most dominant feature is the cross, reminding us that Christ is at the center of Stephen Ministry. The broken person behind the cross symbolizes how we are all broken because of our sins and imperfections. Only Christ was perfect, and He allowed Himself to be broken on the Cross to save us from our sins. The whole person in front of the cross signifies that we are made whole only through the life, death on the cross, and resurrection of Jesus. The circle is a symbol of God’s eternal and never-ending love and care. God’s love surrounds us, holds us and heals us.
The logo also reinforces the fact that we – as Stephen Ministers – do not restore people to wholeness; God uses us a conduit. Stephen Ministry is “Christ Caring for People through People.” God is the Curegiver; we are only the caregivers who have been equipped and empowered to be the hands and face of Christ to care for God’s children who are broken and hurting.
Our confessions during Holy Week will affirm a sense of eternal security in the life to come through the cleansing blood of Christ on the cross. Let this week be a time of spiritual renewal for you.
If you are broken and hurting and need the transforming power of Christ to heal you, our Stephen Ministers have been trained to be the conduit to help restore you to wholeness. For more information on how Stephen Ministry can provide you with confidential one-to-one lay pastoral care, contact Referrals Coordinator Peggy Williams at (478) 719-3340 or by email.
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.