Stephen Ministry

Stephen Ministers are lay caregivers. They have engaged in high-quality training in Christian caregiving, including topics such as listening, feelings, boundaries, and assertiveness.

After being matched by a Stephen Leader with a person experiencing a crisis or life difficulty, the Stephen Minister meets with that person on a regular (generally weekly) basis to listen, care, encourage, and provide emotional and spiritual support. The caring relationship lasts as long as the need for care exists.

A person might want to meet with a Stephen Minister for a number of reasons, such as job loss, separation or divorce from a spouse, declining health, illness of a loved one, isolation, loneliness, or any other crisis or life difficulty.

Stephen Ministers are not counselors; they are trained lay caregivers. Their role is to listen and care, not to give advice or administer therapy. Stephen Ministers are also trained to recognize when a care receiver’s needs fall outside what they are equipped to provide—at which point they help connect the person receiving care with the appropriate outside resource.

Confidentiality is the basis of all Stephen Ministry relationships. Anyone receiving care can be assured that his or her identity and what is shared during any meetings with their Stephen Minister will remain private.

Deacon Ashley is our Stephen Leader who coordinates referrals. If you or someone you know could benefit from the care of a Stephen Minister, you can email her here. (If you want to talk about Stephen Ministry for someone else, make sure you get his or her permission first.)

We’re looking to begin a new cohort in fall 2025 or early 2026. You can email Deacon Ashley here to learn more if you’re interested in the class or training. We’d love for you to join us!

Stephen Ministries St. Louis is a not-for-profit Christian education organization which was founded in 1975. Their mission is to “equip God’s people for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12) by training leaders and Stephen Ministers to provide this high quality Christian care to those who are hurting.

It’s now in more than 13,000 congregations from more than 190 Christian denominations, in more than 30 countries worldwide. More than 75,000 pastors, church staff, and laypeople have trained as Stephen Leaders, 600,000 as Stephen Ministers, and more than 1.5 million people have received care through Stephen Ministry.

The name Stephen comes from St. Stephen. The early church appointed Stephen with six other members as deacons to care for those in need, especially to minister to widows. St. Stephen was also the first martyr of the Church. (Acts 6).