St. Louis Is Making Improvements
Our Stephen Ministry trainees are almost finished their studies and will be commissioned by the congregation mid-summer as full-fledged Stephen Ministers. Mildly Walton and Drew Fennema are part of congregations world-wide who are replenishing their church’s lay-ministry teams every year.
An on-going effort to improve this ever-growing program has been an important part of the success for Stephen Ministries, St. Louis. Recently, the organization revealed its vision for the future:
- To continue conducting Stephen Leadership courses on ZOOM with 20 future Stephen Leaders per class for ten 2 ½ hour sessions (rather than one week for 400 learners residing in a large city hotel).
- To continue supporting congregations’ programs with new Stephen Leader two hour, on-line seminars for free featuring Best Practices.
- To continue writing and publishing worthwhile books, such as Cancer, Now What? and The Gift of Empathy.
- To continue updating the curriculum, such as releasing in June, Caring Assertiveness which utilizes new research data and proven strategies and replaces part of the trainees’ kit.
Adding a new component, specifically written for young people, Stephen Ministries, St. Louis, has recently created discussion guides for The Gift of Empathy and Caring Assertiveness. These materials are available for any organization wanting to empower youth as bullying and other mental health issues affect their daily lives.
Lastly, this summer two five-hour courses with discussion guides based on their two newest books will be available for any adult education groups.
Stephen Ministries, St. Louis, is striving to help create a better world by equipping all people with greater caring skills.
Sue Kuhn, Stephen Leader