OUR MINISTRIES

Stephen Ministry was founded in 1975 by Reverend Kenneth Houck, Ph.D. As a pastor and clinical psychologist, he discovered there were more needs for care in his congregation than he could meet alone. As a result, he founded Stephen Ministry, and it is now in more than 13,000 congregations from more than 180 Christian denominations, across the U.S. and Canada and in 30 other countries. More than 600,000 lay people have received Stephen Ministry training that equips them to carry out the care-giving process in a confidential manner. More than one-and-a-half million people have had a Stephen Minister to walk with them providing one-to-one Christian care during difficult times.

Stephen Ministry is based on the belief that all Christians are ministers, and people with special gifts for caring ministry are called to use those gifts to bring Christ’s love to people in need. This distinctively Christian care giving is often described as “Christ caring for people through people”. Stephen Ministry provides caregivers for those experiencing one of the many setbacks we all encounter in life such as loss of loved ones, hospitalization, divorce, loneliness, discouragement, spiritual crises, unemployment terminal illness and many other stresses or challenges. Stephen Ministry significantly expands the amount of ongoing care First Presbyterian Church can offer by equipping and organizing members to provide Christian care. This program is not limited to members of First Presbyterian Church. Often people with needs suffer silently or do not request or receive the level of care they really need. If you or someone you know might benefit from the Stephen Ministry program, please contact the church office. (479-751-2040).