Training for Volunteers
Stephen Ministry, Training, Fall 2012
Cost of materials is $70.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion. Colossians 3:12
Stephen Ministry is a program that equips lay persons to provide distinctively Christian one-on-one care to those who are experiencing all kinds of life-needs and circumstances, both in our congregation and community. Stephen Ministers are committed Christian people who:
- express God’s care through their lives to others
- receive 50 hours of initial training in important caring ministry skills and concepts
- are commissioned as Stephen Ministers after completing their initial training
- visit another person regularly and dependably and offer Christian support and care
- participate in regular support and supervision under the guidance of trained Stephen Leaders
- are committed to preserving the confidential nature of the caring relationship
- serve for at least two years
- receive continuing education and skill building throughout their years of service
Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
There are times when each of us needs the care of another person, a Christian friend, a Stephen Minister! The needs include but are not limited to:
- the hospitalized
- the terminally ill and their families
- people who move into or out of our community
- those grieving a death or serious loss
- the homebound or institutionalized
- prisoners, ex-offenders and their families
- those with job crisis
- the aging and elderly
- those with disabilities and their families
- those needing the support of a Christian friend
- those facing life transition
- the separated or divorced
- households experiencing birth or adoption
- those in spiritual crisis
Stephen Ministry is confidential; those receiving care can be sure that their identity and what goes on in the caring relationship will remain private.
Stephen Ministry will equip you, and our congregation will support you, so that you can show God’s mercy, care and compassion to another person who is hurting. You will walk beside your care receiver, pray for him or her, and help him or her work through life’s difficulties.
Through this ministry God will bring forth new life and renewed faith in both your care receiver and in you as a Stephen Minister. Is God calling you in this way? If so, download and complete the below application and drop off at the Counseling Center or email to counseling@sbcaz.org. Once your application is received, you will be scheduled to meet with David Walther, the overseer of the Stephen Ministers.
What do Stephen Ministers do?
- Listen
- Explore feelings
- Pray
- Share Christ’s love
- Maintain confidentiality
- Attend to the caregivers process and leave the results to God
Download the Stephen Minister Application
Lay Counselor Training Fall 2013
The Lay Counseling Ministry is currently training the seventh class of lay counselors. Presently there are 23 men and women who serve as lay counselors here at Scottsdale Bible. They provide a safe and confidential relationship to people whose burdens feel beyond the hope that Jesus can provide.
Larry Crabb, in his book, Connecting, expresses the value of safe support to those who hurt. “It is hard to be seen at your worst. Perhaps that’s why our deepest tears are often shed alone. We’re afraid friends will tire of our struggles, so we keep them to ourselves, especially the ugly ones that we can’t quite put behind us. But tears without an audience, without someone to hear and care, leave the wounds unhealed. When someone listens to our groaning and stays there, we feel something change inside us.”
Perhaps you have had people suggest you are a safe person who listens well. If so, please pray about applying for the next training class that begins in the fall of 2013. Training sessions will be Tuesday evenings beginning in October and ending mid-March 2014, in addition to three Saturday morning sessions. The cost of the training is approximately $100. Maturity in Christ is essential. It is required that you have previous experience providing one-on-one caregiving, such as Stephen Ministry or Crisis Pregnancy Center counselor.
Two of the current Scottsdale Bible Counseling Ministry lay counselors share their experiences.
Providing Lay Counseling is truly a gift from the Lord. Using my gifts in serving the body of Christ fulfills my passion for coming alongside women burdened with spiritual strongholds. Feedback from these women is “they have most appreciated my being a safe person who could hear them.” My reward is loving how God fills my heart with His love for these women as well as seeing God’s handprints in their lives . . . how He has provided support, how their hunger grew for God and His truth, how He has drawn them to church. Finally, I take God’s calling very seriously . . . with prayer being diligent to continue my own growth spiritually and emotionally.
Lay Counseling (LC) has emerged as one of the most enjoyable Ministries that I have had the privilege to serve in! It is dynamic, engaging, and all absorbing. Real people bringing very real issues….urgently seeking relief and ‘solutions.’ LC is quite unlike any casual “let’s talk over a Coffee” encounter. Rather, it’s very intentional, deeply personal, specifically directed. What I especially love is that Christian LC has as its very cornerstone, the Wisdom and Instruction from God’s own hand, the inspired Word of God. LC has humbled me, convicted me, and made me personally hunger more and more for God’s word.
LC reveals to both Counselor and Counselee how to BE in the face of this fallen world. It has driven me to my knees countless times in prayer for the people I minister to, asking for the Lord’s guidance and instruction. And the Lord does answer! What an indescribable joy it is to be used in some small way to move help restore Spiritual Headship, heal broken marriages, instill hope and move one step closer towards understanding that Absolute Truth is found Jesus Christ. Answered prayers are plentiful in Lay Counseling…..and healing is accomplished. Real people, real Issues, real Ministry – that’s what Lay Counseling is to me. To God be all Praise, all Glory
The training provides 60 hours of interactive experiences with speakers, videos and the other trainees.
(Download the Lay Counseling Application) Please include this downloadable form
Download the Lay Counseling Application
Practicum and Intern Students
Our Counseling Center has a long history of reaching into the church and community. Through the years the staff members and volunteers have come alongside those who are looking for help and answers to life issues from a Biblical perspective. They have also opened their hearts and doors to offer wisdom and insight to those who are in the final stages of Professional Counseling programs—such as practicum and intern students. These students are welcomed into the Counseling Center and blossom under the direction and supervision of our licensed professional counselors. The students have benefited not only from their collective counseling expertise, but from Godly wisdom in applying Biblical principles to those seeking counseling through the Center.
Volunteer Professionals
Would you enjoy connecting and fellowshipping with other believing behavioral health or medical professionals?
Scottsdale Bible Counseling Ministry hosts Professional Care Givers Breakfasts at Epley’s Historic Squaw Peak Inn three times a year. The fall breakfast will be Friday, September 28, from 7-8:30am. The cost is $8 payable at the door by cash or check. The speaker is to be announced at later date. For more information, call Rachel at the Counseling Office, 480.824.7239.
