Who Are We?

In the Geneva region, Stephen Ministry has been organised since 1999 at Crossroads church. As of July 2010 and June 2017 respectively both St John XXIII Parish and Westlake Church have become members of the Stephen Ministry organisation and together they have combined their Stephen Ministry groups into an ecumenical grouping.

Who's Involved with Stephen Ministry?

Stephen Leaders are church staff, lay leaders, and pastors trained at a Leader’s Training Course to provide ongoing leadership for their congregation’s Stephen Ministry.

Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained by their Stephen Leaders to offer care to people who are hurting. A Stephen Minister typically has one care receiver at a time and meets with that person once a week for about an hour.

Care receivers are individuals in the congregation or community who are going through a crisis or life difficulty. Potential care receivers first meet with a pastor or Stephen Leader, who assesses their needs for care and matches them with a Stephen Minister. The caring relationship lasts for as long as the need persists.

"The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to his word, so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters is learning to listen to them."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Care Receivers Tell Their Stories

Over the years, well over one-and-a-half million people have benefited from the one-to-one, Christ-centered care of a Stephen Minister. This care is entirely confidential—no one knows the identity of a care receiver except for their Stephen Minister and the pastor or Stephen Leader who paired them together. The care receivers featured here willingly volunteered to share their stories.

Listen to the stories from people who have used the services of Stephen Ministry