ChristCare Ministries    

Stephen Ministries, a St. Louis-based independent ministry and founders of the Stephen Series, created a new ministry in the mid-1990's entitled “ChristCare.”

This innovative small-group ministry was designed to effectively teach Christian congregations how to develop deeper relationships among lay members.  The plan, which involves the training of equippers, combines Scripture, listening skills and relational interaction.  The goal is strong groups that can pray effectively together, delve into Scripture, care for one another and reach out to individuals in the larger community.

The Faith congregation enrolled  with the initial crop of “Pioneer Partners,”representing 35 denominations  and 278 parishes across the country.  130 of these were Lutheran, 55 from the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, to which Faith is affiliated) and 75 from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Three equippers, including the pastor, were sent to St. Louis, Mo. and Orlando, Fl. for training.  Eight small-group leaders then spent a year in training.  Then, in the fall of 1995, they began to organize and lead small groups. Nearly 50 members of the congregation responded initially.   Three of the original eight small group leaders continue to lead groups today.

ChristCare small group leaders also meet monthly with an equipper for “support-encouragement-accountability” (SEA) groups.  In these sessions the participants give and receive small group peer supervision. 

A typical small group session runs 90 minutes, during which participants share biblical equipping, community building, prayer, worship and missional service.  Community building includes role play and open discussion of personal concerns.  The sharing is always kept confidential.

For more information about ChristCare, contact Pastor Avers at Faith (419-332-6820) or e-mail: faithchurch@nwonline.net or Stephen Ministries, 8016 Dale, St. Louis, MO 63117-1449.