The name Stephen Ministry comes from Acts 6:8.
“Now Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders among the people.”
Stephen was commissioned by the apostles to do acts of pastoral care. At that time, as the church was growing and the apostles were doing all sorts of things, they didn’t have the time to do the caring that they really needed to do. So they appointed seven laypeople, and Stephen was one of them. And he did great work, not only caring but witnessing to his faith—which is what Stephen Ministers do today.
- Stephen Ministry was founded in 1975.
- St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church is one of more than 13,000 congregations from more than 180 Christian denominations that now have Stephen Ministry.
- Over 600,000 people have been trained as Stephen Ministers, a number that grows by tens of thousands each year.
- More than one-and-a-half million people across the United States, Canada, and the world have been touched by God’s love through a Stephen Minister.
- Through all these people—including our own Stephen Ministers and their care receivers—the story of Stephen Ministry continues.