Author: devadmin

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Faithful Giving Allows Vital Conference Work to Continue

The COVID-19 pandemic forced every church in the Florida Conference to give extra scrutiny to each expenditure. But as the new year dawned, it was clear that United Methodist churches throughout the state came through for the Conference’s shared ministries.

Overall, churches paid a surprising 83.1% of apportionments, money that supports Conference ministries throughout the state, nation, and globe.

Historically, the churches of the Florida Conference combined normally pay about 88% of apportionments. Considering the obstacles in 2020, to come that close to the historical average goal enabled the Conference to continue its vital work of serving communities throughout Florida and beyond.

Read the full article from The Flordia Conference at the link below.

As you have been reading about the Stephen Minister these last few weeks, have you felt God tugging at your heart, as if to say this is something you can do? But then you find yourself wondering if you have the right gifts and temperament to explore this further. If so, wonder no more.

Here are the qualities and characteristics of the Stephen Minister:

The person of the caregiver follows the Caregiver’s Compass which leads in the following directions:  Compassion, Faith based, Skilled in listening, openess, acceptance with a nonjudgmental attitude, and finally Trustworthiness.

The caregiver self-examines himself or herself in each of these areas.  And asks the question of themselves:

Am I…

• Compassionate?  Which means that I understand and am willing to share others’ pain.
• Full of Faith?  Which means that I have unshakable faith in Jesus, pray without ceasing, and always hope in God.
• Skilled?  Which means I am willing to grow in or already competent in caregiving skills.  I can respond to difficult feelings such as anger, hurt, frustration, irritation, resentment, suspicion, loneliness, grief, misery, guilt and shame, sadness, despair and confusion.
• Trustworthy? Which means I am reliable and committed to serving as a Stephen Minister.
• Christ-centered?  Which means that I keep Christ at the center of all I do as a Christian and as a caregiver.

Furthermore, the Stephen Minister agrees to the Covenant of Care:

• I will glorify God with a grateful heart.
• I will depend on God for the results in my caregiving.
• I will worship God regularly.
• I will promote respect among fellow ministers and church leaders.
• I will help my care receiver find needed care when he or she needs more than I can give.
• I will guard the reputation of Stephen Ministry.
• I will serve without expecting or accepting financial reward.
• I will maintain confidentiality.
• I will discipline myself to meet my care receiver’s needs.
• I am willing to receive direction and supervision.

Now let me ask you, is this something God has called you to explore and learn more about? If so, we hope you would consider applying to be a Stephen Minister and beginning classes this summer. Click here to learn more!

“Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 NRSV