Stephen Ministry: Samaritans in Secret
July 11, 2022 by Analise Narine
Connect with the Stephen Ministry
Find out more about HPUMC’s Stephen Ministry and learn how you can become a Stephen Minister or connect with one during life-changing circumstances.
Life can change in an instant. The shockwaves of an accident or tragedy are never contained to the moment in time that it happens, or even in the weeks or months that follow. The effects continue to echo through the lives of family and friends in their search for healing. Andi Fancher, Director of Discipleship, and her family know this all too well.
In 2010, Andi’s husband, Dan, was in an accident involving an 18-Wheeler that nearly took his life, putting him in the hospital, into surgery, and out of work. With three toddlers all under the age of three, the Fancher family went through eighteen months of struggles and recovery, reeling from the after-effects of the accident.
As Andi processed, feeling overwhelmed by what was happening in her life, an HPUMC staff member approached her, asking if she would like to meet with someone who would listen to and be with her as her life was turned upside-down. She was referring to HPUMC’s Stephen Ministry, which provides confidential and faith-based care to those in difficult seasons of life.
Fancher, who didn’t initially know anything about the ministry, decided to take a leap of faith and began meeting with a Stephen Minister on a regular basis. Stephen Ministers are congregation members with gifts for caregiving who are carefully selected to walk beside a person who is hurting for as long as needed. They are lay people who have received at least 50 hours of training in providing spiritual and emotional care.
“It was someone coming alongside and helping me carry my burden,” Andi said. “She wasn't there to solve it, she couldn't fix it, but she was there to walk with and encourage me.”
The Stephen Ministers’ foundation of Christ makes them unique, as they provide support from the perspective of a faithful congregation member. Andi recently uncovered a box of scripture cards in a drawer that her Stephen Minister would bring to her each week.
“It was something for me to hold onto in that season,” she said. “And she prayed with me. She reminded me that despite my circumstances, God was with me and she could claim that for me, even when I couldn't believe it for myself. That was really transformational.”
Watching her Stephen Minister show consistent compassion and care for her — checking on her, supporting and encouraging her, and meeting her for coffee week after week — inspired Andi to have the same dedication to kindness.
“I just felt loved,” she said. “When I came out of the fog, I wanted to give that back to other people — what I had experienced. This person walked alongside me for so long. It makes you want to help someone else and come alongside them when they're walking through tough stuff.”
Throughout her experience, Andi discovered hope and the value of the Stephen Ministry, which she now shares with others.
“I think many of us are prideful or we feel like someone else hasn't walked through this exact thing that I've been through,” Fancher said. “We may not yet see the value in just having someone listen and be present with you.”
Dan also had a Stephen Minister, who met with and listened to him as he went through pain and recovery after surgery.
“We would be different people had we not had the positive experience with Stephen Ministers and the church community coming around us,” Andi said. “That changed the way we live and we serve and we lead on the other side of that season.”
Stephen Ministers stay confidential, helping to lighten the load of those that they walk with in private.
“I think many people in our church don't even know how these people are serving in these tough spots in people's lives,” Andi said. “As Christians, we carry one another's burdens. Stephen Ministers live that out in a very quiet way.”
It took time for Andi and her family to get back on their feet, but they came back strong with the help of the Stephen Ministers and Christ in them. “It’s the ministry of presence,” she said. “When you look in the rear view mirror and see how God worked through other people, it's really powerful.”
