What is a Stephen Minister? Stephen Ministers are laypeople - Christian men and women - trained to provide one-to-one Christ centered care to people within a church family experiencing a difficult time in life such as grief, divorce, cancer, hospitalization, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, relocation, loss of a home, separation due to military deployment, and many other areas of life.

Stephen Ministers also frequently move out into the community to care for people who do not have a church home. Stephen Ministry congregations sometimes partner with a number of service organizations in the community such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, funeral homes, hospices, food pantries, soup kitchens, adult daycare centers, senior centers, retirement communities, and homeless shelters to care for those in need. When Stephen Ministers provide high-quality emotional and spiritual care to hurting people who aren’t church members, they embody and witness to God’s love for these individuals.

Stephen Ministers come from all walks of life. Their commonality? A passion for bringing Christ’s love and care to people during a time of need.

If you would like more information on this ministry, please contact the church office at
(330) 343-1322 or email doverfirst@gmail.com, and we will connect you with our Stephen’s Ministry Leader.