Last week Pastor Kevin, Nancy Riley and I took a road trip to the Land of the Mouse. That’s right—Orlando. But we did not go to Disney. Rather we were there for a training conference to prepare for a brand new ministry we are launching at Wellspring.

Wellspring Cares . . . Stephen Ministry is a ministry of Christ-centered care for people who are navigating one of life’s many difficult passages: loss of a job, divorce, the death of a loved one, a cancer diagnosis, financial stress, or one of a dozen other rough patches in our journey. The care is given by a compassionate, faith-filled and well trained Stephen Minister who comes alongside people during difficult times to listen, encourage and provide emotional and spiritual support. The Stephen Minister is a layperson who has been thoroughly trained to be a Christian caregiver for someone who desires to receive such care. The caring relationship continues until the need has passed and the stressful life passage has been navigated.

You will be learning a lot more about Wellspring Cares . . . Stephen Ministry in the coming weeks. The ministry has a proven track record of over forty years in over 13,000 congregations. The training we received to launch this ministry at Wellspring is some of the most thorough I have ever received in over thirty years of being a pastor. I very much look forward to seeing how this ministry will benefit and strengthen our Wellspring family. We are pursuing this initiative to respond to the expressed need of the congregation for more intentional and consistent care for people in our church.

We did not visit Mickey during our time in Orlando. But we did come back equipped and excited to launch Wellspring Cares . . . Stephen Ministry in the near future. More information about our specific plans is coming over the next several weeks. In the meantime if you would like to learn more about Stephen Ministry you can check out the website: www.stephenministries.org

Blessings, Pastor Rick