Stephen Ministers care for those seeking help in all lifes crises - Gainesville Times

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Stephen Ministers care for those seeking help in all lifes crises

Area churches in Gainesville have program available

Bruce Johnson, left, and Bruce Doll are leaders in Stephen Ministry at Gainesville First United Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, respectively. The program is one-to-one counseling from lay people to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting. During the weekly hourlong meeting, Stephen Ministers remember to have empty chair to represent God being there, said the Rev. Bruce Fields, the associate pastor of pastoral care at First Baptist Church and a Stephen Minister and Leader at the church.

0311STEPHEN MINISTER1 — Bruce Johnson, left, and Bruce Doll are leaders in Stephen Ministry at Gainesville First United Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, respectively. The program is one-to-one counseling from lay people to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting. During the weekly hourlong meeting, Stephen Ministers remember to have empty chair to represent God being there, said the Rev. Bruce Fields, the associate pastor of pastoral care at First Baptist Church and a Stephen Minister and Leader at the church.

About 20 years ago, a crisis struck Bruce Johnson and his family. And its impact on his daily life was acute. “I was thinking about it all of the time,” the 74-year-old Gainesville man said.