NAPLES — "The primary tool is listening," said Margo Shields, a member of East Naples United Methodist Church here. "You don’t try to fix it, you just listen."

Shields and her husband, Dr. Earl Shields, are coordinators of the Stephen Ministry at their church, a ministry that has equipped 60 of the church’s members to care for their community, friends and neighbors in the past five years.

"The best description I’ve heard for Stephen Ministry is ‘Christ caring for people through people,’ " Dr. Shields said. "It’s love for laymen through other laymen."

The ministry trains lay people to help others cope with life changes and personal tragedies, such as divorce, loss of a loved one or job difficulties, according to Mrs. Shields. "You walk with them through the fire until they’re over the bumps in the road," she said. "Sometimes it takes a month; sometimes it takes years."

Stephen Ministries began in 1975 as a way to train lay people "to provide quality, one-to-one Christian care to individuals experiencing a life crisis," the ministry’s Web site said. Today, more than 7,000 congregations in 90 Christian denominations are involved. Nearly 250,000 laypersons have been trained as Stephen Ministers and ministered to more than 750,000 people.

To qualify as a Stephen Minister, a lay person must complete a 50-hour training course at their local church. A pastor or layperson who has been trained by the national Stephen Ministry teaches the local course, usually offering one or two classes each week for several months.

Once qualified, Stephen Ministers are assigned to a care receiver, someone from the congregation who has been through a personal crisis and asked for help. Usually, the care receiver is referred to the Stephen Minister by the pastor or ministry coordinators.

"We try to match the Stephen Minister with the care receiver by personality and need," Mrs. Shields said.

Care receivers are not always members of the congregation, according to Dr. Shields. "They can be from the community at large, anywhere they have a need," he said, adding he has even counseled people who were not Christians.

When a neighbor suffered three broken ribs and a broken hip in a bike accident, the Shields were "there to see where he might need help…when he got home," Mrs. Shields said.

In another instance, Mrs. Shields counseled a young woman who was depressed after her father’s death. She realized the woman needed professional help and gave her a referral to a mental health counselor. She also followed up with that doctor to see if he wanted her to continue counseling the young woman.

"Most times, if you let a person talk, they will come up with a solution by themselves," Dr. Shields said. "But we will set up referrals if there is a need for professional help. We don’t try to minister professionally."

While Stephen Ministers care for others, they are also care for each other. Twice a month, they meet for education and support. The first half of each meeting features an educational speaker or video. During the second half, the ministers break into small groups with trained facilitators to discuss issues and problems they are facing.

"It’s all very confidential," Dr. Shields said. "We don’t use names in the discussions."

Of the 60 trained Stephen Ministers in the 1,500-member church, 54 are still active, according to the Shields. At any given time, each of them is helping as many as four people referred through the church. "And that’s not counting those in the community, who, if we see a need, we will try to help," Dr. Shields said.