by jphilo | Jul 28, 2010 | Different Dream, Special Needs Ministry, Spiritual Support
As I mentioned in the previous post in this series, God has been nudging me about beginning a special needs ministry at my local church. After all, the new building is completely handicapped accessible, so we will soon have the facilities for such a ministry. Our town is full of families who could benefit from it. All that’s missing is someone to spearhead the efforts, kinda get things going.
I’m Too Busy
That would be me.
The problem is I’m not very comfortable with the idea. In fact, I don’t like it at all. See, I’m a busy woman. I have a new book contract, with lots of research to complete and interviews to do, and a deadline. I have a full schedule of speaking engagements. All this advocating around the country on behalf of parents whose children have special needs takes so much time.
I’m No Expert
But, how can I call myself an advocate for families around the country if I refuse to advocate on behalf of families in my town? The more I think about it, the more hypocritical I feel. It’s painful, the kind of nudge I can’t ignore.
So here’s the deal. Even though, I’m reading up on the subject and have interviewed the coordinator of a stellar special needs ministry at Valley Evangelical Free Church in West Des Moines, Iowa, I’m not sure how to begin. Maybe some of you can help.
Calling All Experts and Wannabees
If you’re a lurker with experience starting a special needs ministry from scratch, your expertise is needed. Please leave a comment or send an email about books, programs, resources, or people who assisted you. Tell us your ministry’s story so we can follow your example.
If you’re a wannabe like me, leave a comment or question about what you want to know about starting a ministry. Maybe someone out there will have an answer.
I’ll Keep You Posted About the Pain
Since I’m asking you to get involved on this subject, I promise to keep you posted about my progress, too. We probably won’t move into our new facility until September, so until then it’s research and waiting expectantly for your ideas. Please, please, please start sharing them. I want to stop feeling like a hypocrite real soon!
Part 1
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by jphilo | Jul 26, 2010 | Different Dream, Special Needs Ministry, Spiritual Support
After almost 10 years of meeting in a high school for Sunday morning worship my church family, Grace Community Church, will soon move into a new building. We’re excited about how God will use us and the new building to reach out to people in our small town.
Uneasy and Uncomfortable
Lately, God has been nudging me about starting a special needs ministry at our church. So I wrote a column about the idea for our June newsletter. You can read it below.
And He answered and said to them,
“Go and report to John what you have seen and heard:
the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised up,
the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
Luke 7: 22
Lately, God has been pushing me in a direction that is neither comfortable or easy. The closer our building comes to completion, the harder He pushes. When I ask Him to stop, He keeps pushing. When I ignore Him, He gets in my face.
The shoving match began when Hiram and I, curious about the construction progress, walked through our church building awhile back. The building’s handicapped accessibility – no steps, wide halls and doorways, handicapped bathroom stalls – pleased me since I remember how hard Mom worked to get Dad and his wheelchair into my childhood church. That’s when God started pushing. Could our church reach out to disabled people in Boone?
About the same time, I spoke at a church with a bang-up ministry for families of kids with special needs. I interviewed the program director, thinking her expertise would be a valuable addition to a chapter of my new book. The more she shared about their ministry, the more God pushed. I asked Him to stop, but He pushed harder. Families in Boone could benefit from such an outreach at Grace.
Next, I interviewed Dr. Jeff McNair, a professor of special education who also teaches a Sunday school class for disabled adults. I began reading his book, The Church and Disability, which says things like this. “Rarely are children with disabilities included in Sunday school to the degree such children are present in the community. In interactions with Christian kids at church, I have asked them where they have had experience with children with disabilities, and most often they will say in their class at public school.”
When I tried to ignore what God was saying, He got in my face, using McNair’s words again. “All levels of Christian education are wrong…because they overlook some of the most needy, the poorest, the most disenfranchised people in the world. How could any group that claims to be Christian be so blind as to miss this group? To miss such a group in the light of the gospels and the example of Christ is so wrong.” Could Grace Community Church help right that wrong?
Our church could, but do we want to? Right now, I want Him to let us rest. After 9 years of unloading a trailer every Sunday and doing Sunday school in hallways, don’t we deserve some time to rest instead of reaching out to people who require a great investment of time, energy and discomfort?
But I suspect He didn’t provide the building of this church so we could rest. And I suspect He’ll keep pushing us until the most compromised of Boone’s citizens have the gospel preached to them. After all, our new church building is equipped to welcome the blind, the deaf, the lame, and intellectually disabled. But are we?
Oh God who provided a building, would You please equip our hearts?
Come Back Next Time
If you’re interested in starting a special needs ministry at your church or have already done so, please come back for the next post in this series. Maybe we can put our heads together and figure out how to begin.
Part 2
Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.
