What's the mission of the church (and of special needs ministry)?

Recently, Crossway released the book What is the Mission of the Church? by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert. I haven't read it yet (though I should have my copy waiting for me when I get home!), but that's okay because I'm not reviewing it today. Instead, I'm sharing an article Kevin wrote in response to reviews of the book. That article - the mission of the church in living color - gave me a lot of food for thought about special needs ministry.

Before you jump into the article, let me give you a little context because you'll be entering in mid-conversation. As I mentioned, this post is coming on the heels of the release of a book about what the church's mission truly is. In response to some reviews, Kevin shares here about what his church does that might be categorized as social justice and what they don't/won't do on that front. It's a good practice to do that with your own special needs ministries: what do you do, and what won't you do?

One example would be the way that Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, TX, uses iPads in disability ministry. Meaghan Wall shared with me when I visited their church that they do use apps for Bible memory, Christian songs, and other faith-building activities, but they don't use therapy-related apps.

Why? Because that's not their purpose as a church.

Likewise, several of Kevin's points about what his church does not do resonate with our approach to disability ministry at Providence Baptist Church, particularly the following. We are not all about:

• Focusing a lot of our energies, resources, and people on good effort that will be well-supported by governments and non-Christians.

• Partnering with teams or agencies that do not allow evangelism.

• Running social services for the community out of our church.

• Undertaking charitable projects or missions endeavors that make us feel good but don’t actually help those we serve and may actually take away their dignity or foster dependence.

We do at times partner with secular organizations - for example, several are publicizing our upcoming respite event and a few are contributing volunteers for it as well - but we're still a church and we still will use the name of Christ in what we do and say. If people are seeking a secular respite care experience, then they can tap into resources outside of the church, although those pickings are slim. If they want therapies or social stories apart from Christ, then the church isn't the best vehicle for providing that. We don't want to just replicate secular social services within a church building.

We have something much greater to offer than that.


Now I know the social justice/evangelism debate can get fiery, but I think we can all stand a little heat while keeping in mind that we have the most important thing - Christ - in common, right? And I'll also add that my understanding of scripture doesn't make it an either/or proposition; we can (and should) be about sharing Christ in word and deed. 

So - all that said - what are your thoughts on this?

99 Balloons: A disability ministry organization worth knowing

I knew about Matt and Ginny and Eliot before I became involved in special needs ministry. When I found out I was pregnant with my first child in May of 2006, I started reading more and more blogs. In doing so, I stumbled across a blog by these two parents, whose names never stuck in my mind back then, about their son, whose name I wouldn't forget: Eliot. He was born six months and nine days before my daughter, Jocelyn, yet he died before she was born. I prayed many prayers over their sweet family (and, to be honest, cried many hormonal tears!) as their son was born, lived his sweet but short life, and died - all during my pregnancy with Jocelyn.

I could tell his story, but this video does a better job. (Just a tip: Get yourself some tissues first.)



As I watch Jocelyn grow here on earth, Eliot grows as well - not in human form, but in legacy. God, through Eliot, taught Matt and Ginny much, including how many ways churches can show love to families with special needs. Out of their desire to honor both God and Eliot, 99 Balloons was founded.

About a month ago, Matt and I chatted via phone. We were both encouraged by it, probably me more so than Matt. During that call, I learned more about what they do. And, let me tell you, I love it.

One focus of theirs is church-based respite care in the United States. They call the events rEcess, with the E for Eliot. If you've been around this blog much, you know that's a passion of mine as well. I've blogged about our church's respite care programs before, and my friends at Key Ministry, Snappin' Ministries, and Nathaniel's Hope are deeply invested in the church-based respite care movement as well.

Their other focus is on orphans with special needs outside of this country. The needs are great, with the greatest need being Christ. The conditions are heart-breaking, but all words to describe them fall short. To that end, 99 Balloons has partnered with TEAMworks to bring home and therapy training to both orphanages and parents with children with special needs. Right now, their efforts are largely in the Ukraine and Guatemala. Read more about it here.

I'll have more to share about 99 Balloons in the near future, but they deserve an introductory post first. Pray for 99 Balloons and for Matt & Ginny and their family, including Lena who is still living in an orphanage in the Ukraine but who will be joining them through adoption (hopefully soon!).

disability ministry weekly round-up {11-28-11}

December starts this week. Oh, my!

This is an encouraging story of disability and faith. The story is supposed to be about a church and others coming together to buy updated prosthetic legs for a college student, but the real story that shines through in it is the one of a God using disability to capture the heart of a young man. That man says,

"People call this is a disability," he says. "I call it an ability to display the glory of God. He blessed me with this gift so I could see the goodness in people and in him. How lucky is that?"

The thanks I owe my child with special needs & To my friends who struggle at the holidays: I am listing these two together because I think they can be read best as a pair. In the first, Ellen from Love That Max reflects upon what her son with special needs (or, as she likes to say, special powers) has taught her. In the second, John from The Works of God encourages those parents who aren't feeling as thankful. For those of us who minister to these families, we need to understand that parents can be thankful and not-so-thankful all at the same time. Or they might alternate between the two responses. Or dwell somewhere in between. The lesson? Meet them where they are.

Carrie with Children blogs about Target's inclusion of a child with Down syndrome in one of their ads. This brought to mind a challenge for the church: do our ministry materials include images of those with special needs? If your church has people with special needs, then those materials should reflect that.

A church realized a family - including a single mom, a seven-year-old child with autism and a seizure disorder, and a grandmother on dialysis - was living in sub-standard conditions, so what did they do? They bought and fixed up a mobile home for them. Read about it here.

What December traditions do you look forward to each year?

love the Lord. and your neighbor {Luke 10:25-28}

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him [Jesus] to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

{Luke 10:25-28}

...

Truth in Tinsel: An Advent ebook I'm using at home & church (only $2.99 TODAY)

I love the idea of daily Advent activities with my preschool-aged children. I really do.

And I love the idea of having meaningful ornament crafts to make in special needs ministry (like at our December respite event or in our special needs ministry sensory room). Honestly, I do love the idea.

But I just don't love having to come up with the practical elements - the supply list, the craft, the Bible verse, and the activities - first. 

Which is why I love the Advent e-book that Amanda from the blog Impress Your Kids wrote. It's called Truth in Tinsel, and every day - 24 in all - has (1) a "read it together" passage (a handful of verses, nothing too long), (2) a "make it together" craft (a Christmas ornament that goes along with the passage), (3) a "talk about it" section (some kid-friendly discussion points), and (4) a "do more" suggestion (tips to extend beyond the lesson itself). 

While this was designed more for moms like me with preschool to early elementary aged kiddos, it is also a GREAT tool for children's ministry and special needs ministry. The subtitle is "An Advent Experience for Little Hands," so I will black that out with electrical tape when I print it for our sensory classroom because we'll do these activities with bigger hands too. 

I could simply say I recommend it, but that wouldn't be as powerful as these words: I'm using it. I'm going through all 24 days with my kids, and I'll be doing at least a handful of the days in a ministry setting. 

And if you want to do the same, it's $2.99 today (usually $4.99). Order it here.