Those members of the body that seem weakest are actually the most necessary. Is your church embracing all people as indispensable parts of the body of Christ? Joni and Friends has great resources to help your church remove barriers that may be preventing the inclusion of your most valuable members!
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Kudos to your church if your pastor supports a special needs ministry!
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada, and I say it often; 1 Corinthians 12 says: “The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor.” May I say, not a lot of Christian leaders “get” that. It’s not often you hear pastors tell their people to boast in weaknesses, but Pastor Scott sure does. He gets it. And let me tell you why.
Rancho Community Church did not always have a big focus on reaching special needs families. It was kind of hard to get the congregation motivated – to you know, to get them on board, to get them involved in the hard work of serving adults and kids with disabilities and their families. It’s hard work because their needs are so great, and lots of churches aren’t willing to make the effort – you know, the sacrifice. They think that special needs ministry doesn’t bring a big return on the investment. Or does it?
Well, Pastor Scott at Rancho Community Church had to face this issue when, years ago, a special needs mom placed her need before the congregation. Up until this point, the leadership of his church really didn’t understand disability ministry or how to do it. But this mother could not be ignored. Something had to be done to help her and her child. And so, a group of leaders at Rancho Community came together – the Chief Operating Officer, the Worship Pastor, the children’s leader and more. These leaders decided they wanted their church to step up to the plate. And so, with the blessing of Pastor Scott, they all came and served at our Family Retreat held just up the road. Looking back, I think they realized that coming alongside Joni and Friends just might be a good way to shape a special needs outreach. Well that summer, they got hooked. They got gripped. They got on fire. And they got in on the fun of Family Retreat; they got so inspired by the worship and the joy, they went running back to Pastor Scott and insisted, “Rancho Community needs to do this; Family Retreat is a great way to serve our families, and we reach more kids with disabilities and their parents by joining with Joni and Friends!”
So from then on out, Pastor Scott gave them free rein to get involved with our ministry and our Family Retreats. And now? Years later? Well, Ken and I, this past summer, were at that Family Retreat, and, I tell you what, the team from Rancho Community Church owns the program! Honestly, that church pretty much runs the retreat now, and it is partly because of Pastor Scott and the way he’s released his leadership to get involved. And I love that! When I was at the retreat and saw how Rancho was investing – they invested everything. And I’m looking at them thinking, “Wow, this can happen in churches all across the country. What a way to expand Family Retreats. Just get more pastors and their leadership catching the vision!” Well, hey, if you would like to “catch the vision,” start by visiting joniradio.org where I’ve posted a link to our Church Training Page. You’ll learn how to start a ministry, how to solve common challenges; you’ll see online courses, and videos, and you can even locate a ministry mentor near you to help with questions. Or contact our Ministry Relations Team directly. The links are all there at joniradio.org. And finally, on this Pastor Appreciation Month, I am writing a note to Pastor Scott at Rancho Community Church. And if you know a pastor like him, send a note of thanks, as well, would you? On this Pastor Appreciation Month, let’s all express our heartfelt thanks to pastors who believe that the weaker members are, indeed, absolutely indispensable.
© Joni and Friends