As people, we gravitate toward the comfortable, the safe, the easy, and the peaceful. I get it. No, I really, really do. Because of this, I absolutely understand why it is scary to welcome people with disabilities into your church. That is why today, I sit here to tell you about families like mine. I will also tell you why you should not only be willing to let us attend, but you should also be thankful we came.
1. You can be grateful that we grow your patience.
Children and adults with special needs shake up the status quo, and they often break the mold. They can be loud, are constantly moving, and they require extra patience and grace. You can be grateful that we grow you and your fellow church members. We teach you what it looks like to love someone who needs extra time, care, and patience. We teach you what it means to be Jesus to our world and have a ‘come one and ALL’ attitude. We teach you to grow in grace, and that’s something the church desperately needs.
2. You can be grateful that we serve you.
Yes, I meant what I said. The church body has many gifts, and every single one of us is gifted. This means your brothers and sisters who are disabled are also gifted. Some of them are gifted with joy, some of them edify the church through worship, some of them serve in practical ways like picking up and placing down chairs before and after service. Believe it or not some of them even pastor churches in your community! We are so blessed to serve you. The best thing about those with disabilities is that most consistently take joy in the service they do.
Photo Credit: Kelly on Lightstock.com.
3. You can be grateful we show you about true honesty.
As humans, we have a desire to be perceived as good or nice. Because of this, sometimes we tell others little white lies.
“How are you?”
“Great!”
“Do you like the food I made you?”
“Loved it!”
You won’t hear half-truths or lies from much of your disabled population. I will never forget the time I asked one of our special-needs students in our church what he thought of my sermon. Most said great. He said, “…theologically accurate, boring, and you said the word incredible nine separate times. I don’t like that word.” That is the level of honesty you will see within the hearts of these people. Some might take it as rude, but I think God finds it beautiful, and maybe a little refreshing. See, it’s never meant as malice or hate, just love and logic. You asked a question; they told you the truth! They want to give you the truth, and the truth is beautiful.
4. You can be grateful that we grow your faith.
Hebrews 11:1 says faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. For some parents, faith is knowing that God has made their child whole, even when we feel like something beautiful and valuable is missing. Some spend years wondering when they might hear their child’s voice. Do they understand me? How much do they really know? You get a real life model of faith when you watch a parent care for a child who cannot express love and gratefulness the way a typical child would. Faith in God‘s good planning. Faith in the love a child would have for his or her parents. These parents model faith. As a bonus, they often model extreme self-sacrificial love, kind of like the love Christ showed when He sacrificed Himself for us.
5. We can be grateful that we can be friends.
In Christ, there are no boundaries that cannot be crossed. There is no us and them. There’s only we. We, the body of Christ, are stronger together. We, the body of Christ, build each other up. We, the body of Christ, share the gospel. We share not only through our words, we also share through our lives. We, the body of Christ, need each other. Because of that, we, the body of Christ, form incredible friendships with those who look, sound, and act different from us. Because we are family. Without each other, we all suffer.
I understand how uncomfortable it can be. I get it. God‘s Church is meant to be an eclectic group. Jesus loved saints and sinners. He spent time with the sick. He recognized and loved the disabled.
It is our mission to go and make disciples of all people. The coolest part about making disciples is that it makes us stronger. It drills the Gospel even deeper into our souls. I promise—as not only a special-needs mom, but a pastor too—you will not regret your choice to welcome all.
I could go on and on. My children have taught me endless lessons. Our Embrace students at our special-needs ministry have taught me endless lessons. They have grown both me and my faith. They have grown our church, not just in size or in grace, but by giving us some extra substance to our faith. This Thanksgiving, oh, I am beyond grateful for the blessing of my brothers and sisters with special needs. And I am incredibly thankful.
Joanna French is the special needs pastor at Flint Hills Church, Junction City, KS. Joanna and her husband Jairmie have two boys with autism. In 2017, Joanna started Flint Hills Embrace with the goal to make Flint Hills Church a place where everyone belongs. Why? Because we all have a place in God's plan.
