President Dwight Eisenhower said, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” I tend to agree, with one large exception: the needs of families with disabilities. If you’re not aware, the needs of families with disabilities are often enormous, and relentless.
Do you want to take your disability inclusion ministry to the next level? Be like the early church, by not only meeting the need of the moment, but by using the wisdom of those who have gone before to anticipate the needs that will be predictably coming soon.
Woven into many of the narratives in the New Testament are glimpses of daily life, with phrases like “pay their expenses,” “with whom we were to lodge,” friends who were ministering to Paul while he was in prison; setting sail for months’ long journeys aboard ships, out-of-town visitors staying with other believers. All of these casually mentioned elements would have required food, other provisions, lodging, creativity, money.
Who gave money, provided places to stay, gave clothes and bedding, as well as papyrus and ink for writing? It was the early church.
It’s not difficult to anticipate the need for or organize meal ministry for a family in crisis, but what about the longer term, and arguably more important needs? Things like having a care plan for an adult child with special needs, after the parents pass away? What about life insurance for caregiving parents? How will the family members who remain alive pay for the needs of the disabled adult?
Support for families with disabilities is only limited by your imagination, and by the expertise of members of your faith community. But a little advance planning can go a long way towards preventing unnecessary complications, and ensure that members of your faith community can also focus on the daily bread of God’s Word, rather than only on the myriad unmet needs of daily living.
Photo credit: Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash.com.
Here are a few things that many churches can do:
Skill share. Invite church members to contribute to a church-based online registry of their professional and personal skillsets, and whether or not their services can be provided to the church community at no or low cost. Ideas include: attorneys who specialize in wills and trusts, and eldercare or disability law, plumbing contractors who will repair water leaks, builders who can help with building wheelchair ramps.
Build and establish a church affiliated group home. There is an enormous need for safe, affordable care for individuals with Level 1 autism and similar disabilities who can no longer live with their families. Existing group homes are often prohibitively expensive or have few openings, and the care provided can vary greatly.
Create a family support network. The community of Gheel, Belgium has been known for centuries as a place where individuals with mental illness and cognitive disabilities could live and be cared for in families. There is much to learn from the Gheel model, and much that could be replicated in our church communities.
Employment network. For churches establishing any or all of the ideas above, job opportunities can also be created as a natural result of meeting church community needs.
One more note: these ideas can be worked on collaboratively with other local churches or ministries in your community.
None of these efforts distracts from the message of the gospel. Rather, this adds the ‘both/and’ element of the gospel that the early church did so well that they became known for their support of the poor, sick and outcasts of their time.
People whose names are only known to God made the earliest spread of the gospel message possible. By pooling not only money but creativity and ingenuity, the early church did the ‘both/and’ work of meeting needs and spreading the gospel. In this late hour of the Church age, let’s be diligent about the work the Father has given us, that His house may be full.
Catherine Boyle is the Director of Mental Health Ministry for Key Ministry. You can follow her work here or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and www.catherineboyle.com.
