{"id":32182,"date":"2022-09-10T15:59:40","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-ways-churches-can-serve-adults-with-special-needs\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:59:40","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:59:40","slug":"4-ways-churches-can-serve-adults-with-special-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-ways-churches-can-serve-adults-with-special-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Ways Churches Can Serve Adults with Special Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Steven Watson leads Joy Class members through Lifeway\u2019s \u2018Access\u2019 curriculum for adults with special needs at First Baptist Church in Asheboro, NC. – Tanner Marquis photo<\/div>\n

By Aaron Wilson<\/em><\/p>\n

Steven Watson believes there\u2019s a very practical reason many people don\u2019t go to church\u2014one that has nothing to do with their beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we pulled back the doors in our communities, I think we\u2019d be shocked at how many people aren\u2019t going to church because there\u2019s no place for their special needs loved ones to go,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Attending church services can be difficult for individuals with special needs and their caregivers. In 2017, the U.S. Census reported that 14.2 million people age 18 and older had difficulty doing errands alone, such as visiting a doctor\u2019s office or shopping, due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s for this reason that Watson has dedicated the last 28 years of his life to teaching the Joy Class\u2014a discipleship class for adults with special needs\u2014at First Baptist Church in Asheboro, North Carolina. Founded in 1968, the Joy Class celebrated its golden anniversary this past year, making it the longest-standing special needs class in the North Carolina Baptist State Convention.<\/p>\n

An elementary physical education teacher, Watson says he\u2019s never had any formal training in special needs care. While he believes such training is valuable, he says churches that are waiting on expert volunteers to appear before starting a special needs ministry are missing out.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve never had formal training in special needs studies, and yet I\u2019ve done this for 28 years.\u201d he says. \u201cYou just get in there and do it. I never walk out of the Joy Class feeling like I gave more than I got.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typical Sunday mornings for the Joy Class begin with a van ministry that picks up individuals with special needs from their homes which includes group homes. Other members of the class are dropped off by families who either attend First Baptist or go to other local churches that don\u2019t offer special needs ministries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe begin with a time of fellowship, just seeing how everyone is doing and catching up on the week,\u201d Watson says. He notes that in a special needs context, this time usually consists of more than just chitchat and pleasantries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask me how I\u2019m doing, I\u2019ll say my life is fine and move on,\u201d Watson says. \u201cBut if you ask a person with special needs how they\u2019re doing on a day they\u2019re upset, you better be ready to hear about it. That kind of honesty is what Christianity is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

After fellowship, the class has a snack and moves into Bible study. For more than two decades, the Joy Class has used Lifeway\u2019s Access<\/em> curriculum for adults with special needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love the practical stories the curriculum provides our students\u2014stories that are based off modern, real-life situations,\u201d Watson says. \u201cOur class members love learning how to bring the lesson home by drawing examples from their own lives and from the teachers\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a time of prayer, the class attends the church\u2019s 11 a.m. worship service. Joy Class members are then picked up by their caregivers or are driven back to their homes by church volunteers.<\/p>\n

Watson hopes other churches will be inspired to start their own ministries to serve people with special needs and their caregivers. To that end, he offers the following tips he\u2019s learned from almost three decades of special needs ministry.<\/p>\n

1. Teach to empower.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Joy Class makes a point of encouraging adults with special needs to be actively involved in serving others in the church and local community. Some of the classes\u2019 activities include preparing back-to-school supplies for local students, packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, and offering goodie bags to college students who attend an annual leadership conference held in town.<\/p>\n

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The class also provides restaurant gift cards for military families and gives money to the church for van upkeep.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the main things I try to teach the class is that they can be leaders and that they can do for others,\u201d Watson says. \u201cOften times, individuals with special needs are given things and helped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all like to be helped,\u201d he says, \u201cbut we\u2019re trying to empower them to do, to lead, and to know how good it feels to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Lean on a special needs curriculum.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Watson emphasizes the value of having a curriculum geared to teach individuals with special needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I really like about the curriculum we use is that it\u2019s not overly scholarly given the audience it\u2019s written for,\u201d Watson says, \u201cbut it\u2019s scholarly enough that I\u2014as a student of the Bible for 45 years\u2014always learn something each time I teach it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lifeway has produced ongoing resources for adults with special needs since 1986 says Dwayne McCrary, team leader for ongoing adult group resources. Access, <\/em>the curriculum Watson\u2019s class uses, follows a five-year plan through the Bible using a story-telling model.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe follow the flow of biblical history from Genesis to Revelation so adults with special needs can get a clear picture of how the books of the Bible work together and why it was necessary for God to send Jesus to be our Savior,\u201d McCrary says.<\/p>\n

Lifeway also offers an ongoing special needs curriculum for kids called Special Buddies<\/em> and Vacation Bible School resources for individuals with special needs.<\/p>\n

3. Treat individuals with special needs as essential to the church.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Individuals with special needs should be seen as a vital part of the church instead of merely a project of the church. As such, churches can glean from Watson\u2019s practice of providing a class specifically tailored for adults with special needs while still letting them attend regular services.<\/p>\n

This allows individuals with special needs to receive custom-tailored discipleship training in a small group setting while also letting them partake in fellowship and corporate worship as members of the larger church body.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe even have a class member who assists with taking up the offering in the worship service as an usher,\u201d Watson says, \u201cand our class participates each year in missions offerings including the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Finally, don\u2019t wait for the perfect time to start.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For Watson, there\u2019s nothing special about Christians reaching out to individuals with special needs. Rather, he sees it as a simple outworking of the Great Commission.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur true calling is to go out into all of the world making disciples,\u201d Watson says. \u201cAnd there\u2019s a special needs community in every community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s never a perfect time to start a special needs ministry,\u201d he says. \u201cYou just have to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Aaron Wilson<\/h2>\n

@AaronBWilson26<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Aaron is associate editor of LifewayResearch.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n