ADM Day 28

I wanted to give everyone an update about how things are going. In the last 28 days I have contacted a large number of area churches about disability ministry. I have divided them into several categories.

1. The "Yes" churches. These churches have committed to going forward with disability ministry in one form or another. This will be a great blessing to disabled kids that are presently disconnected from the church. A common concern among this group is a concern about resources and budget constraints. These are the churches that have put aside fears and choose to include everyone. Thank you "Yes" churches.

2. The "Deer in the Headlight" churches: These churches make up many of my contacts. I can't get a yes, no, or maybe out of them. They just close their eyes, cover their ears and say la la la la la

3. The "Discouraged" churches: I found one of these. The church rep told me that the church is full of old people and there is no need for family support. She then went on to talk about several young people in the church with disabilities but that they have not been a "problem". I could not break through the defeatist attitude. I left the very nice facility with some sadness and couldn't help thinking it was a nice church at one point but was now just a shadow of it's old self."

The "NO" churches: Their are several of these. One church representative responded to my friendly greeting by saying "no, no, no, we don't have any of those people here". I said that there are disabled people in the area that would love to be invited. She promptly ended the conversation. Another church rep. accused me of trying to make her feel guilty. I assured her that was not the case. I was simply giving her the same info I gave everyone.
          The third "NO" church is the church that threw out a disabled family 4 years ago. I know this because the evicted family was one of the first Two by Two families 4 years ago in my church. This "NO" church also has the distinction of saying no the fastest. They did not have to think about it. It is simply their way.
          The final two "NO" churches are built like theater, entertainment centers. They have paid music and other staff and lots of expensive equipment. I used to work in the theater and I know my sound and lighting equipment. These were concert halls with a cross. The staff in both places did not come across like Christians should. They did remind me of ordinary secular concert hall staff. In each case they had nothing for the disabled and in both cases disability ministry was quickly rejected.

4. It should also be pointed out that if you have a deaf ministry, a respite care ministry, or a group home ministry you are not all done. Several area churches have said to me "we do something for the disabled already". If you do God bless you for it!  That's great. But if you have a blind ministry on Wednesday night how does that help the down syndrome kid that shows up on Sunday morning? Everyone means everyone.

I don't mean to dwell on the negative. I am trying to understand the attitude of the church. The church was on the forefront of the revolutionary war, the abolitionist movement, and the civil rights movement. The church has been a force for positive change. Many churches have been standing up for all of God's children. Many have not. I'm not complaining. I love answering God's call and doing what I'm doing. I just don't understand all the push back.

Throughout the Gospel Jesus spends a great deal of time helping the disabled. He teaches us to protect children and help those in need.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."(Mat 5:7)

I know money is tight and  churches are busy with all sorts of important stuff. There are an estimated 4 million kids in America with special needs and an estimated 95% of them are unchurched. This is also important.

Thank you to the churches moving ahead with disability ministry.

Thank you, once again, to the many friends who take the time to read this. Please sign up for the blog so you can comment. Your feedback will be heartening and encouraging.

In His blessed name,

Andrew

Update One

Dear Friends,
Thank you for your intest in the ministry and the blog!  The new effort was kicked off on September 1st and it has been an exciting time.

The ultimate goal of the ministry is to help persons with disabilities and their families go to church.  At this point, most churches do little or nothing for this underserved population.  The rising rates of autism and related disabilites makes this population difficult to ignore, but it is happening all too often.  There are a few examples of good work being done, but these are the exceptions, not the rule.  It is our belief that this is not intentional on the church's part, but rather a lack of knowing WHAT to do to help.

We are in the process of offering help to the church.  We are contacting them by letter and phone.  So far, we have been encouraged that some churches are very interested in hearing more!  Though we have had disappointments when churches simply say no.  I can't figure out how some church leaders can say no to a disabled child and their family--especially when many have said that they have one or more families in their CURRENT congregation dealing with disability.  Yet they have no ministry for these families.  And they want no ministry for these families. To be honest, it breaks my heart. 

Right now, I am focused on churches who say, "YES!"  We are excited and praying for these families.  Please continue to pray for us, the church body and the church leadership. 

I would love to get your response to this post.  Please add comments below.

Peace and Love,
Andrew

Holland

This is a re-post of a great story written by Emily Perl Kingsley.  Thanks for posting this on your FB, Sonya! 

Welcome To Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley


When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy.  You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum.  The Michelangelo David.  The gondolas in Venice.  You may learn some handy phrases in Italian.  It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives.  You pack your bags and off you go.  Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy!  I'm supposed to be in Italy.  All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan.  They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease.  It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language.  And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place.  It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy.  But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips.  Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.  And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." 

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever  go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

The Beginning of Autism Disability Ministry

My name is Andrew Palmisano and I have been involved in Autism and Disability teaching/ministry for over 15 years.  Additionally, I am blessed to have an eight year old son who was diagnosed with Autism.

At Deltona Lakes Baptist Church, I have been privileged to work with an extraordinary group of people in developing a full inclusion Autism Disability Ministry called "Two by Two."  We have seen the mighty hand of God use us to positively impact the lives of families through this ministry.

I believe that God has called my family and I to share this ministry model with other churches, beginning in the Central Florida area.  So many families and caregivers are hurting, but there are very few programs in place!  Who better than the church to support them, pray for them and lead them into a closer relationship with Christ?  And isn't this exactly what we are commanded to do as a church? (Hebrews 10 and I Corinthians 12)

We are calling this ministry "Autism Disability Ministry" or "ADM."  We will begin by offering services to churches by way of seminars and consulting to help them start a ministry that fits their current ministry structure.  Our goal is that every church would adopt a form of "Two by Two" inclusion ministry, but we recognize that this may come in stages for some churches.

ADM would also like to expand into helping parents/caregivers directly.  We would like to see a donation program started that would help provide equipment (iPads, iPods, Laptops, etc.), services (therapy, supplements, etc.) and support.

This blog is intended to chronicle the journey of Autism Disability Ministry.   We are asking for help in several ways:
1. Pray for the ministry and the families we hope to reach. Pray for the churches to be open to this under-served mission field.
2. If your church does not have an Autism Disability program, help us get in touch with your church leadership.
3. Donate to ADM.

Please join us on this adventure as we watch God work!