{"id":991,"date":"2016-11-14T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T15:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=991"},"modified":"2016-09-30T20:10:43","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T20:10:43","slug":"special-needs-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2016\/11\/14\/special-needs-ministry\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Special Needs Ministry?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Loving<\/a>During the past several years we have had the opportunity to share with IPHC churches about a ministry that is near and dear to our hearts: Loving H.A.N.D.S<\/a>. This is respite ministry offers \u201cHope-Acceptance-iNclusion-Dignity-Support\u201d for families who have a loved one with \u201cspecial needs.\u201d One Friday night a month, the family at Bethel Life<\/a> transforms the church into a place of fun and activity for three hours, allowing family members and caregivers an evening to enjoy any way they like. We love and care for these very special individuals offering games, activities, music, snacks, face painting, a hair and nail salon, and a night with a buddy filled with love and attention. In addition to the monthly respite, we also extend to the families an opportunity to attend a weekend worship service where their special needs loved one will be assigned a \u201cLoving Angel.\u201d The Loving Angel joins their special needs guest in worship while their families are then free to enjoy worship without worry or fear of being accepted or of being a distraction. That\u2019s more of the \u201cWhat\u201d Loving H.A.N.D.S. is as a ministry. What I would like to spend a little more time on in this article is the \u201cWhy\u201d we do \u201cspecial needs\u201d ministry at Bethel Life.<\/p>\n

For Denise and I, it is personal. You see, we have a son, Jason, who is now 33 years old and was born special needs. Jason has a condition known as \u201cAngelman Syndrome\u201d and functions at the level of about a 2-year-old child. Jason is non-verbal and does not sign, but chooses to communicate through an infectious smile, eyes that exude love and acceptance, and a hug that will melt your heart. I often say Jason is the closest thing to Jesus I have met on this earth. Although he is far from perfect, lacks patience when his mother is fixing pancakes and self-control when eating McDonald\u2019s french fries, his love for others is truly unconditional. He does not know the emotion of anger and can brighten your day without uttering a word. He is our inspiration for Loving H.A.N.D.S.<\/p>\n

We strongly believe God doesn\u2019t make mistakes and there is a purpose in everything. The ministry focus and heart of Bethel Life has been to meet people at their deepest need, and having a personal experience with a special needs child, we understand the need for support, love, and acceptance. We couldn\u2019t have a more loving and caring church family than what we have at Bethel Life. That is why we have a focus on a special needs ministry. We have been blessed with Jason, and from this place of blessing, we desire to extend the same love and support to our community.<\/p>\n

I encourage you to prayerfully consider how the Holy Spirit might direct you to open your doors and your hearts to some of the most special people in the whole world and watch them change your life. If you would like to know more about special needs ministry, please contact us<\/a>. We would love to come share with you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Pastor Kent Bell<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Originally published in Hope Magazine<\/a>. Reprinted with permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,284],"tags":[180,283,205,323,347,322,280],"class_list":{"0":"post-991","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-phpp","9":"tag-180","10":"tag-kent-bell","11":"tag-november","12":"tag-people-of-promise","13":"tag-phpp","14":"tag-place-of-hope","15":"tag-special-needs","16":"entry"},"title_es":"\u00bfPor Necesidades Especiales Ministerio?","content_es":"\"Manos<\/a> Durante los \u00faltimos a\u00f1os hemos tenido la oportunidad de compartir con las iglesias IISP sobre un ministerio que es cercano y querido a nuestros corazones: manos amorosas<\/a> . Este es el ministerio de relevo ofrece "Esperanza-Aceptaci\u00f3n-Inclusi\u00f3n-Dignidad-Apoyo" para las familias que tienen un ser querido con "necesidades especiales". Un viernes por la noche al mes, la familia en Bethel Vida<\/a> transforma la iglesia en un lugar de diversi\u00f3n y actividad durante tres horas, permitiendo que los miembros de la familia y cuidadores la noche para disfrutar de la forma que deseen. Nos encanta y cuidar a estos individuos muy especiales que ofrecen juegos, actividades, m\u00fasica, aperitivos, pintura de caras, servicio de peluquer\u00eda y u\u00f1as, y una noche con un compa\u00f1ero lleno de amor y atenci\u00f3n. Adem\u00e1s del relevo mensual, que tambi\u00e9n se extienden a las familias la oportunidad de asistir a un servicio de adoraci\u00f3n de fin de semana, donde sus necesidades especiales amaban se le asignar\u00e1 un "\u00c1ngel Amoroso." El \u00c1ngel Amoroso se une a sus hu\u00e9spedes con necesidades especiales en el culto, mientras que sus familias entonces libre para disfrutar de culto sin la preocupaci\u00f3n o el miedo a ser aceptado o de ser una distracci\u00f3n. Eso es m\u00e1s de los "qu\u00e9" Amar a manos es como un ministerio. Lo que me gustar\u00eda pasar un poco m\u00e1s tiempo en este art\u00edculo es el "por qu\u00e9" hacemos ministerio "necesidades especiales" en Bet-Vida. Por Denise y yo, es personal. Usted ver, tenemos un hijo, Jason, que es ahora de 33 a\u00f1os de edad y naci\u00f3 necesidades especiales. Jason tiene una condici\u00f3n conocida como "s\u00edndrome de Angelman" y las funciones en el nivel de alrededor de un ni\u00f1o de 2 a\u00f1os de edad. Jason es no verbal y no firma, sino que elige para comunicarse a trav\u00e9s de una contagiosa sonrisa, ojos que irradian amor y aceptaci\u00f3n, y un abrazo que derretir\u00e1 tu coraz\u00f3n. A menudo digo Jason es lo m\u00e1s parecido a Jes\u00fas que he conocido en esta tierra. A pesar de que est\u00e1 lejos de ser perfecto, carece de la paciencia cuando su madre es la fijaci\u00f3n de panqueques y el autocontrol al comer papas fritas de McDonald, su amor por los dem\u00e1s es verdaderamente incondicional. \u00c9l no sabe la emoci\u00f3n de la ira y puede aclarar su d\u00eda sin pronunciar una palabra. \u00c9l es nuestra inspiraci\u00f3n para manos amorosas Creemos firmemente que Dios no comete errores y hay un prop\u00f3sito en todo. El enfoque del ministerio y el coraz\u00f3n de Bet-vida ha sido conocer a las personas en su necesidad m\u00e1s profunda, y que tiene una experiencia personal con un ni\u00f1o con necesidades especiales, entendemos la necesidad de apoyo, el amor y la aceptaci\u00f3n. No podr\u00edamos tener una familia de la iglesia m\u00e1s cari\u00f1oso y atento a lo que tenemos en Bet-Vida. Es por eso que tenemos un enfoque en un ministerio con necesidades especiales. Hemos sido bendecidos con Jason, y desde este lugar de bendici\u00f3n, que el deseo de extender el mismo amor y el apoyo de nuestra comunidad. Os animo a considerar en oraci\u00f3n c\u00f3mo el Esp\u00edritu Santo puede dirigir que abran sus puertas y sus corazones a algunas de las personas m\u00e1s especiales en todo el mundo y ver a cambiar su vida. Si desea saber m\u00e1s acerca del ministerio de necesidades especiales, por favor, p\u00f3ngase en contacto con nosotros<\/a> . Nos encantar\u00eda compartir con ustedes. Por Pastor Kent Campana<\/strong> Publicado originalmente en la esperanza Revista<\/a> . Reproducido con permiso.","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/09\/Loving-Hands1--e1472759646676.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-fZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}