For ten years, I taught children with moderate and severe disabilities in the public schools. I adored my students! They were some of my favorite people that I knew. And during those years, I learned more Christ-like qualities from them than I could have learned in a life-time without them.

It was also during those years, that I became aware of an interesting and disturbing fact. With the dozens of families that I knew, only a fraction ever attended any type of worship service. With the few who did attend, it was nearly always the case that one parent attended while the other stayed home with the child. Though disturbed by this observation, I didn’t know quite what to do about it. Unfortunately years went by and I did nothing. Like is so often the case, we get busy with our own lives, children, and jobs that we forget those who are invisible to us in our communities.

Then a few years ago, thoughts of how to include children with disabilities and their families came back to mind. I saw an article on my Facebook page of a denominational group who had a VBS just for these kids. That piqued my interest, so I began researching what others were doing and discovered a disturbing statistic. I read that 80% of families with a child who has a disability were not attending any type of worship service. Reasons given included:

• My child is not welcomed in any of the children’s activities.
• When I took my child to Bible class, he was wheeled to the corner and sat there until I picked him up.
• It’s not worth it. My child cannot handle the sensory overload.
• When my child is loud, people stare at us and shake their heads.
• I asked the leadership if we could find someone to help my child during Bible class, but I was told that they were not responsible to find me babysitters.

Doesn’t that break your heart?  I couldn’t help but think, “What if that were my child?” It can be easy to ignore these individuals. It is hard work. It can be messy. It can be costly. It can be disruptive to our routines. But as Christians, how can we let these things dictate our response to those in need? Christ certainly didn’t mind messy, disruptive people in His life. In fact Jesus said in Luke 14:12-14 “when you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives or your rich neighbors;  if you do, they may invite you back and so ­­you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor , the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The Karns church of Christ wanted to become a light to those people  in our community affected by disabilities, so we began the “Forever His” program in 2015. Each spring and fall, a large number of volunteers from the church come together to host guests for a day where every activity is geared just for them! Each participant has 1-2 buddies who spend the entire day encouraging full participation in the activities and tending to the physical needs of the guest. Included in our volunteers are several physicians/PA’s, registered nurses, therapists (OT, PT, SLP’s) and a host of excited and good-hearted volunteers! We typically have over 50 guests from 2 years old through adults who spend a fabulous day with us! Activities include songs & puppets, a sensory based Bible story room, games, crafts, scavenger hunt, outdoor activities, live animals, and a bounce house.

You may be asking, “What is different about this day from a typical VBS or day camp?” Those with disabilities should definitely be included in our regular Bible programs. With modifications and assistance, most children can integrate into regular programs. However for this day, we wanted the person with a disability to be the focus of our attention and for the program to be accessible for every guest. We consider many factors for our camp that are not needed with typical kids and adults. We want to accommodate those with medical issues such as seizures, feeding tubes, catheters, and other health concerns. We consider the physical needs of those who are older, but still wear diapers, those who need assistance with mobility, feeding, or other physical needs. We want to be sensitive to those with extreme sensory issues. We are always mindful of the safety of those who have no fear or safety awareness.  We want to fully include those with limited communication skills. So you see, there are many more considerations for a day camp than a program for typical children and adults.

While volunteers come believing their service will bless our guests, they come away realizing that those same guests will bless their lives more than they could have imagined! Our guests let us truly see Jesus and understand Him and His love in a whole new light!