In this week’s episode, Garett shares a follow up story on a message from a previous episode while also discussing how the apostle Paul’s words of encouragement to the church at Philippi should also be a message of encouragement to anyone on the journey to take the hope of Jesus Christ and the love of his church to the special needs community.
Listen Now in Your Favorite Podcast App!
If you like this, you may also like…
073: An Opening for Ministry Through Death’s Door with Garett Wall
048: God’s Plan for My Family and Lifelong Ministry for the Disability Community with Garett Wall
Hey everyone! Welcome to Key Ministry: The Podcast. I’m Garett Wall and I’m your host this week. In today’s conversation, we’ll talk about how God added a new chapter to the message shared in an episode from last month. We’ll also discuss how the apostle Paul’s words of encouragement to the church at Philippi should also be a message of encouragement to all of us who are on this journey to take the hope of Jesus Christ and the love of his church to the special needs community.
I’d like to begin this week with a follow up story connected to Episode 73, which I hosted in October. In that episode, we talked about how God has used death as an open door for my church and the ministry I’m a part of to shepherd families impacted by disability. We focused specifically on the ways God had allowed me to minister to a family first through the loss of their 21-year-old son with special needs about 18 months ago and then again after the unexpected death of the husband and the father of that same family last month.
Just two days after that episode was released in late October, our ministry and our church leaned in close to a wonderful family after the abrupt passing of their five-year-old girl named Arijana. She and her family had been connected to our disabilities ministry for about two years and Ana was adored by pastors and ministry staff, volunteers and so many people in our church. In the days that followed her death, I had the opportunity to join many others in our church to support and love on this family during one of the deepest valleys they would ever face.
I had the honor of speaking at the celebration of life for Ana and though the sadness in the room was heavy, it was an honor for me to echo the words of others in praising the ways God was glorified through her brief life while also reminding the family and everyone in attendance of the eternal hope we have in this life through Jesus Christ. It marked the seventh time in the last three years I’ve spoken at a funeral service or celebration of life for someone connected to our disabilities ministry. And as I said in last month’s episode, I never take the opportunity to honor and celebrate life for granted.
We know that special needs ministry is a lifelong, family ministry where we disciple and shepherd and love our families in the same ways Jesus loves them. If we’re effective in the ways we’re ministering to our families throughout the many seasons of life, then it’s inevitable that we will have those opportunities to minister through death. I’m thankful for that privilege because I know God desires to use all things, including death, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
One of the most encouraging realities that surfaced for me before, during and after the celebration of life for Ana was the significant impact her death had on so many of the volunteers in our ministry. The love they had for her, and the powerful ways God worked through her to bless those volunteers created a substantial void for each of them with her loss. I was reminded of the passion and joy and zeal and love that is exists for so many of our volunteers who selflessly serve the kids, teens, and adults in our ministry week after week. They make our ministry possible because of their faithfulness in discipling and caring for our friends every week.
As we move through this season of thankfulness and celebration for the many ways God pours out his incomparable love on us, I want to say thank you to not only the volunteers, ministry staff, pastors, elders and others at our church for everything they do for all the friends and families in our ministry, but I also want to share a huge thank you to all the elders, deacons, pastors, ministry leaders, volunteers, parents and anyone else advocating for more pathways to Jesus and the church for the special needs community.
We know from the life of Jesus the value and importance he placed on the disability community because Scripture shows us many of the ways Christ invited people impacted by disability into his earthly ministry. Whether you’re a pastor or a parent, a ministry leader or a volunteer, someone with Down syndrome or autism, or any other background, the work you’re doing to advocate and support the movement for your church and other churches to love all people the way Jesus loves them, including and especially those with special needs and disability, has significant eternal impact.
For those of you who have been on this journey for some time, you know that we often don’t see the fruits of our labor as quickly as we’d like. We typically find that pastors and elders and ministry leaders and volunteers don’t always have the same levels of passion and conviction we bring to the conversation. However, the reality for all of us is that we don’t know what we don’t know. In our pursuit to advocate, we devote much of our time to creating awareness, casting vision, discussing theology, and building pathways to sympathy, empathy, and compassion on behalf of our friends and families impacted by disability. And with that ongoing journey, we will most certainly be met at times with discouragement, disappointment, sadness, frustration and even anger.
When I’m faced with those same emotions and feelings in my own journey as a husband, father, and minister, I find encouragement from the words of the apostle Paul in the first chapter of his letter to the Philippians where he writes “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” That message of encouragement from Paul to the early church in Philippi was one of thanksgiving and it set the foundation for his message of inspiration and boldness as they strived to faithfully live out their calling as believers and followers of Christ.
For us today, we can hold tightly to the reality that we’re not alone in this journey but instead we’re partners in the gospel with so many other churches and ministries around the world as we strive to take the hope of Jesus Christ and the love of his church to our friends and families in the special needs community. And as we do that, we can experience the confidence in knowing that God, who began this good work in us, will carry it to completion until the return of Jesus Christ. I pray that God’s promise through his Word will give each of you peace, patience, and perseverance in the days ahead. And like Paul, I thank God every time I remember each of you who are fighting to create pathways into your churches for kids, teens, and adults with disabilities and their families.
Thank you for joining me for this week’s episode of Key Ministry: The Podcast. These are important conversations and I’m thankful for the opportunity to share another voice and another perspective as we journey together on this mission to share the gospel of Jesus with all people. You can find a full transcript of this week’s episode as well as helpful links and show notes at keyministry.org/podcast. Have a blessed day and I look forward to our next conversation soon.
