Elaina Marchenko sits down to interview Larah Roberts, the new Operations Director here at Key Ministry. Larah shares her heart for disability ministry, and her experience as a Special Needs mom.
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Elaina Marchenko: Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us again with Key Ministry, the podcast. I'm really excited today to be interviewing Larah Roberts. Larah like Sarah, she always says, and so we have some exciting news. Lara is the new Operations Director at Key Ministry. She just joined our staff and we're really excited. We think she'll be a really great addition to the team and the ministry and I'm sure you guys will love her as much as we already do. But today I thought it was a good opportunity to do a little bit of an interview with her and get to know her better. Honestly, for my sake too, I'd love to just know more about her life and see what drew her to Key Ministry, disability ministry and everything in between. So I'm really excited and I think you guys will really enjoy this episode. So the first thing I want to ask is pretty basic. I just want to tell us more about yourself, your family, your life, hobbies, if you want, as much as you want to get into, but we'd love to just hear from you.
Larah Roberts: Awesome. Thank you Elaina. It's so good to be here. It's so amazing just to be a part of the Key Ministry team. I'm super excited about what the Lord has in store. Yeah, Larah like Sarah, thank you for that, Elaina. Of course I answered a Laura because that's been all my life too, but I do, my name is Larah, my mom got that from those of you who've watched the TV show Gun Smoke. So if you're wondering, my mom got my name from Gun Smoke, and so I've been told that there was a character named Ms. Kitty on there, so she chose Larah. So there you go. But yeah, so I was born and raised in Louisiana and now living in North Carolina. I met my husband Colin, he's my college sweetheart. We met at Louisiana Tech University, go Dogs! And been married for 16 years now and we have three kiddos.
Addie is our seventh grade cheerleader and that's been fun. And then Graham is eight, Levi is six. And so we just are always, it's a fun, noisy, high energy type of home, but we love it. Our kiddos are fantastic and they're a blessing from the Lord. And so yeah, I grew up, like I said in Louisiana and I placed my faith in Jesus when I was six years old and ever since, been growing with him, had amazing high school and college brothers and sisters, mentors in the faith who discipled me to know and love God forever and I'm super grateful for that. Then like I said, met my husband in college and for the past 15 years we've just really been in church ministry setting. So I've served as a children's minister as well as different roles and communications and development and operations. And so grateful to the that he's equipped me in those areas.
I've also owned my own business of web and graphic design and we're able to serve many churches across the world honestly and grateful to the Lord, to be able to meet a lot of folks and learn and craft the skills of web and graphic design and communications in terms of helping the gospel be communicated clearly in churches and in nonprofits and things like that. And so the Lord has definitely marked my steps as far as career to this point. But in terms of disability ministry, it's something that I have walked with the Lord not knowing that I was in disability ministry for a while. Now, our son, Graham, who's our middle son, was diagnosed with autism about five years ago. And so it was at that point, I didn't know it then, but I know it now kind of thing that we entered the world of disability ministry.
But honestly, the Lord has shown me over the past few months that I was in disability ministry a long, long time ago in terms of just going through some things in my younger life and then navigating different mental health issues, honestly. My parents were divorced growing up. And so that ushered me into some things as far as navigating the world of how do you make sense of this as a high school student and going into college and things like that. So the Lord has been gracious and kind and faithful to me to help me understand how he can use that for his glory. And so understanding that everything that happens to us, he is redeeming it for his glory if we step by faith into that. And so when we received Graham's diagnosis, we didn't know what to do. We had nobody in our circle who had an autistic kid.
We had nobody in our circle, honestly, Elaina, that had a child with a disability. And really other than my grandparents and aging and seeing them go be with the Lord, I had not been in the world of hardship in a way that autism brought us into, meaning how do we navigate this world in a kid that we really don't understand? And so basically after Graham's diagnosis, we began probably like many parents listening, what I say, fear questions started to rise up in our hearts. Will he ever graduate college? Will he live with us forever? Will he ever be potty trained? Please, Lord Jesus, I claim that yes and Amen. What happens when we're gone?
So all these fear questions started to raise up in our mind and our hearts. And so we were sitting on the back deck right after diagnosis, and I was looking at Colin, we were having a conversation and although these questions we were asking back and forth to each other and to different people, but then all of a sudden it was like this light bulb went off and it was like, oh, wait a second. Hold on. We believe in Jesus. We follow Jesus. We've been believers in Christ since we were young. What about the question, will Graham ever know and love God? And that kind of washed over us of like, okay, we can ask all these other questions are yes, I mean they're normal questions to ask, but wait a second. There's this other dynamic that means a whole lot more to us than any other question that we get asked.
Will Graham ever be saved and know God? We began this journey of understanding, how do you disciple an autistic kid? And we've been on that journey for five years. We are learning a lot. We're still learning. We'll never stop learning, but we've come to understand and friends and parents have asked us different questions, how do you do this? Is this even possible? And we say with a resounding yes. Yes, it is possible that our kids with disabilities can know and love God forever, but we are called as parents to proclaim the gospel every day. So that's a little bit about how both my career and disability ministry kind of me, and that's just God's goodness and grace of how he marks our steps toward things and prepares us and equips us for the tasks and assignments that he has for us, for his glory and our good.
Elaina Marchenko: Yeah, and I think, well, that's a lot. I have two sisters with special needs. So I mean obviously not the parents worry, but they're still similar for your questions that maybe for me it was more of having those questions as I grew up instead of all at once with the diagnosis or something like that. But yeah, I think it just so many people are going to relate to that, and it's such a common journey even though it's really independent as well and really individual. So yeah, thanks for sharing. I think, least I've had those questions.
It's weird. You start with the practical and you think of the milestones in life and then yeah, like you said, the light bulb, hold on. Why does that even matter? What's the actual, and of course it matters, but what's the actual question or what's, like you said, the bigger arc for your kid's life? Or for your sibling's life? And you have to trust that God that made them also wants to know them and that he'll make a way that he can do that and it might look different. And I really like that about your story and about what you share on your Instagram. I just think that's a cool thing. And definitely almost like playing on the strengths of autism, which I think is awesome to disciple someone. I think that's what we do with everyone anyway, so I think it's awesome. Yeah. So I guess I'm curious on the side of Key Ministry, how did you hear about Key Ministry? What stood out to you about us? 'Us' I mean I just joined a year ago, but what stood out about our ministry and what kind of impacts you?
Larah Roberts: Yeah, so as a parent, when you receive a diagnosis and you're also a Christian, there's this other dynamic that comes into play and that's we go to church every Sunday and every Wednesday or every time the doors are open, like my family did growing up. And so you get a diagnosis and you're like, okay, well we have school. And when I say figure it out, I don't mean it's perfect, but I do know that's a dynamic, that's a rhythm in our life. He knows, he goes to school, he knows our family life, he knows our rhythms or things. But then when the two collide of like, okay, how does church factor into this? Because we believe in gathering with the body, we believe in community, we believe in serving. These are things that Colin and I want our kids to not only watch us do, but then enter into their own lives as well.
But the autism diagnosis and autism itself and how our kid behaves and navigates the world, and you mix church into that, it's a different dynamic. It's a challenge. It's both. I use the word "brute-iful" a lot. Let me explain. It's where the beauty and the brutal type of hardships in life collide, right? So church and raising autistic kids or raising kids with a disability, it's a brutal thing. It's where the beauty and the brutal of just trying to figure out how this works, it's where they collide. And so that's when we began asking that question, who can help us to where our family can all worship together in a church setting? Who is equipping the church to do this? Because what we were trying to figure out is who can help us disciple someone we don't understand in our home? And we couldn't find any resources for that. And so that's a different type of thing as far as in-home discipleship. But as we were stepping into the world of disability and knowing that we are believers in Jesus and the church is the hope of the world, and we attend and serve our local church, and actually my husband's on staff at the church, and so we began to...
Elaina Marchenko: I was going to say, and you guys working in ministry!
Larah Roberts: Yeah, absolutely. How does this work? And so I began following every piece of content I could possibly find, and Key Ministry was one of them. And so I know both you and I are probably biased, but from where I'm standing and where I was before I even considered coming on board on the team, Key Ministry is leading the way in terms of equipping the church for disability ministry and inclusion and welcoming what scripture tells us is the 'least of these', those in the shadows. And so that's really how I got connected. I just tried to follow every piece of content on Instagram, Facebook, email, newsletters that I could find and Key Ministry rose to the top in paving the way for equipping churches on how to welcome families like mine. And so that's how I got connected.
Elaina Marchenko: Yeah, yeah. No, that's great. I love that. Yeah, my dad's a pastor and so I obviously don't have the mom stress, but I understand, like we're here all the time. We have to figure something that's right time. But at the same time you're not there every day and that's hard. That's why I think school is a little bit easier. You have that routine and then church is just maybe seems a bit more randomized even though obviously it's the same time every week. So yeah, that's hard.
Larah Roberts: Right.
Elaina Marchenko: What are you most excited about now that you're working with Key? That's an open-ended question, it could be anything!
Larah Roberts: Yeah, absolutely. I'm so excited about so many things. One, I think what the Lord has done by those on the Key team and the board that whom I haven't met many of them, but I know their faces and their names, what a team to work with what just an all-star team. So I'm excited about working with the team at Key. I'm also excited about encouraging those that are not just our Key team, but those that are leading the way in disability ministry. I'm excited about encouraging pastors and ministry leaders and counselors and physicians and those writing about disability ministry, those writing from a perspective of when we put our gospel lenses on, how do we see disability and how can we help the church be equipped? So I'm excited about encouraging them mainly because my prayer right now, and I know Elaina and may talk about this in a second, we have Mental Health and the Church Conference coming in a month.
We'll have Disability and the Church conference coming in the spring next year (Stay tuned for an exact date soon!) I want to encourage those who attend our conferences. Not only are you going to be equipped to take back home to your own churches and your own families, your own community, valuable information and practical application. I want each attendee of our round tables that Beth hosts on Zoom and Idea Share that we offer everyone that looks to Key Ministry to equip them in disability ministry. Here's what one of my favorite New Testament books is Colossians. And so Colossians one is wonderful and rich to us as Paul's writing to this church. And in chapter one, we basically have a template on how to pray for one another in verses 9-14 of how to pray for one another in spiritual growth. But I get to the passage right before that, right before 9-14, and it talks about how this one servant of the Lord named Epaphras who only gets mentioned a couple of times in this book, but we know that the church of Colossae heard the gospel because of Epaphras.
And so that's what Paul tells us, and Paul is writing this letter to the Church of Colossae and he inserts this phrase where it says that the gospel is growing and it is bearing good fruit around the world. What I want us as a Key Ministry team and those of us who attend conferences like Disability and the Church, like Mental Health and the Church, like our round tables and our Zoom gatherings, I want us to encourage one another and celebrate and tell each other that this endeavor that we're all on to help equip the church and the saints to understand that those with disability have a place in our churches is that we can celebrate with each other and say to each other it is bearing good fruit and it is growing. I was just on a call an hour ago where a sister told a story about how a guy from her church who is a image bearer with autism, he's now a believer in Jesus, and she was sharing the story about how he proclaimed to his church, how Christ saved him.
I want, and I love that I get the opportunity as Operations Director to partner and link arms with our Key staff, but also those that are attending our conferences, linking arms with each other so that we can come together and then go out to our churches and then come back together and encourage each other and say, it is bearing good fruit all over the world, meaning our endeavor to help those with disability know and hear the gospel and then equip our churches on how to do that, that we can come together and say it is very good fruit all around the world. So that's what I'm excited about just from a professional standpoint. I love admin, I love communications, I love development, I love operations. I'm just kind of nerdy and geeky like that. So I love a good plan. I love a good spreadsheet, I love strategy and I mean I love strategy!
So on that side of it, I love when a plan comes together. I love what everybody will get to do in the spring and even in a month when we attend Mental Health and the Church is get to see the product per se, of what the team has done for months and months and months. And that's where I get my love is fitting into those months and months before and then seeing what God is doing through the labor of his people to put on conferences that one, glorify his name and will sing and worship and pray and glorify King Jesus, but also being able to plan and strategize all that to get to is where I really love and I'm excited about.
Elaina Marchenko: I love that. Well, we're happy to have you. We're so excited. We have a pretty small team here at Key, so it's always great to add someone else, especially someone who's as passionate as you and has the experience that you have. So I mean speaking for me, but I know from everyone we're just excited.
Larah Roberts: I'm glad you said passionate Elaina. When I was in college, people would say, gosh, Larah's so intense. And then my best friends that knew me, they were like, no, no, it's not intense. She's just passionate. And I'm a little bit.
Elaina Marchenko: I've had that said about me too, so hey, we're in it together.
Larah Roberts: That's right, that's right.
Elaina Marchenko: They're the best people, so it's all good. Yeah. So switching gears a little bit, and obviously my experience of having siblings with special needs, I care a little bit, well, I care about both, but I tend to look more at the family side as well. Just because it affects me so much so personally. And I wanted to ask, what would you say or what advice would you give to somebody who is a special needs parent and maybe they're struggling. I mean, that's pretty broad. It could be at the beginning of the journey, or part way, or I don't even, maybe at the end, I'm not sure, but I know as you are a special needs parent, I'd love to hear from you.
Larah Roberts: Sure, absolutely. I've been asked this question dozens of times, and really my answer is evolving, but the core of my answer stays the same. And the core of that answer is really four things. One, you need to know that no matter what happens today, tomorrow, or 20 years from now, if you are a believer in Jesus, nothing eternal or essential will have changed. So when we received Graham's autism diagnosis, because Colin and I both placed our faith in Jesus when we were younger, and we knew that God holds all things together, we could lean on no matter what happens to us today, tomorrow, or 20 years from now, nothing eternal, which means God will still be God. Nothing essential means our salvation is sealed forever. So yes, we're facing this hard road that comes down to it, but those two things will never change, and that is all the hope that we need to face tomorrow.
So that's what I would tell. The next three things are kind of theological in nature in a sense of what I tell parents. Just had one of my dear friends, like a little sister to me, text me and say, we just got a diagnosis. What do I do? And I told her that one thing I just said, but then I also told her, you're about to step into a world that you are not equipped for because nobody hands you a baby at the hospital, in terms of autism, now nobody hands you, oh, they're autistic. Those symptoms come. Or we say Something's not right. It's not wrong. We just say, you're entering into that point where you're pursuing a diagnosis. Something's not right. You need to live in your Bible. You need to know those two essential things. Nothing essential has changed. God has not changed, nothing eternal, but you need to live in your Bible. And what you need to pursue in terms of communing with the Lord is three things.
One, your theology of suffering. You've got to have a solidified why suffering is happening on this side of eternity. Understanding that part two, you need to have a theology of disability. You need to have a belief and an understanding of why disability is. And the two kind of go together, but understanding that all people are image bearers of the living God, and they all are of value and dignity. They're fearfully and wonderfully made. So you need to have a theology of disability. And the third one is really one that I lean into when I'm talking to a believer in Jesus who is facing a hardship. And that is especially those of us who are raising children and navigating a world that we're having to advocate for them is the role of the Holy Spirit.
Because without the role of the Holy Spirit, I, Elaina have no idea what to do. There is no textbook out there, there is no one. I don't have a earthly guide. I mean, I have friends that are a few steps ahead of me, which I'm so grateful for. But even them, they would tell you even at 20 years old, for their children or even themselves who are autistic individuals, those dealing with disability, they're just one step at a time too. And so there's no textbook for this other than we praise God that he did not leave us to do this alone. He gave us the Holy Spirit who is our guide, our comforter, our helper who convicts us of sin and who is helping parents who will rely on him to make decisions for their child with a disability. And so that is what I was telling is lean in and learn, live in your Bible, learn all you can about how the role of the Holy Spirit impacts a diagnosis or a disability.
Because without him, we don't know what to do I mean and we face, I mean the Holy Spirit is for indwelling every believer upon placing their faith. But for those of us who are entering doctor's offices and getting who I respect from the medical community, but we need the Holy Spirit to tell us, don't do that medication. Let's not do that, or do that medication. We need the Holy Spirit to help us when we enter therapy offices and we don't know what they're talking about or really what our kid needs. We need the role of the Holy Spirit to prompt us in our hearts to say, ah, maybe that's not such a good idea. When we walk into IEP meetings for our school, for our kids' schooling, and we don't really feel like they're listening to us or we're being heard, okay, well, our natural flesh reaction is to get mad and loud, but that's not a representation of Jesus. We need the Holy Spirit to help us control our tongue. So all that to say, Elaina, those are the four things that I approach when a parent tells me, Hey, what do I do?
Elaina Marchenko: Those are so good. I think those are just good for anyone also.
Larah Roberts: Sure, absolutely.
Elaina Marchenko: Especially Special needs parents. I know. I'm encouraged and I think it's important to have someone, a fellow believer remind you of those things. Because even if you know it, it's easy, I mean, it's sad, but it's easy to forget. And so you need people around you reminding you. So thank you. I know that will touch a lot of people. Okay, so lastly, we just want to make sure that we will be seeing you at Mental Health and the Church. Yes, you'll be there?
Larah Roberts: Absolutely.
Elaina Marchenko: Awesome. Okay. Yeah, so I mean, just happy to have you on the team. Excited to see you at Mental Health and the Church 2024. If you haven't heard, that's September 26th through 27th in Cleveland, Ohio. I think it's right outside of Cleveland, but all information is on our website, www.keyministry.org/mhatc2024. So yeah, anyway, we're just happy to have you and excited to see you at the conference, and I know lots of people will be praying for you, and lots of people are praying for ministry and we're praying for them, and so we're just excited.
Larah Roberts: Thank you. I'm so glad to be a part of the team. Praise the Lord for all he's doing.
Elaina Marchenko: Love it. All right, well thanks for chatting with me today.
Larah Roberts: Thanks, Elaina.
