Georgia Avenue Baptist Church

Welcoming People with Disabilities and their Families in Churches or Worship Places

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The vision of The Disability Ministry

The vision of the Disability Ministry is to network with other organizations and churches and develop strategies. We raise awareness to meet the spiritual needs of the people with disabilities' community, provide training to church members including people with disabilities, work with our community to offer services so that people with disabilities and their families can be effectively included in the life of the Body of Christ, his Church, as it is written in:

Ephesians 4:11-13: "11-It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12-To prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13-Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of god and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

Who is Disabled?

The Disability Ministry defines persons with disabilities as any individuals whose temporary or permanent emotional, financial, mental, physical, social, and spiritual conditions prevent from performing basic daily tasks or from fully participating in society. The body of Christ should welcome every one of them.

Why A Disability Ministry

Our Savior, Jesus spent much of His time on earth, ministering to those who were emotionally, physically, socially, spiritually, and financially exhausted and shunned by society. God wants all his children to be saved, and Jesus instructed His disciples to spread the Good News, as it is written in?Matthew 28:1: "19-Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit".?

Isaiah 42:19: "Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the Lord?"

Luke 4:18: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed."

Luke 7:22: "So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind received sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor."

1. For in the image of God has God made man? God created the disabled and the non-disabled and love all his children, as it is written in:

Genesis 1:26-27: "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female he created them."

Exodus 4:11: "The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?"

Isaiah 42:16: "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

2. Persons with disabilities are an integral part of the Body of Christ, his Church, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 12:12-30:?

"12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body?whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free?and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the Church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues]? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire the?greater gifts."

3. That all may worship God. Many people with disabilities and their families desire to be included in the Church. God is compassionate and instructs us to love one another, as it is written in:

Matthew 9:12-13: "On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Matthew 9:35-38: "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Matthew 15:30-32: "Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking; the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel. 32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."?

Luke 14:12-14:?
"Then Jesus said to his host, "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. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Luke 14:21-24:?
"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. 22 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "

Hebrews 12:12-13:?
"12-Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13-Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."

You Can Help Others by Donating and Through Our Fundraisers

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