Capernaum and the Church Part III

Clint Dowda joined us to share one more model of how the Church and Capernaum can work together specifically to serve our older friends as they grow beyond the Capernaum age. As a pastor and a Capernaum leader for several years, Clint has a unique perspective and passion to see his friends transitioned into the life of the church as well as to maintain fellowship and friendship with one another!

Clint shared with us the process they walked through as they saw a need for their friends to have a place of belonging and also a place to serve beyond their Capernaum years as they grew older. Naturally, his church was a fit for some of those friends.  They began with a Sunday morning Capernaum Campaigners group as an introduction to discipleship in their local church, which over the years has become a Sunday school class for friends with intellectual disabilities. As friends have gone on to become a part of the church at every level, many are involved in various levels of service; in the call to worship, Scripture reading, set up and greeting, etc.

The Friends for Life leadership team came together to form a 501c3 that would provide an monthly ‘adult club’ fellowship & Bible study experience formatted similarly to a Capernaum club, yet with more mature activities and discipleship content for their friends. The leadership team is made of up parents of older friends, a few Capernaum leaders who chose to graduate with their friends, and even people from other churches… representing many churches in their city. A Friends for Life leader even sits on the metro Capernaum Young Life Committee to ensure that there is a smooth transition for those graduating from Capernaum. 

What is so unique about Friends for Life is that they also formed a network and invited other local churches who hold to the mission of Friends for Life and are working in their local church body and community to be a part of the vision. Friends for Life churches commit to:

‘By holding fast to the biblical principal that all human beings have value and dignity because we are created in the image of God, we aim to become a church that ministers TO and ALONGSIDE people with differing abilities out of our deep understanding of our common need for grace.’

Friends for Life churches are committed to the following:

·      Work to support, love and integrate friends with disabilities (all ages but especially our adult age friends) and their families into their church both on Sunday mornings and other gatherings of the church community.

·      Provide and support a church member to be a part of the larger FFL leadership team

·      Sponsor two yearly events that are designed both to serve as valuable experiences for our friends but also as ongoing links to FFL churches bodies.

We love the model of creating a network of Churches where our friends can choose the church they will worship at… meaning that the denomination they are most comfortable with or the church they live closest to would be an option! What a wonderful way to impact the whole community and Body of Christ by sharing our friends and helping Churches prepare to welcome them. 

One of the cautions from Clint’s heart  to ours is a reminder that our ultimate goal is to see our friends become a part of a Church, fully integrated and welcomed, affecting not just them, but their families. We, like Clint LOVE an adult “Friends for Life” club, but we love even more when our friends also become deeply involved in Church life… men’s retreats, women’s teas, serving with worship teams or children’s ministry or Sunday School studies, even becoming members who are cared for like anyone else in their Church!

Check out this link to see a video about Friends for Life:

http://vimeo.com/92112105

Check out this diagram that shows where Friends for Life and Capernaum intersect…