Capernaum & The Church Part I

Christen Morrow de Ara is hosting monthly calls for us to continue to discuss what it looks like for Capernaum and the church to come together.  Below are the notes from the first call.  You don't want to miss these!

We are so excited to be talking about how Young Life Capernaum can work with the Church. As a mission, Young Life has been transformed by our friends with disabilities. Since Nick Palermo began bringing friends with disabilities to Young Life clubs and camps almost 30 years ago, we have seen God at work refining and changing us as a mission to be more compassionate, sensitive, joyful, alive, and a more complete expression of the body of Christ. We want to share our friends with the Church. We want to see the body of Christ in our country and around the world be as blessed, enriched, and transformed by our friends as we have been in the mission of Young Life. We believe that our friends have gifts and abilities that are missing in the Church and that we are incomplete without them! I Corinthians 12 speaks of the body and the need for every part in all its diversity of ability and expression.  We also recognize alongside the gifts and life our friends bring, that they have a need for belonging. As our friends grow and their parents age, many transitions and changes in their lives will shift what the word family means for them. We believe that the church is the place where our friends can belong for a lifetime; belonging that outlasts life stages is one of the greatest gifts for our friends.  We also recognize the great need that our friends’ families have to be welcomed in the Church and to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Lastly, but no less important, as a mission, we are committed “introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. We accomplish our mission by ... encouraging kids to live connected to the Body of Christ by being an active member of a local congregation.” (from the Young Life mission statement). At the core of who we are as a mission is the desire to see our friends connected to local churches for life.

The process of connecting our friends to the Church is really similar to how we pursue kids in contact work. It all begins with our heart and posture. We need to know who we are as Young Life Capernaum: we are one very specialized branch of a huge tree that is the body of Christ, or the thumb and pointer finger of the body whose function is specific to pursuing friends with disabilities and sharing the gospel with them. We aren’t any more important than any other ministry or piece of the body of Christ. We come to the church passionate about the piece we do, willing to offer training or to cast vision. We also bring others to the table—local ministries reaching kids, adolescents, and adults with disabilities can be great resources.  We may also bring contacts with Key Ministry, Joni and Friends, and local chapters of Friendship Ministries into the conversation.  As we bring others to the table and bring our friends along, highlight their value and place in the body, we will earn the right to be heard. Our friends’ lives, testimonies and stories will make their way into peoples’ hearts!

I want to call us to be those who recognize the larger mission of the Church. We want to be those who cast a vision. However, we do not need to drive an agenda.  The warning below shared by Dr. Steve Grcevich should be our posture as we approach churches. “We need to pursue relationships with senior pastors and executive pastors of churches that aren’t intentionally pursuing any strategy to connect with families impacted by disabilities…, seeking first to understand their perspectives before expecting them to understand ours. All too often, we in the disability ministry movement stick together in our “holy huddles”, indignant at churches who don’t share the same passions as us without taking the time to appreciate their call, or the priorities that they juggle on a daily basis. We can’t find common ground with our brothers and sisters in leadership until we first take the time understand the church cultures in which they serve, and consider models of outreach and inclusion that will work within the context of their church culture.” (Dr. Steve Grcevich Church4EveryChild blog 8/18/13)  We must avoid the frustration or indignation toward what churches are not doing. It will only lead to burn out!

Lastly, and most importantly, we have to recognize that this diversity of the body and belonging for everyone is God’s design, desire, and mission. We join Him in that by praying for it and watching. Watch, listen, and ask around your community. God is already at work, I guarantee it. He has already thought of places for our friends to belong. As we pray towards that end, invite others to pray with us, and cast vision. We will see Him move. I cannot give a formula for what it will look like. In some cities, we’ve found people have been praying in their church for 8 years for a place for their family members with disability and Capernaum bridged the gap. In other cities, we discover churches and pastors who have a vision but don’t know our friends with disabilities. In other places, churches have been willing to create space for our friends, one at a time or by transitioning an entire group of our friends into small groups that are already happening around the community. Regardless, we join God in the work He already has dreamed up, so lets keep our eyes open!

As you dream about how Capernaum and the Church can work together in your community, tune in. We will be sharing models from around the country and practical tips for approaching churches. Christen Morrow-Ara, our transition specialist is always available to chat through ideas and challenges, pray with you and dream with you.  In the meantime, here is a great PDF of ideas for how the Church and Capernaum can mutually bless one another’s ministries!

Next Capernaum & the Church Call: Wednesday March 25^th at 10am PST. Email Christen Morrow-Ara for call-in information