SPECIALNEEDSAWARENESS
April2016
SabbathSchoolProgram
ALLAREGIFTED,NEEDEDANDTREASURED
LARRYEVANS
PerhapsyourememberthedaysinSabbathSchoolwhenyousangthefollowingwords:
Obecareful,littleeyes,whatyousee,
Obecareful,littleeyes,whatyousee,
FortheFatherupaboveislookingdowninlove,
Obecareful,littleeyes,whatyousee.
Otherversesadmonishtheearstobecarefulwhattheyhear,feettobecarefulwheretheygo,and
tonguestobecarefulwhattheysay.Itiseasytosingthesewordswithoutpausingtothinkwhata
privilegeitistohaveuseofoureyes,ears,feet,andtohavetheabilitytospeak,butthatisn’tthe
caseforeveryone.
ThisSabbaththeemphasisisaboutministryforthosewithspecialneeds,sometimesreferredto
asministryforthosewithdisabilities.However,itisalsoatimetothinkabouthowaministry
withthosewhohavespecialneedsmightbeincludedintheactivitiesofthechurchatalllevels.
Thosewithdisabilitiesalsohaveadesiretobeinvolvedwithministryforothersandnotjustbe
thereceivers.Inthiscontext,theSabbathSchoolsongcouldhaveanevenbroader
understanding:dobecarefultoseewhatGodsees,hearwhatGodhears,andgowhereGodgoes.
Setyourmindonthingsabove.Inotherwords,wemustallowtheCreatorofalltoshowushowto
see,howtounderstand,andhowtowalkwiththosewhosedisabilitiesatfirstmayseemlimiting.
Insteadofviewingthemforwhattheycannotdo,wecanseethemasbeingcreatedintheimageof
God—filledwithpossibilities.Recognizingthisisareminderthatallareinvitedtobeministers
andnotjusttobeministeredto.Specialneedsministriesareareminderthat“TotalMember
Involvement”excludesnoone.Allaregifted,needed,andtreasured!
Aftergivingabriefintroductiontothetopicsuchastheoneabove,consideroneormoreof
thefollowinglearningactivities.
• Discussthefollowing:If27ofthe35recordedmiraclesofJesustouchedsomeonewith
specialneeds,doyoufeelthatspecialneedsministriesshouldbepartofthechurch’s
ministryjustpriortoHisSecondComing?
• ConsiderthepersonalimplicationsofthefollowingstatementbyEllenWhite,“Isawthatit
isintheprovidenceofGodthatwidowsandorphans,theblind,thedeaf,thelame,and
personsafflictedinavarietyofways,havebeenplacedincloseChristianrelationshiptoHis
church;itistoproveHispeopleanddeveloptheirtruecharacter.AngelsofGodare
watchingtoseehowwetreatthesepersonswhoneedoursympathy,love,and
disinterestedbenevolence.ThisisGod’stestofourcharacter”(Vol.3,Testimoniestothe
Church,p.511).Howwouldthisbeatestofourcharacterasindividualsandasalocal
church?
•
InviteapersonwithdisabilitiestospeaktoyourSabbathSchool.Theycandiscussthe
difficultiesandtriumphsoftheirlives,theuniqueobstaclesthattheymayencounteras
theygoabouttheirday,andhowtheywanttobetreated.Forexample,whenishelp
welcomeandwhenisitnot?Arethereparticulartermsthatareoffensivewhenusedabout
theirdisability?