When God first calls me to something new, I often respond with reticence. Who am I that God would use me? What do I have to say over someone else? There are plenty of other people more polished, more talented, and more faithful than I am. Yet, God still calls me to do His work.
As I slowly begin to step out in faith, God quickly gives me success. He knows I need some early wins to gain momentum. The overwhelmingly positive responses to the launch of my blog and each subsequent post gave me confidence. God has given me a voice that resonates with people. It’s both completely authentic to who I am, but also very much inspired by Him. Sometimes I’ll look back at previous posts and marvel at the fact that those words were typed by my fingers.
In the same way, I was reticent to begin a “disability ministry” at River West. God was stirring my heart for people with disabilities in our church and in our city. Still, I had no idea where to begin. So I put that on the “someday” shelf in the back of my mind and carried on with everyday life. Then, out of nowhere, the Women’s Pastor at River West (someone I also call “mom”) introduced me to a woman named Kameo.
Like me, Kameo had developed a heart for people with disabilities, as well. And I imagine Lyla had something to do with that. As I mentioned in my last post, Lyla is the director of the Portland chapter of Joni and Friends. Kameo’s heart for the disabled community, and Lyla in particular, inspired her to partner with Lyla in her work. This, of course, led to the Joni and Friends event at River West where I had the privilege of meeting Joni Eareckson Tada.
The day of the Joni and Friends event was a tumultuous one. In my rush to get to work in the morning, I mistakenly had regular milk with my cereal instead of almond milk. That means I had a nearly debilitating stomach ache for the rest of the day. I’m assuming most people would sit on the toilet for a bit and be fine. There’s really only one toilet in the world with the equipment I need to use it and that’s the one attached to my bedroom. So I just had to hang in there until I got home at the end of the day. Unfortunately, I had a doctor’s appointment at OHSU right before the Joni and Friends event so I wouldn’t make it home until almost 9.
Sweating slightly and trying a hide a grimace, I rolled into the Student Ministry room at River West. After meeting several different people involved with Joni and Friends, Lyla introduced me to Joni herself. I don’t really remember much of what we talked about at first. Then she asked me what a disability group at River West might look like.
In a Spirit-fueled burst of eloquence (a rare occurrence), I was able to articulate my vision. I said that often groups for people with disabilities become negative as people commiserate with each other about all the obstacles and problems they face. I wanted this group to be encouraging and inspiring. It would be a place where people with disabilities could share how God has strengthened them and given them victory in the face of great hardship and physical weakness. During this part of our conversation, Joni looked knowingly at her husband Ken several times. Although I didn’t realize it in the moment, I was describing the exact kind of group she envisioned for people with disabilities.
My brief conversation with Joni didn’t change everything. What did happened later in the evening. Once the inspiring speeches and riveting video were over and things were coming to a close, Joni pointed to me. As if passing a baton of leadership, she told the crowd, ‘If you want to get involved with disability ministry at River West, Adam’s your man.’ At that moment I finally realized that God is truly building a ministry for people with disabilities at River West and He’s calling me to lead it.
So what does this ministry for people with disabilities at River West look like? Come back next week for Bridging the (Disability) Gap Part 3 to find out!