Nine of the eleven from Chattanooga who attended the Accessible Kingdom 2014 Conference in Birmingham, Alabama. Pictured with Stephanie Hubach, author of Same Lake, Different Boat.
Such a blessed weekend…I can write words, but I can’t adequately describe it. Worship with brothers and sisters in Christ. Training alongside ministry partners. Networking with peers. Learning from mentors. Solidifying old friendships. Making new friends. Sharing deepest hurts. Celebrating greatest victories. Sorting out accessibility disasters. Brainstorming strategies and solutions for the future. Praying for churches, special needs ministries, and each other. Tears. Laughter. Making memories to last a lifetime…these are the things of which the best road trips are made.
A team of eleven involved in some way in Special Needs Ministry in eight different churches in the Chattanooga metro area attended the Accessible Kingdom Conference together in Birmingham on November 7th and 8th. The Conference was a collaboration between the Presbyterian Churches of America’s Ministries To North America Special Needs Ministry and Joni & Friends/Jackson. It was an amazing opportunity for many of them to meet Stephanie Hubach, whose book Same Lake Different Boat was instrumental in their call to or increased passion for special needs ministry. The team also got to hear from Emily Colson, author of Dancing with Max, and Barb Newman, author of Autism & Your Church. They met new friends, strengthened ties among themselves, and learned practical applications for their own ministries. Some attended tracks on Education, while others attended workshops on Family, Church, or Professional topics.
Each left with encouragement and tools, equipped to continue praying and working together to make the Gospel – the Good News of the coming of the Kingdom – accessible to all, in word and deed.
Watch the website in the coming weeks for links to all of the many resources that we discovered at the conference!
