An Open Letter to the Friends of CCFH Ministries:

Pictured above are the first and second presidents of CCFH Ministries.  I was the first and founding president.  Gary Spangler becomes the second president on January 1, 2009.

Today it seems like a long time since 1981. Yet, here we are 27 years from our first planning meeting and we have had some great success. We have built Riverwood Christian Community and operate an independent living program for adults with developmental disabilities. We supply people and churches all over the world with the educational material they need to reach those with disabilities. We partner with churches and individuals to reach out to our friends, brothers and sisters, who have special needs.

Even with our successes, we have not accomplished all we wanted to.  Now with a firm organization in place, we are ready to move to the next phase of this recognized disability ministry. 

So, I have decided to reduce my time to concentrate on developing materials and manage the educational piece of CCFH. All of the other duties will be the responsibility of the second president:  Gary Wayne Spangler.  A long-time member of the board of directors, Gary is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, where he attended the Okolona Christian Church where his father was pastor for 18 years. Gary is currently an elder at the McDonough Christian Church in McDonough, Georgia.  He has over 30 years of experience in the airline industry. Gary and his wife Becky see this venture in their lives as a real ministry.  I am happy for them and excited about the future of CCFH.   By the way, he has a wonderful voice (I don’t like to stand with him in church while we’re singing).

Pray for Gary and for CCFH and this time of transition.

Most sincerely,

Jim Pierson

President

To Our Readers:

There is an old adage that goes if the teacher does not learn from his students, his students have not learned either. In my tenure of teaching college students, I find a lot of truth in the adage. Over the years, I have learned facts, new ways of thinking about a subject, insights and the like from my students.

These days, a special joy I have comes from my distance learning students who are working on the Disability Ministry Certificate through Johnson Bible College near Knoxville, Tennessee.

One of my current students is Sharon Post. She lives in Ripley, New York and is mother to a son with severe congenital hydrocephalus. When he moved to a group home where he receives total care, Sharon returned to college (at age 50). In July, she will receive her bachelors degree. Concurrently, she has worked on the Certificate in Disability Ministry.

One assignment in the first course toward the Certificate requires the student to read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, to note Jesus encounters with people with disabilities, and then to write an essay about His ministry methods with people with disabilities.

Sharon did the assignment in fine style. The last paragraph of the essay, The Ministry of Jesus to People with Disabilities, especially moved me. Sharon’s words remind us to practice doing what Jesus did when ministering with our friends with disabilities. Then she makes a poignant statement. It is important that while, like Jesus, we touch people with disabilities, we must let them touch us.

I pray you will be blessed by my student’s words as they blessed me.

Click to read Sharon’s essay: The_Ministry_of_Jesus_to_People_with_Disabilities.pdf.

Jim Pierson

July, 2008

By Rhonna Sanford, CCFH Director of Services

On Wednesday, April 23, 2008, Riverwood residents participated in Spring Special Olympics. Riverwood residents look forward to this day. Everyone is up and getting ready to go by 7am and the air is filled with excitement. By 8:30am we are on our way to Heritage High School, Maryville, TN, where the event is held.

On arrival we are greeted by volunteers who assist use with getting off the van. We then line up for the “parade of athletes”. As the parade begins, parents, family members, sponsors, volunteers, and staff are lined up on each side of the track. As each athlete passes, they are greeted with pats on back, applause, smiles, whistles, tears and a genuine feeling of true admiration and love. Every year at Special Olympics Hebrews 12:1 comes to my mind: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…” It is much easier to endure the hardships of life when we know there are others who are standing on the side lines, encouraging us. I wish we could all have that feeling everyday.

Each resident participates in two events and receives a medal. We have walkers, runners, softball throwers, and long jumpers. My friend Gib runs in the 50 yard dash every year. We have a routine that we go through every year. Gib says, “Rhonna, I am running in the 50 yard dash.” I say, “I know buddy, you are going to do great!” Gib says, “I am not nervous Rhonna. I am going to run fast like the wind!” I say, “You are fast like the wind! Gib says, “I am going to run TO you Rhonna, not OVER you, right?” I say, “Yes, Gib, run TO me not OVER me!” He then cracks up laughing, and I crack up laughing, and so does anyone else who is within ear shot. Two years ago, Gib ran so fast that he couldn’t stop, and I couldn’t move fast enough. He literally ran me over!

By the end of our day, everyone is exhausted. We have spent this day giving 110%. It has been a GREAT day. When we return to Riverwood, Gib comes into my office and says: “I want to run in the 50 yard dash next year Rhonna.” I say, “I know buddy. I will take care of it.” Gib says, “And, I run TO you Rhonna, not OVER you, right?” I say, “That’s right Gib, TO me not OVER me.” He laughs and I laugh and then he leaves my office. Our day is done.

Special_Olympic_Spring_08_pics_1.pdf

Special_Olympic_Spring_08_pics_2.pdf

Special_Olympic_Spring_08_pics_3.pdf

By Jim Pierson

There are some pretty special people in my life that I couldn’t identify if I saw them. They are my Distance Learning students who are taking disability ministry courses through Johnson Bible College. Recently, at the Summit at McLean Bible Church in Virginia, I saw three of my students, from Pennsylvania, Arizona and Iowa. Now, I can put faces with their names as I grade their work.

At the moment, I am reading lessons from eight students from as many states. They are taking one of four courses: Introduction to Disability Ministry, Survey of Persons with Disabilities, Family Issues in Disability Ministry, and Ministry Strategies for Persons with Disabilities. The Certificate in Disability Ministry is awarded to the student, who takes all of the courses and passes them. Other students are taking a course for self improvement or to learn more about helping people with disabilities.

My students turn out some excellent work. A student from Indiana did an outstanding job on explaining how Jesus ministered to people with disabilities. I have her permission to put it on our Blog eventually. Another student labeled her church to make it easier for the people with autism to get around. For example, in the Sunday school wing, she labeled the doors with the name and a picture of the teacher. Another wonderful idea was making the bulletin available to attendees with autism. Using a popular set of symbols, she gave each section of the morning service an icon that makes it easy for the worshipper to know where he/she is in the service. Her work is in the additional resources section one of the six training modules of CCFH’s Exceptional Teaching Online.

I learn a lot from my students. Through Internet sites, magazine articles, and books they use in their research, I add a lot of resources to my personal bibliography. I discover disability ministries I didn’t know about. They tell me about churches in their areas with outstanding disability ministries. They share ideas that work in the Christian education of persons with disabilities.

Knowing that my students will make a difference in the field of disability ministry is a wonderful encouragement to me.

Readers who are interested in the program, should click the following link http://www.ccfh.org/education/certificate.html for more information. Use Want to enroll? Click here for a link to access the JBC Distance Learning Undergraduate Catalog. The catalog contains complete information on costs and requirements.

With gratitude to God, we remember Jack Ballard for his many contributions to CCFH Ministries and for enriching our lives with his wisdom, encouragement, and sharing of the Gospel. 

Please click below to read the entire message. 

Jack_Ballard_Remembered.pdf

NDS_Chapter_6

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2007 to our friends who use CCFH’s website. We hope that Exceptional Teaching Online is helpful to you in developing a disability ministry. Your disability ministry has eternal meaning because you will be introducing people to Jesus.

Every Christmas especially I remember a wonderful friend of mine, Helen.  She was a special person in my life. Her learning about Jesus encourages me. Her life was exemplary even though communication and ambulation were not two of her better skills. I wrote about her in No Disabled Souls, published by Standard Publishing in 1998, (available through the CCFH On Line Store.) Helen is the subject of chapter 6, “Love, Laughter, Life and Heaven Too!”  Click on the NDS Chapter 6 link above, read the chapter and see why she was special and how her life impacted mine. Then think of a friend of yours whose life would be better with Jesus in it.

“If I knew what to do, I would start a disability ministry in my church.”

“We do not have anyone in our congregation trained in special education to help us begin a Bible school program for children with disabilities.”

“Is there a training program available that would give me the basics for ministering to people with disabilities and their families through my church?”

Have you made a similar statement? Are you looking for training in disability ministry? If so, help is available!

CCFH Ministries, in conjunction with the Distance Learning Department at Johnson Bible College, has developed an on-line training course in disability ministry. This fully accredited course of study consists of 12-credit hours in four three-hour courses (click to get descriptions).

The instructor, Jim Pierson, has incorporated his years of experience in this training program. The first course introduces the student to the field of disability ministry. The second unit reviews the categories of people with disabilities, while ministry to the family experiencing disability is the focus of the third course. In the final study, the student learns strategies for providing for the spiritual needs of people with disabilities in the church and the community, allowing them to make practical use of the information gained in the study through projects. Past students have completed projects such as labeling their church building to make it more accessible to students with autism, or planning and executing a disability awareness seminar for the church leaders in his community.

When the student completes the course, an attractive, suitable-for-framing certificate will be issued. The information in the four courses will provide the church worker with the information necessary to organize a disability ministry in his/her church.

If you are interested in receiving the Certificate in Disability Ministry, contact the Distance Learning Department at Johnson Bible College (865-251-2254; mketchen@jbc.edu or jfinchum@jbc.edu). She will mail you an application that will give you a student number that allows access to the on-line courses. If you want more information about the content of the courses, contact Sylvia Hemphill at CCFH (865-546-5921; shemphill@ccfh.org). The course work may be completed by mailing the lessons to the Distance Learning Department at JBC. The individual courses may be taken without being enrolled in the certificate program.

The information and training gained from the courses in the certificate program will change the comments of church workers.

“Our Bible school welcomes learners of all abilities.”

“Families with children with disabilities come to our church because we have something to offer them.”

“We feel blessed to teach learners of all abilities about the wonderful love of our Lord.”

Where do you live?

A five year old would respond, “I live with my mommy and daddy in our house.”

A nineteen year old might answer, “I have a job and live in my own apartment.”

Another nineteen year old would answer, ““I am in college. I live in the dorm.”

Where we live is a part of the human experience. Generally, most of us live with our parents until we move to a job, go to college, or establish our own family. We really do not spend a lot of time thinking about it. It just happens.

For adults with developmental disabilities, the process just does not happen. A family member or a social worker will help them find a place to live. Special housing arrangements are available through private and public organizations.

The current procedure is to provide independent living in the community. In recent years, group homes have shrunk in size from twenty to four people; nursing homes are not considered appropriate placements unless there is a health problem; and large institutions are being closed. The guiding philosophy is to place the person in the community and provide the support to make him successful. Through special funding programs, some people with developmental disabilities own their own condos.

While the current approach to housing for adults with developmental disabilities has improved, most of them continue to live with their families after public education has ended. There are several reasons this may occur: the cost for residential services can be prohibitive, there may be long waiting lists, the person may not meet entrance criteria, or a family may want to care for their loved one at home as long as they can.

To help families with their need for residential care for their son or daughter, CCFH Ministries provides two kinds of programs: group home living and independent living.

Group Home Living

CCFH Ministries operates two group homes in Louisville, Tennessee. Called Riverwood Christian Community, the facilities are located in a rural setting on the banks of the Tennessee River and have been licensed by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

In order to live at Riverwood, the person must be over 18 years of age and have a developmental disability. In addition, the applicant must be capable of self-preservation, meeting basic personal needs, and working or attending a day program.

Each resident has a private room, has a job, helps with household chores, and attends church. The resident is encouraged to be the best he can be.

A trained, Christian staff is on duty around the clock to care for the residents. The staff carries out our purpose to help residents achieve their highest level of independence in a Christ-centered environment. To apply or ask for additional information, click here.

Independent Living Program

CCFH Ministries also provides an Independent Living Program. This program allows the person with a developmental disability to live and function in the community. They are trained to use public transportation, assisted with making their own appointments, provided with money management assistance, taught cooking and nutritional eating habits, and encouraged to participate in the life of a church and the community at large.

A staff member is available to the residents. While the staff has a routine of seeing the residents’ needs are met, the staffing pattern is on an “as-needed” basis.

In order to qualify for the program, the person must be 18 or over and have a developmental disability. In addition, the applicant must be able to self-preserve, self-medicate, and hold a job. To apply or get additional information, click here.

My name is Jim Pierson and it is a pleasure to welcome you to Exceptional Teaching Online. I have spent a lot of my adult life working to encourage churches to include people with disabilities in their hearts and programs, and the aim of this program is to enable you to do the same!

Introduction

In the early days, few churches were including people with disabilities and the interest was sparse. Workshops at Christian education conferences were not well attended, some published materials were available but difficult to find, and the leadership of churches did not give disability ministry a high priority. However, there has been a phenomenal growth in the number of churches that include people with disabilities. From the small congregation that includes a couple of children with special needs to the large church with a paid staff and numerous programs, the disability ministry movement continues to grow.

It is important to think about the reasons for this positive change. First, the nature of disability has changed. Today there are more children with autism (the numbers are as high as 1 in 166 births), more children with emotional problems (1 in 5), and learning disabilities (more than half of the students served by special education). These students are included in public school with their peers, so why not include them in church? A second reason for the change is the number of churches who have children’s ministers/pastors. When a family brings a child with a disability to the Christian education program of the church, it is the children’s pastor who sees the need, looks for information to help, and becomes the child’s advocate.

Because churches are recognizing their responsibility toward people with disabilities, their leaders are looking for training to help them with ministry. CCFH Ministries felt the need to develop a simple, accessible training product. Exceptional Teaching Online is that product.

In 2002, Standard Publishing Company published my book Exceptional Teaching. Since its appearance, we have received many positive comments about the value of the book for starting a disability ministry. Having a resource that contains a description of the various categories of learners with disabilities, some ideas on how to teach them, and suggestions for a broader ministry has been helpful. With this positive reaction and with many churches asking for training to get their ministries off the ground and to enhance existing ones, we decided to create a training resource.

Using Exceptional Teaching as a base, we developed a set of training materials and asked churches across the country to use and evaluate the materials, while providing their reactions. Fifty churches participated and their feedback is included in this website.

Interactive Modules

The centerpiece of this site is a six-module program complete with video segments, interactive exercises, and additional resources that provides the core training materials. Specifically the modules discuss:

1. Steps for Beginning a Disability Ministry
2. Designing a Christian Education Component
3. Creating a Classroom Environment to Accommodate a Disability Ministry
4. Planning to Include People with Disabilities in the Life of the Church
5. Planning a Ministry with the Family Experiencing Disability
6. Planning for Community Outreach

Exceptional Teaching Online comes with numerous additional resources. One of the most popular features of Exceptional Teaching has been reworked with the online user in mind. The descriptions of more than 75 diagnoses and techniques for the Sunday school teacher to use with them are available. We have also included a list of churches that have disability ministry programs, along with a number of other resources for starting, growing, and maintaining a disability ministry.

Our hope is that this site will be an ever-growing resource for developing materials and information. The Blog is a user-generated resource where good ideas and information for disability ministries are presented, needs are shared, and churches make their disability ministries known.

So, what is the purpose of Exceptional Teaching Online?

It is providing the training to make the church accessible to our friends with disabilities. Jesus invites: “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends” (Revelation 3:20). Jesus’ invitation is inclusive. Everyone is welcome at His table, regardless of race, social standing, educational level, income, or disability. All the dinner guest needs to do is hear the call and open the door. A person with a disability might have some difficulty with the actions of hearing and opening the door. The purpose of this Exceptional Teaching Online is to provide the information necessary to train church staffs and volunteers to help people with disabilities accept Jesus’ inclusive invitation to share a meal with Him.