1 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,160 We know that our adults can be discipled. 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,600 I think there's a misconception that just adults with 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:11,840 disabilities probably don't have the ability to learn or they 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,280 can't. They can't capture anything and 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,440 and a lot of times, unfortunately, they're probably 6 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,160 seen as a scripture would say the parts that seem weaker, but 7 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,440 they're actually indispensable. We would not be full of complete 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,600 estrogens 4 talks about without our adults with disabilities and 9 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,640 their gifts. Welcome back to the Grace Church 10 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:33,120 Podcast. Many of you may be familiar with 11 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:37,000 Mosaic as a ministry to families with special needs and 12 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,040 disabilities, but did you know that we have a large and growing 13 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:45,200 population of Mosaic adults? For this episode, we are joined 14 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:50,240 by Joe Clary, pastor and Mosaic Director, along with CC Ambrose, 15 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,200 Mosaic lead at our Travelers Rest Campus. 16 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,480 They're going to discuss the work of our Mosaic staff and 17 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:00,120 volunteers as they are breaking new ground in the area of 18 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:02,120 discipling adults with special needs. 19 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,960 So Joe Clary, CC Ambrose, welcome to the podcast studio. 20 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:08,240 Yeah, thanks for letting us be here. 21 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,440 Good morning. Excited for the topic and just 22 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,880 just jump right in. And I really would love for you 23 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:17,480 guys to set the table and just kind of let us know what are the 24 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:22,200 different facets of discipleship that we have with adults with 25 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,440 special needs. Yeah, thankfully we have a lot 26 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,000 of really great things going on, really cool things and a lot to 27 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,280 be very thankful for. First of all, we have our Sunday 28 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,600 services which are specific for Mosaic adults where we have a 29 00:01:36,600 --> 00:01:39,640 lot of just adult volunteers coming in and we have our own 30 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,040 service. So we have worship, we have 31 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,080 prayer time, we have announcements and then we have 32 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:48,440 teaching where we get to teach what was taught on in our main 33 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:53,080 worship service on one week. The next week we re teach it and 34 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:56,400 just consolidate some points and have it more specific to our 35 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:58,880 people. So you're following the same 36 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:00,960 sermon series just a week behind? 37 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:01,880 Correct. Yeah. 38 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,440 It's, it helps us be more in the life of the church instead of 39 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:08,240 being siloed and just studying something completely different 40 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,520 because our adults are talking with our volunteers and they're 41 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,200 all learning the same thing. So it's really cool to kind of 42 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,920 be able to put that together and have our people just engage 43 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:19,880 together with that. So how many? 44 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:23,840 Give us a a sense of how many adults and how many campuses are 45 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:25,920 currently offering Sunday services. 46 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,720 Yeah. So we have about 100 adults in 47 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,720 in worship in the weekends across four different campuses. 48 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,040 And we probably have about 70 volunteers in those groups as 49 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:40,000 well, which is pretty cool. OK. 50 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,000 So Sunday services, that's kind of a starting point. 51 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,080 And then tell us about Mosaic Inspire, like what is what is 52 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:46,120 that? What does that mean? 53 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,800 So Mosaic Inspire is a adult discipleship program that meets 54 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,920 during the week. And our goal is really to engage 55 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:57,400 the community and a church to for them to be a disciple, but 56 00:02:57,400 --> 00:02:59,560 them also to share what God's doing in their life, to be a 57 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,240 light into the world. And so they do a lot internally, 58 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,960 they do Bible studies, they learn different lessons, but 59 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,480 they also are blessing to so many people. 60 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,480 They do Meals on Wheels, so they're delivering meals to shut 61 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:12,160 insurance, developing relationships. 62 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:14,680 They've been working on sharing their testimony, what God is 63 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,960 doing in their life to these people, and really just engaging 64 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:19,840 the community in a really unique way. 65 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,320 We have seen the fruit of that and it has been amazing just to 66 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:26,280 sit back and watch. OK. 67 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,400 And we're going to get a little bit of history here in just a 68 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,400 second. I just want to get through the 69 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,880 the scope just so everybody can I think have their minds kind of 70 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:36,240 captured with what we're talking about here. 71 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,600 So then inspire Coffee House, that's something that more 72 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:41,280 people may have heard. Of yeah. 73 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:46,160 So our current location is at Front Porch Housing and we're 74 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,880 looking to expand that. We see our people having a great 75 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:51,760 impact on the community there as well. 76 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,760 And so we are discipling our adults with disabilities in the 77 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:59,240 workplace environment. Yeah, how many are employed at 78 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,600 Coffee House? We have 16 baristas. 16 79 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,320 baristas, yes, that's awesome. So the coffee house, is there 80 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,800 overlap with Mosaic, Inspire or those completely separate 81 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:11,960 things? They are completely separate 82 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,520 things, but we do have a lot of individuals that are in both of 83 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,440 those. OK, So they're being disciple in 84 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:21,839 both areas, so in employment side and in really the church 85 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:23,480 and community side. Yeah, that's cool. 86 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,480 All right. And then last but not least is 87 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:28,360 housing. What does mosaic housing look 88 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:29,240 like? Yeah. 89 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,800 So we currently have two units at Front Porch Housing and we've 90 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:37,520 been doing this for almost five years now where we have several 91 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,680 adults with disabilities living with a couple peers. 92 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:43,560 And so they are doing life together. 93 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:47,160 So they're helping each other, they are going on trips and they 94 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,240 go on vacations together. They've really become a family 95 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:54,040 unit. And we as church staff and 96 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,640 volunteers have a support system around it where we are all 97 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,080 working together kind of helping everyone be discipled in that 98 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,120 aspect as well. So and all of those things is 99 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,280 that we are learning more from them then we're actually 100 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:10,200 teaching them most of the time. And so, Joe, you've been in the 101 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,800 space for how many years? Since 2017. 102 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:16,680 Since 2017, on staff, you're on staff, you're the Mosaic pastor. 103 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,280 So you kind of oversee all aspects of the entire Mosaic 104 00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:21,680 ministry, right? Not just adults. 105 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:23,160 We're talking about adults today, correct? 106 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,800 And then CC, give us a little window into what this looks like 107 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,280 on the campus level. Yeah. 108 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,760 So I've been at the campus, we worship at TR, So we've been 109 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,480 doing it about three years. So we get to do a lot of what 110 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,840 Joe is mentioning from the Sunday service angle. 111 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,600 We've got a group of volunteers who take our adults through 112 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,680 teaching and small group time and they're talking about how to 113 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:48,640 apply what we're learning to their daily lives, whether 114 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,040 that's at Inspire or the Coffee House or just even in their 115 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:53,560 homes. Ways that they can serve and 116 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:55,080 love their families and things like that. 117 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:59,000 So yeah, the campus level, we are really working to disciple 118 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,920 them and help them live that out throughout the course of the 119 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:05,440 week, like like I do. And we're seeing a lot of growth 120 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,920 on the campus level as well, specifically in Traveler's Rest. 121 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,080 Why do you think that is? I don't think there's a ton of 122 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,680 churches in our area that are offering Mosaic programs like we 123 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:16,080 have. For example, we have a new 124 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:18,320 family that came in about 6 months ago. 125 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:20,520 She has two adult boys with autism. 126 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,040 Other churches actually sent her to us. 127 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,280 And so they say we don't have really anything for your adult 128 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:28,640 sons. And so they, I think, find us 129 00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:30,760 that way. And I do think that's why we're 130 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,920 seeing some growth at TR. So right now we have 2 adult 131 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:35,520 small groups. So we have an adult men and 132 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,480 adult women's small group. And just age range, where are we 133 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:41,960 talking like 19 and older or is it? 134 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,560 It really fluctuates a little bit it depending on when they 135 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:45,600 get out of high school. Gotcha. 136 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,920 So as soon as I graduate high school, then we move our adults 137 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,600 into adult mosaic. OK, that's awesome. 138 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,320 And sometimes our friends are ready, like they'll turn 18 and 139 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,560 they're like, I'm an adult now coming to an adult. 140 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:58,760 Yeah. And so there's anticipation, 141 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:00,920 there's excitement, we know what's coming, all that kind of 142 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:01,480 stuff. Yeah. 143 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:07,200 So we have 18 starting around 1821 all the way up to 55 as 144 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,440 some of our older adults. Love it. 145 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:14,560 So then how do we kind of like approach discipleship for our 146 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,640 adults, maybe differently than we would just for anyone else in 147 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,800 that season of life, But then also how how is it kind of the 148 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:24,520 same in a lot of ways? Yeah, I think some things that 149 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,280 we do that's a little bit different, we will take, I think 150 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,320 Joe mentioned this earlier, we will take the church's teaching 151 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:32,320 and we'll simplify it to 10 or 15 minutes. 152 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,360 But then we really are asking the same questions of how do we 153 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,600 apply this in our daily life. And then something that is 154 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,600 unique, I think in this season is our adults really do have 155 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:43,120 something to offer to our church. 156 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,920 And so part of their discipleship looks like them 157 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,920 serving. And what can we do to help them 158 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,840 get involved and to serve our church and then for our people 159 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:53,920 to serve alongside them and together to know them? 160 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:56,480 So I think that's a, that's a difference between what we're 161 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,000 doing with kids and students then, you know, adults. 162 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:00,560 Yeah. Yeah, I think once they become 163 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:02,880 adults, we start and students, we start to see some of their 164 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:04,680 gifting. And then really, when they get 165 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,200 into adults, we see a lot more of their gifts and are able to 166 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,480 use them to serve throughout the church in multiple different 167 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:13,920 ways, sometimes in the background, sometimes out in 168 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,720 front. But there's so many unique ways 169 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,240 in which our our people serve, and they provide joy and 170 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:22,360 encouragement to our church. Yeah. 171 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:26,120 And like we've talked about before, there is this difference 172 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,320 and, and I mean this is true for all of us in some ways. 173 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,200 There's distinctions, but then there's similarities. 174 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,159 And I think often times this group can easily get put into 175 00:08:35,159 --> 00:08:38,200 the different category, but there's so many ways in which 176 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:40,200 they just function like other members. 177 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:42,840 And, and that's kind of part of what we've started thinking 178 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,280 through as well of these individuals are members of our 179 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:47,320 church as well. Right. 180 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:49,760 Yeah. So our adults go through a 181 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,680 foundations like course, we walk through the core values of the 182 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:56,560 church, we talk about what it looks like to be a member and 183 00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:58,640 they sign their covenant agreement just like anybody 184 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:00,160 else. And so that they're walking 185 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:01,520 through it and maybe in a different setting. 186 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,760 Normally we do it on Sunday mornings and then we'll do 187 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,600 pastoral interviews with them. But that's kind of the way we 188 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:08,840 bring our adults into the membership of the church. 189 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:13,160 Yeah, that's cool. So, Joe, how did all this begin 190 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:15,640 for Grace Church? Yeah. 191 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,200 So it started. We started getting students that 192 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:21,960 became older and. That happens. 193 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,640 Right, yes. And so as as our individuals 194 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,960 grow it, student ministry was not appropriate setting. 195 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:33,400 And we just started with a couple people in the North End 196 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:37,480 building at Pelham with an unmite guitar singing in the 197 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,600 corner. And it was it was a pretty sweet 198 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:42,680 time. It was it was cool just to see. 199 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:45,680 I mean, I think there were four to five when we first started. 200 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:50,960 And then we do teaching and we, we talk about things and then 201 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,680 we'd have some activities to do. But we we know that our adults 202 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:56,640 can be discipled. Yeah, tell, tell us a little bit 203 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:58,600 more about that misconception. Yeah, I think there's a 204 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,800 misconception that just adults with disabilities probably don't 205 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:04,240 have the ability to learn or they can't, they can't capture 206 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:06,720 anything. And, and a lot of times, 207 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,800 unfortunately, they're probably seen as the scriptures would 208 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,880 say, the parts that seem weaker, but they're actually 209 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,200 indispensable. And so I want to put the second 210 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,560 part in because they are a key to our church body. 211 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:20,840 We would not be full and complete as fusions 4 talks 212 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,520 about without our adults with disabilities and their gifts. 213 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,200 So it kind of all just originated how we wanted to see 214 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,800 better discipleship where it's not just sitting in a service 215 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:34,320 main worship where our people were not able to grasp all the 216 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,560 points where we can kind of put it into a better, I don't want 217 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:41,720 to say package, but we could teach it better and allow more 218 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,480 time for understanding. And it is cool to see the fruit 219 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:46,920 of all of that. Yeah. 220 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:51,000 And so I guess my question is what, what happens if you don't 221 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,960 have an environment like that where they can have the package 222 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:57,640 and it can be tailored and those gifts can be pulled out? 223 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,480 So I guess some families they would just they're they're 224 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:04,240 adults would just be sitting in large church services. 225 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,760 Yeah, so they would just, I mean, it'd be almost like a 226 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,320 babysitting thing where they're just sitting there. 227 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,720 And I think that's one of the things that we have coached a 228 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:16,080 lot of people, we've learned ourselves about. 229 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:19,520 Just because a kid is sitting there and behaviorally OK does 230 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:20,760 not mean they're being discipled. 231 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,520 And so we want to make sure that because our goal as believers is 232 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,720 to present the gospel ways in which people can understand. 233 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,480 And so we have to do that, especially as a church. 234 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:31,920 And as church staff, that's what we're constantly looking at. 235 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,920 How can we get people access to the gospel ways in which they 236 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,560 can understand? And so if they're just sitting 237 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:39,400 there being compliant, people are, Oh yeah, no, they're 238 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,240 sitting in church, they're great, but they're not learning 239 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,240 anything. They're not hearing anything. 240 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,800 They're probably it's, they're listening to Matt Williams and 241 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:48,120 he's talking 1,000,000 miles a minute. 242 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:52,560 He, they can't understand that. So it is where we can break it 243 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:56,800 down in a way and have some repetition in it that helps 244 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,120 promote discipleship. OK, Yeah. 245 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,000 Can I add in here, I think to something that's been really 246 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,240 unique is that the small group time following the teaching that 247 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,520 we get to do, we can really work through what application looks 248 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,040 like for our people. So even if they're still living 249 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:13,160 at home with their parents, we can talk through what it looks 250 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:18,080 like to serve mom and dad and to be a disciple in their own home 251 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:20,840 or in their own spaces, which like if they're just sitting in 252 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,560 a church service, it's not. You're not able to have those 253 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:26,480 conversations and to apply like the scripture to their daily 254 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:27,320 lives. Yeah. 255 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,200 Can you think of a couple of stories that just encourage you 256 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:34,560 guys on a daily basis where you've seen now you've been 257 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:38,040 doing it for years, just just growth of individuals? 258 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:41,800 Yeah, I think something that's been really interesting to 259 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,280 watch, we have a friend who, and he's actually the reason or one 260 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,840 of the reasons we started at TR. So we started with two adults 261 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:51,040 and this family moved to South Carolina for some of the 262 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,200 benefits of our church, which is really neat. 263 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:57,120 But their son has autism. And so watching him get plugged 264 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:01,280 in through our Sunday morning ministry and then he is now part 265 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,200 of Inspire and part of the coffee house. 266 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,120 But over the course of I guess, three years now, he has just 267 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:10,600 grown tremendously and his ability to, I think, share his 268 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:12,880 faith. So he can now like stand and 269 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,840 read his testimony about what God's done in his life, but he 270 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:19,160 challenges us as his like, I guess volunteers who get to 271 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,240 serve alongside him when he prays just his heart for the 272 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,520 Lord and his trust and dependence on God is really 273 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,040 helpful in convicting for us too. 274 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,720 So that's been a joy just to watch him from start to finish 275 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,600 and for them to I guess as a family, take a step of faith to 276 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,560 go somewhere that had some resources that he hadn't 277 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:37,800 experienced before. Wow, what a. 278 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,720 Testimony of love and care. And I mean, another cool thing 279 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:42,880 about that story is now he wants to get baptized. 280 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:44,760 And so he's taking a step of faith. 281 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:47,000 And that's, that's kind of hard for a lot of our people. 282 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:52,040 I mean, for, for some of us or some of our people, baptism 283 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,480 could end in death. The fact that if water got down 284 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:55,960 into their lungs, they could aspirate. 285 00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:00,440 And we had one, one girl who was kind of scared, but want to take 286 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,080 that step of faith, believing and say, Hey, this is something 287 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,400 that I want to do. And she was terrified at 1st. 288 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:09,160 And so we created a vice to where she could be baptized. 289 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,000 But I'm just the courage of saying she's like, I want to 290 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,240 stand in front of my church by the, my church, by not just the, 291 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,240 but my church. She is a part of that church and 292 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,640 say, I want to identify with Christ in front of these people 293 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,120 was just a really cool and that was all driven by her. 294 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,880 And, and, and it was discipleship over all her, all 295 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,520 her small group leaders inspired discipleship. 296 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,120 I mean, all the people that have been discipling her over the 297 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,960 last several years got her to that point where she's like, 298 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,720 hey, I, I'm scared, but I want to take this step out of 299 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,600 obedience and that, that is really, really cool. 300 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:45,480 And it gets to your previous question, Whitney, about 301 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,320 similarities and differences. I mean, that's what we want for 302 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,240 every adult member of our church is to take those steps of 303 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:55,880 obedience that take courage, that really take dependence on 304 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:57,760 the Holy Spirit. So I love that. 305 00:14:57,760 --> 00:14:59,080 That's a great story, Joe. Yeah. 306 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:03,240 As we have developed a lot of this, like are there other 307 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,560 churches and organizations that are doing similar things that 308 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:10,040 we're collaborating with? Or is this just like some of 309 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:14,520 this culturally feels like special needs and things have 310 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,800 become just more acceptable and more openly acknowledged 311 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,040 recently? So how have we kind of developed 312 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:25,240 a lot of this? Yeah, I mean, I think that there 313 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,280 are churches that are trying to get in the game and there are, 314 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:28,720 there are a couple that are in there. 315 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,640 I think they're just trying to weigh out what they can do right 316 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:33,120 now because you can't do everything. 317 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,400 You can't just start where we were started in 2004. 318 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,280 So we're over 22 years old and see how it's grow. 319 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:42,920 And so just to let people know, hey, as you start, you just have 320 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:45,880 to take steps of faith and and grow it so that there's not too 321 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,720 many people in the adult world. There are a couple, but one of 322 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:53,360 the things that we are trying to do is just unite the churches 323 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,280 across the upstate and just around. 324 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:57,240 And we have a conference in October to do that. 325 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:01,680 And the goal of the conference is to equip local churches to 326 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,520 better disciple their people. And, and this is for nonprofits 327 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,560 as well, to better disciple their people and to bring a 328 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:10,720 community together knowing that we're not in competition, that 329 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:12,840 we are disciple the people that God's put before us. 330 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:15,960 And so every congregation has individuals with disabilities. 331 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,360 It's just how how we're treating that or if we're identifying if 332 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:20,560 they're there or not. Yeah. 333 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,720 So then Joe, what are the biggest challenges? 334 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:27,640 Is it, you know, is it manpower volunteer wise, or is it even 335 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,520 bigger than that, like a philosophy of ministry and of 336 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,560 care? Yeah, I, I think there are 337 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:35,440 challenges just for volunteers, I mean across all ministries and 338 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,200 and most churches. But I think one of the 339 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,720 philosophies is getting back to what we talked a little bit 340 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,080 earlier is the fact that our people can be discipled. 341 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,320 This is not just a sitting in front of the TV and let him 342 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,720 watch a show or let him watch a Bible movie. 343 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,160 We have the opportunity to engage them no matter where they 344 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:53,640 are. We and we do it. 345 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:55,800 And our, I'd be honest with you, our volunteers. 346 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:57,800 Do we have some of the best volunteers in the church? 347 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,880 I will say we do. And I mean it. 348 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:05,760 The impact that our people have on the volunteers has brought in 349 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,920 more volunteers because they're like, oh, I love serving in 350 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:09,839 here. Let me tell you about what 351 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:11,400 happened this. Week Like when someone's done it 352 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,119 once, you never have to ask them to do it again. 353 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:15,800 They're in. Rarely, rarely there's, there's 354 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:18,440 one, there's 1,000,000. But but for the most part, yes. 355 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,200 And, and our people come back and people are scared because if 356 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:25,200 you're over the age of 45, you probably have not been around 357 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,599 too many individual disabilities because they were in the 358 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:29,000 trailers in the back of the school. 359 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:30,640 Yeah. Talk a little bit more about 360 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:31,880 that. I mean, I think that's an 361 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:34,920 important point, yeah. I mean, I think just growing up 362 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,880 and I'm, I'm close to that, that range in there where kids were 363 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,040 just in the trailers. If if you had a special needs, 364 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:42,720 you were separated from the rest of the school. 365 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:44,440 From day day one of your schooling. 366 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,240 For the most part, yes, and that's changed thankfully. 367 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:50,080 But I mean they didn't have a lot of interactions. 368 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,080 They ate lunch separately. They had different outside they 369 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:53,880 had they had the trailers. Everyone was in the main 370 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:55,560 building. Most of the, most of the time, 371 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,360 individuals with disabilities run the trailers back and, and 372 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:00,680 people didn't have exposure to them. 373 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,040 So when they graduated, they only thought of individual 374 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,760 special needs as like, weren't they a sane asylum? 375 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:09,520 Which is it's, it's a, it's poor, we're thinking and it's 376 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,280 really sad. But to see the progress that 377 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:15,760 we've made has been really good. And to see the people that are 378 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:20,080 in that age gap really come in really timid, but then be like, 379 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,120 Oh my gosh, this is amazing. And they jump in. 380 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,360 And I mean, I could tell you story after story about just 381 00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:29,200 volunteers coming in. None of them have any special 382 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:31,400 needs background and just saying, hey, I'm willing to 383 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:32,680 learn. I'm willing to be a part of 384 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:34,400 this. And then there are a lot of 385 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,560 different ways to engage our people, like with supper clubs. 386 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,760 I know CC kind of talked about that with our adults. 387 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:42,280 Just come and serve, bring a meal, come eat. 388 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,120 We play games, we sing karaoke, we do a lot of different things 389 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:48,600 together, but it's a great time just to interact and for you to 390 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,680 Share your story, you to learn about our people and us to just 391 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:53,240 love one another. Be in community together. 392 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,920 Yeah, how, what are some ways we are supporting the the parents 393 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:58,720 or the caregivers of these adults? 394 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:01,760 So we do have a caregiver journey, which is a 12 week 395 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,600 study where we are walking parents through how to think 396 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,400 about this ability, how to process the things they're going 397 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:11,760 through and even look at the scriptures. 398 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,480 It's very scripturally based to know, hey, what do we need and 399 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,000 really how to just engage a life. 400 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,760 And it's cool because our parents are all in it together. 401 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,440 So they're walking through this. Everyone has a different 402 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:28,040 experience, they can all relate to one another and our goal is 403 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,880 to get them into a community at that aspect to where they jump 404 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,440 into another form of community where we know that our parents 405 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:36,840 need to be discipled. And so we're discipling not only 406 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:38,360 just our individuals, but our parents. 407 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,280 That's the main way main study that we use for that. 408 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:46,160 But every campus has some form of biblical community, which we 409 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,280 want. All of our people, all of our 410 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,280 members, matter who you are to be a part of some form of 411 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,440 biblical community and serving and giving your life away. 412 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,240 That's great. Which by the way, CC at TR y'all 413 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,920 just did a SIM camp this summer and we also had it at 414 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,400 Powdersville and Pelham. Can you just share a little bit 415 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,000 about how that went and specifically how that impacted 416 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,280 some of our mosaic families? Yeah. 417 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,920 I'd love to. So we launched a SIM camp at TR 418 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:17,200 for the first time this summer and we had 27 kids, which was 419 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,840 quite a few more than we expected, but we were really 420 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,680 excited about that. And we had four groups and one 421 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:24,640 of our groups is called Siblings Journey. 422 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,720 And so Siblings Journey is for siblings of individuals with a 423 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,880 disability, and that was actually one of our largest 424 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,520 groups. So it was a really fun, sweet 425 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,560 time with those kids. They got to play and just share 426 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,360 about life with some fun leaders. 427 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:43,480 And we saw really just the ability for them to begin to 428 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:46,280 open up, not even just in our groups, but with their parents. 429 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,040 And so that was a really, really sweet thing. 430 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,720 And it was neat to see that out in the TR community that it was 431 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,480 a needed thing and necessary, I think even just by seeing how 432 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:57,000 many kids and families signed up and. 433 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,280 Participated. Yeah, absolutely. 434 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:03,120 Can you share a little bit of what like the curriculum looks 435 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,600 like and just maybe what are some of the goals that you guys 436 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:08,200 are trying to accomplish for those kids? 437 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:12,440 Yeah, I think the curriculum is really designed to help them 438 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,960 begin to engage their their story. 439 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,960 And so in Siblings Journey, they talk about some of the hard 440 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,520 things about having a sibling with a disability, but also 441 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,480 their favorite things about their sibling and how, you know, 442 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:26,760 they image God and what they're learning from them. 443 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:28,680 And so they get to do both of that. 444 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:32,000 But the part I think that I love the most is the way our 445 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,560 curriculum connects with parents. 446 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,520 And so we have a parent take home sheet that the parents 447 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,280 receive each day and they can look over that and have 448 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,800 conversations with their child. And that was really neat at TR 449 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,240 because there were some days where our kids were quiet. 450 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:46,600 I mean, it's the first time we've done it. 451 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,760 So like the first time that a lot of them had participated and 452 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,760 they, you know, would be quiet in Group, but then I'd hear from 453 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,040 a parent the next morning that their child opened up at home 454 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,000 about about their sibling or about the situation. 455 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:04,120 And I thought that was a really big win because before maybe 456 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:05,880 they didn't feel the freedom to do that. 457 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:08,880 And I think Ascend helps open the door for some of those 458 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,120 conversations. One of our older guys and 459 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:15,040 siblings journey his sibling that has disabilities, His 460 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,360 parents have to put a lot of time and effort into just caring 461 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:21,160 for him, which is is part of their story. 462 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,680 And so this child felt like, you know, maybe mom and dad don't 463 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,160 need to know that this is hard for me. 464 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:31,640 He didn't want to add that stress and that weight to them. 465 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,000 But what was really neat was to have the opportunity to 466 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,720 encourage him to share with mom and dad and for him to be able 467 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:42,640 to do that and the door that that opened for them and their 468 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:45,200 relationship. The parents want to know, but 469 00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:48,560 you know, he knows that life is hard and so he didn't want to 470 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:50,760 add. But it was really neat for them 471 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,800 to be able to talk about those things together, and I think 472 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:55,400 that was a big win. That's awesome. 473 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,320 Yeah, yeah. And as we're talking about 474 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,480 challenges and again, just the the cultural environment that we 475 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,360 find ourselves in, I mean, I think 1 determining factor 476 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:07,080 that's come up recently is there's a show on Netflix called 477 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,400 Love on the Spectrum that's popular and it's fun and it's 478 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,200 cute. But how does that mentality or 479 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,360 approach to adults with special needs, how are we trying to 480 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,440 engage that and disciple our people through that as well? 481 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:25,040 Yeah, I think our culture pushes romanticism in so many ways. 482 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,680 And we would say that that's, that's not necessarily in for a 483 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:30,920 majority of our adults. They they won't get married. 484 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,440 But we do have some adults that that do get married and, and 485 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,440 have got married several married couples with disabilities in our 486 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,520 church. And as long as they're 487 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,120 fulfilling the, the roles of what the Bible would tell us 488 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:44,280 about marriage, I think that we, we'd be great with that. 489 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:45,800 We would continue to support that. 490 00:23:45,800 --> 00:23:50,280 But I think that we can't get this image or this illusion of, 491 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,320 of marriage and romanticism and, and press that on our people. 492 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,960 It's not healthy. And I really think that our 493 00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:59,640 people need community because everybody needs community. 494 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:01,400 And that's such a biblical concept. 495 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:04,720 I mean, we, we've had a one of our guys that's been with us for 496 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,240 a while and he want to get married and they're about to get 497 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:11,080 engaged. And really we found out that he, 498 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,280 he was, he didn't really need marriage and couldn't 499 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:19,360 necessarily fulfill the roles of a husband and marriage, But he 500 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,480 doesn't have that desire as much because he's in community. 501 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:25,080 He was so isolated. Some of our people are isolated 502 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,520 where they, they think that that's going to solve the 503 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,920 isolation. And I think that's where, where 504 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:34,080 the problem is. I probably in our culture that 505 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,720 that marriage is going to solve isolation and it doesn't. 506 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,400 But we are seeing after that guy got into community and, and work 507 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,840 and inspire discipleship. I mean, he doesn't really have a 508 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:49,600 desire for it and he loves what he's doing and he has way more 509 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:53,400 friends with the way it is now than if it he wants to be 510 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,360 married because they probably would have isolated and it 511 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:58,080 wouldn't have been great. So, yeah, I mean, I, I think 512 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:00,920 that there's so many different things in society that are 513 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:05,280 pushing against what we would believe and and that's probably 514 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:06,840 one of the bigger ones in our adults. 515 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:09,040 And we that's one of the the bigger struggles we have to 516 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:10,680 disciple our people through all the time. 517 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,840 Yeah, and I know that all of that is is got to be complicated 518 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,640 and I'm sure that's can be unpopular at times. 519 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:19,040 And I won't go down this rapid trail too far. 520 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,200 That's probably a whole other podcast. 521 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,640 But I do think that a lot of what you're describing is true 522 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,840 for just our culture at large, not just for adults with special 523 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,880 needs, but the ways that we think about romanticism and 524 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,200 marriage, and that that's the ultimate goal in life when yes, 525 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,840 God has made us not to be alone, but marriage isn't always the 526 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:38,560 solution to that. Yeah. 527 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,240 And what I hear you guys both talking about is holding 528 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:46,480 biblical standards over cultural standards that may use some 529 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:52,840 phrases like love and marriage and have some similarities to 530 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,800 some biblical teaching, but really the core is not what it 531 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,680 looks like to follow Jesus. And that's what it means to 532 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:00,120 disciple. We keep using that word, but 533 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:02,920 really that doesn't mean attending church services and 534 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:06,440 attending inspired groups. It really means taking ownership 535 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:08,840 for your faith and following Jesus. 536 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:12,600 And I love how intentional specifically this ministry is. 537 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:14,640 We it's part of the reason why we're having this podcast. 538 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,680 We can learn a lot about the intentionality and the 539 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:22,120 relationships from all different aspects of speaking into our 540 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:25,560 adults lives that it requires to really follow Jesus. 541 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,160 So that's great. As I was thinking about when you 542 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:34,680 guys have just, I mean you have years of experience, what are 543 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,440 some personal takeaways, some personal learnings that have 544 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,880 really marked you as as a disciple that you've learned 545 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:44,400 through your years in this ministry? 546 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:49,240 Yeah. I mean, I would say, gosh, 547 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:52,240 there's so many things that I have learned. 548 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,680 One of the things probably is through my friend Elijah, who's 549 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,440 no longer with us. But the man taught me about what 550 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:04,320 does it look like to persevere? I mean, he had every reason to 551 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:09,200 hate God in some ways and the way that he pushed me to Jesus 552 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:13,560 and remind me of Jesus and have a heavenly perspective that has 553 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,640 impacted my life. And no way I can't even 554 00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:19,880 describe. I mean, it has changed the way I 555 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,320 have thought about like heaven, about dying. 556 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:27,520 I mean, I go down the trail all the time, but I mean, it is, it 557 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,600 is so encouraging that he had bed sores and he had people that 558 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,960 abandoned him and over COVID, he was isolated and we had to talk 559 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,520 through a window. And even when I would talk with 560 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:41,400 him, he's be like, Hey, Joe, I'm I'm ready to see Jesus. 561 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,800 I'm not, I'm not doing anything crazy, but I'm ready to see 562 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,080 Jesus and I'm tired of this. And but I'm, I'm going to 563 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:51,000 present, present the gospel and, and preach and, and love people 564 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:55,840 until he takes me home. But gosh, I'm ready and I'm I'm 565 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:59,480 thankful to. I mean, that's just one of many. 566 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:03,040 I mean, he represents what Paul was talking about and and what's 567 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:03,920 some of the. Best ways. 568 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:07,200 And I mean, it's probably worth saying that that is a challenge 569 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:09,040 of this ministry because sometimes we lose our friends 570 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,320 too soon. Death is consistently in our 571 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,800 community, especially our adult community past, I think it's 572 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:17,240 like 4 years, we've had eight different people that have been 573 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:18,880 connected to us pass away. Yeah. 574 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,520 And that's, that's a lot. And, and they're young. 575 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,760 Our people die younger, unfortunately, so we get a 576 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,440 closer relationship with death and probably most people get, 577 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:33,640 but it has it has shaped us in a really unique way and just the 578 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:35,880 fragility of life for all of us that we're not promised 579 00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:36,880 tomorrow. That's right. 580 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:40,320 And the heavenly perspective that I get from them. 581 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:44,600 I mean it, it's it's amazing. I mean, it really does. 582 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:46,480 It has changed my. Life and just how important that 583 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,920 is to the discipleship process that having that perspective on 584 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,000 life, death, eternity, resurrection. 585 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,880 Yeah, CZ what about you? Yeah, I think just thinking 586 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,400 about all that Joe just shared, but just the joy that our 587 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:03,320 friends bring to the table, I mean, I think they are in some 588 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,120 ways confined. And you know, maybe it's they're 589 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:08,000 continuing to have seizures or they're confined to a 590 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:12,360 wheelchair, but they live life in such a way where they are 591 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,760 grateful for what the Lord has done and they're grateful to one 592 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,080 day go be with him. And then they just have fun. 593 00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:21,320 So they've taught me a lot of how to how to laugh more and how 594 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,400 to have fun. And I think all of that flows 595 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,960 from, I mean, maybe it's that lack of control for them that 596 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,680 leads to a freedom that I sometimes have a hard time 597 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,200 reaching for. And so I'm just really grateful 598 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:36,680 that I get to do life with them and laugh and worship God and 599 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,440 all those things. All right, so let's hang on to 600 00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,760 that for just a second. So in some of the restrictions 601 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:44,600 that they have, they actually experience more freedom. 602 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,640 Yeah, yeah, I think, and I think part of that is they know 603 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,360 ultimately that God's in control, right? 604 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,240 So they've had to let go of some things that we grip really 605 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:57,240 tightly. And that's a good lesson for all 606 00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:57,920 of us. Yeah. 607 00:29:57,920 --> 00:29:59,080 Thank you for that. That's great. 608 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:01,960 All right. So as we close, what can we be 609 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,520 praying for? And also an admonition, What 610 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,080 would you really want our church to to know and take away from 611 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:09,720 this time? Yeah. 612 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:14,320 So I would love prayers for our families, specifically the ones 613 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,600 that are navigating the transition from students to 614 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,880 adults. The system is just hard to 615 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,640 navigate. I mean, they're figuring out 616 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:26,600 guardianship and I mean just so many different pieces of that. 617 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:30,120 And so just wisdom for our parents and, and what the next 618 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,320 steps look like. And I think some of that too is 619 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:34,880 pray for them, maybe even as they, I think they've done some 620 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:36,640 grieving over the course of their lifetime. 621 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,360 And then the other thing I think an admonition for our church, 622 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:43,000 and this is something I'd love for our TR campus to do, but 623 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,800 also our other campuses, is really to think creatively about 624 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:50,680 how our adult friends can serve and be part of the local body. 625 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,840 So what we've seen and what Joe was talking about as far as 626 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:57,080 community, they have community with their Mosaic friends, but 627 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,480 our our church needs them. They need the same benefits that 628 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:02,720 we get that the joy and walking alongside them. 629 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:05,600 And so I'd love for us to be creative and to think about ways 630 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,560 that our people can serve and serve alongside our other 631 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:11,040 members. Why is the system so hard to 632 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,680 navigate? It's really hard to navigate the 633 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:18,120 transition system from students to adults because everything 634 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:20,680 changes. There are a lot of options when 635 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:25,880 you're a student, but once you graduate, they go down to a few. 636 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:28,680 Most of them are not great, but there are several that are 637 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:30,640 great, but they're hard to get into. 638 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:32,720 And so there's only a selective amount of slots. 639 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:37,920 So a lot of our adults, once they get out of school, they sit 640 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,120 at home and most of the time they're either watching TV or 641 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,760 they're on the Internet, which are not good, not not a good 642 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,280 combination to be alone and be in front of technology all day. 643 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,120 It's not healthy for anybody's mental health, physical health, 644 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:53,000 whatever. And so that's, that's actually 645 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,680 how we started Mosaic Inspire. We saw that the great need for 646 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,400 our adults and we know that they have gifts to give and that's 647 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:03,800 why that's how we started inspiring. 648 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:06,680 See how we seen it grow? Yeah, no, that's great. 649 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:08,640 Thank you for that. What about you, Joe? 650 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:12,160 What's the five year dream? What can we be praying for? 651 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:14,480 Yeah, so we, we've been very thankful. 652 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,800 I mean, I, I look at what we're doing with adults and the fact 653 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:21,440 that we are being able to disciple adults and their whole 654 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:26,200 life really with housing, adult discipleship, employment and 655 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:28,720 then church on Sundays. And then we're even partnering 656 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,200 with people like David's table who are doing phenomenal things 657 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:34,640 as well. And so I just think we, we're 658 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:38,280 going to continue to grow God's, God's bringing in more people. 659 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,880 I think that there's a piece of it just to pray for our church 660 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:45,400 as we grow in Mosaic and also to pray for other churches. 661 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:49,240 I think that that is my prayer. A lot of times God continue to 662 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:52,360 raise up other churches that are going to own the cause and 663 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,200 disciple the people that are in their churches because most time 664 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:57,400 people come to us, they're like, Hey, my church isn't equipped. 665 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:58,800 I love my church, but they're not equipped. 666 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:01,160 And we, we would love to help. We don't know at all. 667 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:03,640 We've made a lot of mistakes. We can tell you the things that 668 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,280 we've done well and the things that we've failed in. 669 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:08,200 And there's a lot of those, but you learn a lot from failures 670 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:11,080 for sure. And so we, we would love to help 671 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:14,080 equip anybody and we'll give them all of our resources or 672 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:15,480 we'll come in and help train the staff. 673 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:20,280 I mean, really, I am praying for other churches to continue to 674 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:22,040 step up because there are churches stepping up and there 675 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:23,720 are churches that don't know where to step. 676 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,800 And so we've had some had a lot of years of help in this. 677 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:30,600 And so we've been able to help guide some of those churches 678 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,040 with it to kind of, hey, hey, here's the next step. 679 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:34,800 Yeah. And the chances are if you're 680 00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:38,200 listening to this right now, you have friends at a church that 681 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:41,720 could benefit from this. So we've got all of the details 682 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:45,360 for the conference in the show notes and we would love to fill 683 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:48,320 that room up with with folks. And like you said, we're not, 684 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:50,400 we're not even trying to get a template. 685 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:54,000 It's just much of here's some success stories, here's some 686 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,160 failure stories, and some encouragement and exportation 687 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,320 along the way. Yeah, we're actually flying in 688 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:01,200 several speakers, pretty predominant people in the field 689 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:04,160 of special needs and disability in the church, and they're going 690 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,280 to come present to be a part October 20th and 20. 1st I love 691 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,840 it, OK? Guys, this has been so great and 692 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,920 so helpful and we do just let's all be praying for the 693 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:14,960 conference coming up for all of these things. 694 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:17,120 Y'all are busy, but it's all good things and we're just 695 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:20,080 grateful that God has given us the opportunity to do this work. 696 00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:24,280 We'll also add the conference web page in the show notes and 697 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:27,560 you guys can go there to see the speakers that Joe mentioned that 698 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,120 we have lined up. And if you're interested in 699 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:33,239 attending, the registration is on that page as well. 700 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:37,560 But we would also love just for you guys to share that with 701 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:41,080 anyone that you know in your circle who may be working in a 702 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,520 disability ministry or partnering with a nonprofit. 703 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:48,920 Just has an interest in learning more about the theology and 704 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,000 getting some tools and some resource saying it'll just be a 705 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,920 really cool opportunity to learn from each other and to encourage 706 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:58,000 each other. And so we're just really looking 707 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:02,280 forward to that in October. And Joe and Cece, thank you all 708 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:04,400 so much for being here. This was really helpful. 709 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:05,800 Thank you. Thanks so much.