SILVER SPRING, Md. — When Georgia Avenue Baptist Church set aside Sunday, July 12, to emphasize disabilities ministry, Interim Pastor Ron Blankenship wasn’t sure what to expect. By the end of the service, seven people had come forward for prayer.
The church devoted its worship gathering to Disabilities Ministries Sunday, showing BCM/D’s Disabilities Ministries video and highlighting the convention’s growing emphasis on equipping churches to reach and welcome people affected by disability — an effort led by BCM/D Executive Director Tom Stolle and Katie Matthews. Stolle, whose passion for disability ministry is deeply personal, was also appointed to help lead a convention-wide disability ministry emphasis across the Southern Baptist Convention.
“I am grateful to say BCM/D has opened the eyes of many churches to begin ministries to the disabled,” Blankenship said.
Blankenship, who also serves as Director of Missions for the Montgomery Baptist Association, preached a message titled “Filled from Empty” from Psalm 62, connecting the day’s emphasis to a truth that touches every person in the pew: all of us carry disability of some kind.
“All of us have disabilities in some way, whether physical or spiritual,” he said. “Only God through His Son Jesus Christ and the active filling of the Holy Spirit can fill the empty spaces in our lives.”
During the invitation, seven people responded — coming forward for prayer for themselves, family members, friends, and the lost, asking God to fill the empty places in their hearts and lives.
“It was indeed a special day,” Blankenship said.
He hopes Georgia Avenue’s experience encourages other BCM/D churches to take the same step. Our own shortcomings, he says, should open our eyes to the many needs around us — and to the greatest disability of all, our lostness apart from Christ, which God answered by sending His Son.
Want to bring a disabilities ministry emphasis to your church? BCM/D offers training, resources, and the Disabilities Ministries video shown at Georgia Avenue. Contact Katie Matthews, who leads BCM/D’s disability ministry equipping efforts, at bcmd.org to get started.
Has God done something in your church worth sharing? Tell us through the Submit a Story form.
Somer is the Director of Communication and Marketing for the BCM/D and leads the charge for all things BCM/D Women