Manley Baptist Church now has a robust special needs ministry called Special Friends, and offers three Sunday school classes for those people with special needs—one for children, one for adults and a third for parents of children with special needs.
The Cars Ministry at Princeton Alliance began 26 years ago after church members heard about financially strapped single parents who were without transportation, says Toni Campbell, the church’s benevolence director.
Besides Sunday services, the center also provides a weekday program for young adults featuring recreational and leisure classes.
“We want them to come here to rest for a bit before they have to start making decisions that will impact their lives,” says Slade, who hopes that other area churches will follow suit.
“We don’t have an official program with a bunch of volunteers, but we do our best to unite multiple churches and nonprofits in any kind of disaster or critical incident,” Isbell says.
Coblentz named the church’s new effort the Bread Breakers Ministry. Volunteers started out making around 50 sandwiches a week, but they quickly broke their own record.
Moore has had church members tell her that they were too scared to do something missional, but because they love animals, this outreach was a natural fit for them.
Because the church is big on families, many events are geared toward kids, including bull riding for teens; Little Wranglers, an event that lets kids ride a horse, milk a pretend cow, “brand” goats with flour and a mop, and barrel race with stick horses; and a special needs kids rodeo.
We wanted to focus on real-life challenges and offer help and encouragement for parents.
“Our pastors have said that the people are so grateful to receive a meal when something tragic happens—or when good things happen, like the birth of a baby—because that part of their daily life has been taken care of,” says Hoffman.
