God’s Special Angels - Message To Church Members

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Few things test our faith more than joyful giving. Matthew 6:21 tells us that where our treasures are, our heart will be also. Jesus also said in Matthew 22:37-39 that the greatest commandment was to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Your giving will assist us in reaching thousands of churches to ....
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A Call To Church Leadership

Calling all churches to discipleship and ministry.

This downloadable eBook is a "free" gift to church leadership and pastors from God’s Special Angels Ministries. This book will answer many initial questions regarding establishing a Special Needs Ministry in your church. Coming soon! Click below to get your copy now!

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Matthew 22:37-39 (NASB) - (37) And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' (38) "This is the great and foremost commandment. (39) "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'

"God’s Special Angels" is under construction. Hello! I am Lonnie Richardson, the founder of God’s Special Angels Ministries, and

I would like to share some insight with you that I have gained as the parent of a child with autism and as a dedicated follower of our Christ Jesus. I would like to ask you to look around your church this weekend and see how many families you see with a special needs child or loved one. Now, possibly, there may be some of you who have developed a special needs ministry within your church and you may be able to honestly say that there are several. But, more likely than not, some of you will only be able to attest to a few while most will not be able to account for any. Why do you think that is so?

Certainly, according to the CDC or the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta, a full ten percent of all births produces a child with some extent of mental retardation. Conservatively speaking that is two and a half million people in our country affected by mental retardation! But that is not the end of the calculations. All of those individuals have a mom and dad and most likely a sibling or two. It is accurate to state that 25% to 30% of our nation’s population is either special needs or directly related to a special needs individual. That accounts for sixty two and a half million to seventy five million Americans who are directly effected by a special needs individual in the family. Now comes the mind blowing statistic. In my experience and travels, I believe that it is safe to say that less than 2% of those people are involved in a local church. Now what is wrong with that picture?

Why aren’t these families in church? Are you ready for the answer? You may not like it. The answer is because YOU have not reached out to them. YOU have not offered them any indication that church is a safe haven from the cruelties of the world that they face everyday. You might ask, “Don’t they know that church is a safe place for all?” My question is return is, “Is it?”

Now before I lose some of you or some of you take offence, let me say that these parents have had to defend their special needs loved ones, indeed, their whole family from a society that seems to enjoy laughing at the misfortune of others. Many are angry with God because their child was born with special needs. Many see the church as being made up of the same people that they have to protect their special needs child from. Sadly, with the exception of being angry with God, they may be right. How would YOU deal with or address these issues?

John 9: 1-5 states, 1. As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3. Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but is was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” 4. “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” 5. “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

We are to do God’s work. Jesus is the light of the world. The Holy Spirit lives within us when we accept salvation through Jesus and gives each of us a spiritual gift. At some point in time Christ will come again to claim the faithful and obedient. Then, it will be too late. What will you tell Jesus when He asks why you did not serve and do His work?

Matthew Matthew 22:37-39 (NASB) - 37. And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' 38. "This is the great and foremost commandment. 39. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'

We are to love the Lord our God with all that we have and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. It does not say that we are to wait on our neighbor to come to us to be lead to salvation and discipleship. We in the church or the Body of Christ have salvation (hopefully) and have submitted (prayerfully) to discipleship to lead others to Christ. We cannot do that if we do not reach out.

But how are you to reach out effectively? Most churches that do have a special needs ministry are usually highly ineffective because they are ill prepared. To be effective in ministry, any ministry, requires faith, obedience, prayer, and a great deal of planning. Just being “good enough” is not good enough. God’s work demands excellence. To be effective requires awareness, spiritual development, education, training and support. If you do not believe that let me ask a few questions. Are you aware of the legal issues involved? Do you know that there are medical issues involved? Are you familiar with crisis prevention and crisis interventions? Are you familiar with developmental and behavioral disorders? How do you teach a high functioning autistic compared to a moderately or lower functioning autistic?

Ninety eight percent of you are undoubtedly scratching your heads wondering what in the world I’m talking about. But fear not. This is the very reason that God’s Special Angels Ministries was founded. It is our goal to provide materials and services to make certain that you are aware, that you are provided a means to develop spiritual maturity and discipline necessary to perform ministry, that you are educated and trained, and that you have needed support. Our purpose to effectively prepare you to reach out to an often ignored demographic within the community and to educate and train you to do so effectively. You must be prepared.

Deuteronomy 28:29 states, “…and you grope at noon, as the blind man gropes in darkness, and you will not prosper in your ways; but you shall only be oppressed and robbed continually with none to save you.” (NASB)

The special needs individuals and their families are God’s “forgotten people”. They are forgotten because they are, for the most part, contained within the home. They are not often seen nor heard. They seem to not exist because they are “out of sight and out of mind”. However, God has not forgotten them. In fact, He is creating more special needs every day. In 1980, one out of 1000 births produced an autistic child. In the year 2000 that ratio has closed in to 1 out of 500 births. I think that God is trying to tell us something.

So what are YOU going to do? Are you going to step forth and accept the challenge to undertake a powerful ministry and wear your self out doing God’s work? Or, are you going to continue sitting in a church pew and rust out while everyone else does the work? I pray that I wear out long before I ever come close to rusting out.

The Bible says that many are called but few are chosen. I always wondered about this until I received my calling. God calls many to serve. Most will not answer the call because they do not want to commit their time and effort that they would rather be spending elsewhere doing things that they would rather be doing. Boiled down, this is the worship of idols. Whether it be going to ball games, boating, fishing, motorcycling, or what ever may be important to you. God calls many. Not many answer. But those who do answer God’s call are chosen. God chooses those who will answer and commit to Him what is needed, laying aside their own desires and wants. If you are too busy to answer God’s call then YOU are TOO busy! What do you think Jesus will say when you tell Him that you were too busy to answer God’s call to be chosen? My worst fear is that He will say, “I was not too busy to die on a cross for your redemption!”

To receive your salvation through the Blood of Christ Jesus and then just sit down and do nothing is unappreciative of such a great sacrifice. Get up and do SOMETHING for Jesus! I don’t care if it is cleaning rest rooms at church, picking up garbage from the church parking lot, singing in the choir, or handing out worship guides. YOU can do SOMETHING to further God’s Kingdom. Even Megan, my autistic daughter, serves her Lord faithfully and obediently and enjoys doing so.

My purpose is not to shame you or to make you feel guilty. I am trying to impress upon you that we are indeed saved by our faith but at some time we will be JUDGED for our works. God does not want to get anything FROM you. God is trying to get something TO you.

My gift, my passion is supporting God’s Church to see revival come upon the church so that the church can effectively reach out and support special needs individuals and their families within the church. That is what I do. What will you do?

Lonnie Richardson, God’s Special Angels Ministries.