Melissa Bartley was led to a small church at the end of her street about five years ago after praying for a place to begin a respite ministry. She is now serving as Special Needs Ministry Director at Hurst Baptist Church and leads monthly Game Nights with an average attendance of 6 adults with special needs and one young boy. On Sundays, her church welcomes an average of 3-4 adults with disabilities per week. Three have prayed and accepted Christ.

Melissa sent us this message on Facebook following their worship service on March 2nd…

Awesome Sunday….I have to share.

We only had a handful of people at church because of the bad weather and I decided not to teach. During the Praise and worship service, one of the young ladies looked at me with tears coming down her face…during her favorite song. I talked with her for a minute and then got on my knees and prayed with her. She accepted Christ. After church, our pastor prayed with her (while I sat with her and held hands with her). He told her that this is a special moment and she should be happy. Our Pastor always enjoys these moments.

Thanks to Melissa for her faithfulness. Thanks to the leaders of her church who embrace the vision of her ministry.

Jesus intends for ALL of His churches…from the very large to the very small…to extend His love and grace to persons with disabilities and their families.

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Key Ministry has assembled a helpful resource on the topic of Asperger’s Disorder and Spiritual Development. This page includes the blog series Dr. Grcevich and Mike Woods developed for Key Ministry, links to lots of helpful resources from other like-minded organizations, and Dr. Grcevich’s presentation on the topic from the 2012 Children’s Ministry Web Summit. Click here to access the page!