• Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • About
  • Home

Pathway

Baptist & Christian News

  • Missouri
    • MBC
    • Churches
    • Institutions & Agencies
    • Policy
    • Disaster Relief
  • National
    • SBC Annual Meeting
    • NAMB
    • SBC
    • Churches
    • Policy
    • Society & Culture
  • Global
    • Missions
    • Multicultural
  • Columnists
    • John Yeats
    • Don Hinkle
    • Pat Lamb
    • Rhonda Rhea
    • Rob Phillips
  • Ethics
    • Life
    • Liberty
    • Family
  • Faith
    • Apologetics
    • Religions
    • Evangelism
    • Missions
    • Bible Study & Devotion

More results...

CAPE GIRARDEAU – Gabriel Meyer prays during Bethany Baptist Church’s special needs Vacation Bible School. Gabriel was one of 20 children to take advantage of the church’s special needs ministry. Pathway photo by Emily Orr

Special needs VBS uplifts Cape Girardeau families

July 18, 2017 By Brian Koonce

CAPE GIRARDEAU – Vacation Bibles Schools (VBS) are billed as being open to all, but Bethany Baptist Church here, took the extra step to make sure special needs children in their community knew that God created them and loves them.

During plans for the church’s traditional VBS, a mother of an autistic boy asked Donna Johnson why there couldn’t be a VBS designed specifically for children in the church and community with special needs. Johnson and the rest of Bethany took on the challenge. Word of mouth grew and soon 20 kids – all with special needs and most with some form of autism – were part of Bethany’s special needs VBS.

“Many of these kids who are all around us might get left out due to their needs or circumstances,” said Shawn Wasson, Bethany’s pastor. “It was a chance to give them an opportunity to have fun and learn about Jesus in a way they might not otherwise get. It was challenging, but we all had a great time.”

“They got the full experience,” Johnson said. “They got to go to each station to see and do everything.”

The main differences were slightly quieter music, dimmer lights, and that each student was paired with a “buddy” from the church to be by their side from start to finish, station to station.

They gave parents who desired a breather a chance to take a break in the hospitality room and watch the Cardinals game and provided a sensory room in case a child needed a break from the action and a chance to calm down.

Wasson said that because of the unusual nature of the VBS, people from outside the church volunteered to help in various ways. Some with clinical training or special education backgrounds helped train other VBS volunteers, and some helped set up the sensory room.

“We had almost as many people from the outside helping us as we did from within the church,” he said. “And they were able to hear the gospel of Jesus as well.”

Preparations for the special needs VBS also caught the attention of the Southeast Missourian, KFVS Channel 12 TV and a local radio station, furthering the community feel of the outreach.

“It’s amazing how meeting a need like this opened so many doors for communication with people we didn’t know,” Wasson said.

Wasson and Johnson said they and the church are looking forward to expanding the special needs VBS next summer and are currently exploring options for year-round special needs ministries.

“We’re a small church, but we’re praying and following up to see what we can do,” Johnson said.

Comments

Trending

  • Third season of ‘The Chosen’ series: entertaining, but controversy grows
  • Sports betting not the only legislative effort to expand gambling in Missouri
  • Four examples of where the New World Translation gets it wrong
  • 10 key biblical doctrines denied by Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • SBU theatre students to compete in Washington D.C.

Ethics

Missouri Senate passes ‘SAFE Act,’ aimed to nix gender transition procedures for minors

Benjamin Hawkins

The Missouri Senate passed two bills protecting children and students from harm caused by the LGBTQ+ agenda, March 23. Both bills are now on their way to the state’s House of Representatives for approval.

Proposal from United States health department would roll back conscience rights, ERLC says

Tom Strode

More Ethics Stories

Missouri

SBU theatre students to compete in Washington D.C.

Tim Howe

Kylie Yeast first performed on stage at age 6. Cast in her community theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol, Yeast began a journey that has come to define her calling. Now a senior at SBU, Yeast recently added winner of the prestigious Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship to her long list of credits.

Copyright © 2023 · The Pathway