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From the time I was a very young child I’ve known I was special in God’s eyes. By the age of six or eight I had come to know that, while everyone is special to God and He loves all of us equally, there were some kids around me who were, humanly speaking, MORE special.
In those days we didn’t call them Special Needs. All kinds of bad names lumped a wide variety of kids into broad categories. None of them were flattering, much less loving. That always bothered me. I gravitated toward these kids who seemed to me to be more vulnerable and, at the same time, more open. I love that.
Ministry to these “Special Ones” at FBC, Stockton has been called Special Stars and is lead by Rose Lockhart and a small, dedicated team. They are and always will be special but now, we are changing the name to ACCESS. This name change is a result of something that happened in my own ministry life a few years ago at my last church. I realized through the loving encourage-ment of a friend who is a Special Needs teacher that EVERYONE DESERVES ACCESS TO THE CROSS and we weren’t doing that there.
While we have the foundation of a great service to these dear ones here, I am as convinced as ever that we need to keep this message at the forefront of our minds and make sure we are ministering to EVERYONE at the point where we find them.
Pray for these families and children as they experience unique struggles in taking THEIR next step in knowing Jesus and making Him known!
Blessings!!
Pastor Mark Washburn
Associate Pastor to Children & Families
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