Purpose
The ministries of compassion and mission cannot be separated. Those with special needs, while deserving of compassion, also see themselves as God’s ambassadors to reach out to others like themselves with the message of hope. They can play a vital role in the mission of the church.
Compassionate service is the need of the hour. And the Special Needs Ministries aims to help our churches become communities that value and fully include people with special needs, showing compassion on those who need our love and support, more than anyone else. It seeks to provide support and resources for special needs coordinators, caregivers as well as people who have special needs, so that everyone’s gifts and talents can be used in fulfilling God’s mission.
Mission
Special Needs Ministries seeks to inspire, equip, and mobilize those who are differently-abled to serve God and community as expressed in the mission statement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Vision
Special Needs Ministries desires to see that equality of human beings especially in the fold of God.
Goal
Special Needs Ministries seeks to bring wholeness to all in a world that is broken. This global ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church encompasses ministry for and with those with different abilities such as the Deaf, blind, orphans, and those with mental health and mobility challenges.
3-A Strategy
Through a 3-dimensional strategy called 3-A Strategy we seek to minister to the needs of these special children of God.
Awareness– Precise numbers are difficult, but the number of global deaf (we are just looking at one need) range from 75 to 350 million deaf, of which less than 2% are Christian of any kind. The 2011 Indian census cites roughly 1.3 million people with “hearing impairment.” Contrast that to numbers from India’s National Association of the Deaf, which estimates that 18 million people — roughly 1 percent of the Indian population — are deaf. Among the children, India has close to 20.42 lakh disabled children which are an astounding figure. There are an estimated 45 million blind people in the world, out of which one in three live in India. This would mean around 15 million blind people across the country. In Karnataka of the total 52.8 million population 9.4 lakh persons i.e. 1.8 percent of the population is disabled.
Acceptance– Acceptance includes seeing those with special needs as individuals and, second, the mission to reach them with the Adventist message of hope. When all need to realize that God accepts all, especially those who are challenged. His love and care is given more especially to them. We are God’s ambassadors and representatives to accept them on behalf of Him.
Action – The action we need to take for the Special Needs Ministries is an educational approach — more than a medical one. The majority of the deaf do not see themselves as being “disabled” but rather as being part of a unique culture with its own language.