a new thing...

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

I have to confess that I don't know why I am up at 4:30 am...other than the fact that I am excited, overwhelmed, nervous, and just plain ecstatic to see how the Lord is going to work and move through the Mustard Seed Project. the Mustard Seed Project is a new ministry for kids, teens, and adults with special needs that is being launched at our church TONIGHT.

My dear, sweet, amazing friend, Melissa, is my coordinator for this new ministry and we have prayed over and have carefully worked on this since October. Yes, that's right...we have worked on this for 5 months, so we are super excited to unveil the plan and watch how the Lord works through Mustard Seed to bring ALL people to Jesus. I can't express to you how much of my heart is wrapped up in this ministry...words just can't do it justice.

I could go into lots of details and facts about families with special needs children...how 85% of families that are in some way effected by a special needs child are unchurched OR that only 10% of the churches in north carolina have ANY type of ministry or emphasis on special needs (I only shared 2 facts ;). But, I would like to ask you (and I don't really know who you are because my site statistics show that waay more people read the blog than comment and that is okay) to pray for this ministry. Below is a prayer request email of sorts that Melissa emailed last week; I know this is a long post but if you would pray for this "new thing" the Lord is doing, I would be so very grateful.

Hello friends,
By now you have probably received something in the mail about the new Mustard Seed Project that is starting at Hickory Grove. The reason for my e-mail is to ask you to pray! We are asking the Lord to do a work among our special needs population like never before! We are asking Him to work in their families to bring hope and joy to some otherwise hopeless and hard situations.

Imagine being told that there is no place for your child in church. Parents call and ask if there is a place for their handicapped teen or child and up until now we have had to say "No, we do not have a place for teens and there is one class for children." Kids with milder disabilities are being put in regular Sunday school classes, and while they are welcome, it is sometimes difficult to understand how to meet their needs or deal with their behaviors. Things have got to change and we are praying for direction from the Lord for the most God honoring way to make those changes.

Please pray:
*For us and families to communicate effectively on behalf of their kids
*For us to utilize the resources that we currently have at the church to meet the needs before we branch out. We want to be good stewards and we need wisdom to do that.
*For lives to be touched and for people to come to know Jesus as their Savior
*For the Lord to provide the volunteers that we need to make this ministry all that it can be for these kids
*For us to not bite off more than we can chew! It is very tempting to try to address every need that we see. We are interested in getting Sunday school better situated before moving on so that families can be in church together and hear God's Word proclaimed!
*For wisdom, direction, patience and love that just flows as we deal with each family and their individual needs.

The Lord is so faithful. He has already amazed us at how He is providing! He is doing all of it and we would never want to take it from His hands. We want to be so careful to never get ahead of His plan and provision so we are praying for His will.

The Mustard Seed Project is named after a story in the book of Matthew where Jesus was met in a crowd by a dad. He was desperate for Jesus to heal his son of the seizures and suffering that he was experiencing. The disciples had tried, but could not heal him. Jesus spoke and healed the boy instantly. When the disciples asked Jesus about the healing Jesus replied in verses 20-21 of Matthew 17, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

We do have faith! We believe that the Lord can and will work among His people and that He is still in the miracle business. He loves each one the same. Whether they are in a wheelchair, on a walker, dealing with learning disabilities or autism... He can speak and He has a plan for their lives. We do have the faith of a mustard seed and we are asking that you come along side us in prayer.

Thank you!

Melissa and Amy

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