Today’s post is the tenth and final in a series about my visit to Stonebriar Community Church’s Special Needs Ministry in Frisco, Texas. Meaghan Wall, the Special Needs Ministry Coordinator for Stonebriar, was kind enough to provide a tour of the church’s special needs suite and offer a number of ideas for ministry best practices. In today’s post we’ll show a pictures of the greeting cards created by the special needs ministry participants and share how their artwork serves as a ministry fundraiser. The other posts in this series have or will feature helpful information related to:
- Special Needs Ministry Entrance
- Check-in Board
- Main Classroom
- Quiet Room
- Sensory Room
- Bathroom (and Toileting/Diapering Policies)
- Storage Closet & Snacks
- Family Picture Wall & Special Needs Emphasis Sunday
- Outside Playground
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Each year the special needs ministry of Stonebriar Community Church hosts a number of church families at a Joni & Friends Family Retreat. One of the ways the church helps to pay for the outing is by selling notecards featuring the artwork of ministry participants. Meaghan explained that the students submit hand-drawn pictures. Eight students’ artwork are then chosen to be part of the cardset offered in the annual sale. On the same Sunday the church has a special needs emphasis in worship (explained more here), the ministry sets up a table in the foyer of the church and sells cards for $5 per set. The sale of the cards also presents an additional opportunity for volunteers and families to talk up the ministry and their personal involvement. Meaghan shared that the entire process of receiving and selecting artwork submissions to promoting and selling the cards is a wonderfully positive experience for the ministry. Oftentimes people purchasing the cards will leave an additional donation beyond the $5 purchase price. It is not uncommon for at least one check to be received that covers the $1800 cost for one family of four to attend the Joni & Friends camp. This past year the church raised between $3000 and $4000 from the sales of the cardsets.
Checkout the great artwork on the 2011 cards (and I have included a picture of the back of one of the cards).
Does your church hold a fundraiser for the special needs ministry? Do you have other creative ideas for inviting people to contribute to the ministry (e.g. posting a “wish list” on your website?) We’d love to hear from you!
