"Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it." (Matthew 10:29)
God cares about the life of a tiny little bird that most of us ignore, but He cares much more about people. Many children with disabilities and their families are unsupported by their local church because churches are simply not equipped to support children who aren't developing typically. God wants His Church to demonstrate His love to ALL people. It's not the children's job to be typical, it's OUR JOB to gain skills and put systems in place to support them and their families.
Chirp exists to support and equip churches to reach people affected by developmental disabilities and their families with the news of God's love. Chirp is making church welcoming for children with special needs and their families!
Approximately 1 in 100 children in the United States has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. This statistic does not include Down Syndrome, cognitive disability (mental retardation), difficulties related to prematurity, Cerebral Palsy, or any of a multitude of other disorders that require specialized care.
The rate of disability in children in the U.S. is 11%. This means that in our country about 4 million children and their families are living with special needs of some kind. If you invite 10 families in your neighborhood to your church, statistics say that one of them will have a child with special needs. Can your church accommodate that child and welcome that family?
Children affected by disability often demonstrate challenging behavior, attention difficulties, sensory needs, difficulty/inability to communicate, and inappropriate social behaviors. Do the teachers in your children’s classrooms have the practical skills to cope successfully with these issues? Do you have structures and systems in place to support these children?
Parents of children with special needs often feel ostracized, unwelcome, embarrassed, and fatigued. They don’t know where to get help and hope. Their marriages and finances are often shaky, they usually aren’t able to participate in small groups, and they long for someone to love and accept them and their children. Churches often turn these families away due to lack of preparation and education. It is our job to reach THE WORLD for Christ, and it’s obvious from the above statistics that in our world, many families need the support of a team of people specially trained to provide care for their children.
Your church WILL and SHOULD include people with special needs – are you ready to provide support to them and their families?
People affected by developmental disabilities and their families are currently an unreached people group who deserve to be welcomed and cared for with excellence. Together, we can reach this population for Jesus!
Our name was chosen because of this passage:
