The January Report is Here!

January 19, 2016

A focus area in this issue of the Equip is service-learning. At Elim, service-learning allows us to live out our mission of equipping individuals with special needs to achieve their God-given potential. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus defines “God-given potential” when he commands us to:

“…love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind…and love your neighbor as yourself.”

In light of Jesus’ command, one very tangible way for each of us to achieve our God-given potential is by loving and serving others. In loving and serving, we learn to place God and the needs of others before our own needs. This is a challenging but very important life skill for all of us, including the students and adults at Elim.

Visitors and staff are often humbled by their interactions with the students and adults at Elim because so many of them show such a genuine interest in others when they often have every reason to be preoccupied with themselves. But the reality for so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ with disabilities is that while they may be inclined to think of others first, their disability often isolates them, or worse yet, some may believe the disability “disqualifies” them from actually serving others. A part of our mission at Elim is to help break down the barriers that keep our students and adults from serving – from actively living out their God-given potential.

The genuine concern that so many of the students and adults at Elim have for others is humbling, and the satisfaction they receive from serving is compelling. This issue of the Equip gives you a brief glimpse into service-learning at Elim. The stories of the drama team and show choir and the service that Elim adults provide at Daybreak Homeless Shelter are tangible expressions of Elim living out its mission. It is “God-given potential” being lived out by the students and adults at Elim. Thank you for being a part of it!