What does it mean for us to be created in the image of God? In this episode, Pastor Will Marotti with New Life Church, Connecticut, shares his heart for the differently-abled community, discusses how God sees His children, and how digital giving has empowered the church to serve differently-abled children and their parents.
Will’s life changed when he heard the sound of his son crying when he was born. Although doctors hadn’t known it yet, Will’s second child was born with Down syndrome and a critical heart defect. When Will shares the story of his son and the impact he’s made on their family, he admits that having a child with special needs changes your life, but that he wouldn’t change anything about his life.
His son, also named Will, has brought so much joy to their family and the church congregation’s lives. Experiencing parenthood firsthand with a child with special needs and connecting with families in their community taught Will these kids are just like everybody else. They have the same dreams, the same goals, the same aspirations. And from that personal experience, Will wanted to create an environment where these children could be who they wanted to be.
First, it started with hosting a ‘Night To Shine’—a nationwide event and worldwide movement that celebrates people with special needs. Then, after seeing New Life Church’s enthusiastic response, Will began looking for more ways to help bless families with kids who are differently-abled or have special needs; their church has recently repurposed an unused wing of its building for sensory rooms and started a buddy program.
Communicating To Inspire Giving
Pastor Will also shared why communicating about giving is essential for sustainable ministry, even through a pandemic. He shared that New Life Church decided to prioritize electronic giving around five years ago. The benefits of this decision and the consistent communication of online giving are seen today.
78% of the church’s annual giving comes in electronically, and it stayed consistent through the pandemic. “Pushpay helped sustain and allow our church to continue functioning and functioning strong.” Despite facing a pandemic, their church was still able to host a blood drive and open enrollment for summer camp. Will says, “Because we were able to be sustained during those really dark times during Covid, we’re still able to continue to offer the ministries to the community that we have done, and we didn’t have to pull back anything.” Now that the pandemic is ending and those ministries are launching again, Will is focusing on growing their special needs ministry even more.
New Life Church continues to impact its local community, from sharing the gospel to providing resources to families of children with special needs. One of the tools that streamlines their ministry is Pushpay. Click here to learn more about how Pushpay can help your church’s ministry.
Sarah Long
Sarah is a passionate storyteller who has spent more than five years serving 70+ churches and faith-based organizations with their marketing. She knows what it takes to make churches stand out online and strategically grow. When she’s not crafting meaningful content or scouring the web for the latest trends, Sarah loves to take a break by cozying up with her favorite book, savoring a warm cup of coffee, and spending quality time with family. With her love for storytelling, Sarah’s mission is to equip and empower churches to leave a lasting impact on their communities.
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