Our Newsletter
Our Fall 2009 newsletter features information about this summer's Family Retreats as well as a calendar of events. Our newsletter is available to download or read online from our Home page (on the menu to the left).  We are eager to share the many ways the LORD is changing lives through the ministry of Joni and Friends Greater Boston.

It's easy to make a financial gift to support Joni and Friends Greater Boston. To make a tax-deductible gift, simply click on Donations (to the left on this page) and follow the directions...and thank you!

Through the Roof
Joni and Friends Greater Boston provides training and resources for churches seeking to more intentionally reach out to people with disabilities and their families. Whether your church is just beginning to explore the area of serving individuals with disabilities and their families, or if youíve been involved in disability ministry for many years, weíre here to serve you, to encourage you and cheer you on, and to equip you to take the next step.

We are available to provide training to individual churches and also offer area-wide training events. (See our Events page for information about specific training events.) Just as the four friends on Mark 2 would not be stopped in finding a way to get their friend to Jesus, and even were willing to go through the roof to gain access to Jesus, you too can find creative ways to help people with disabilities come to know and follow our wonderful Lord! And as you do, youíll discover that a church with a busted roof can actually have a beauty that you may not have experienced before!

Mom's Morning Out
Joni and Friends Greater Boston offers Mom's Morning Out, a bi-monthly get-together for moms in the Greater Boston area who have children of any age with disabilities of any kind. Our group meets at the Westgate Church in Weston, MA, on a Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. till noon. We share brunch and conversation together, usually hear from a speaker who shares from her own experience as a mom, and then we gather in smaller groups for prayer. December dates are posted on our Events page.

In April 2009, a NH Mom's Morning Out started and is held in Bedford, NH. See our events page for upcoming dates and contact information.

New Hampshire Joni and Friends Family Retreats
2010 FAMILY RETREAT DATES! Mark your calendar now and plan to join us in beautiful Greenfield NH next summer: June 8 - 12 and August 16 - 20., 2010.
We hold two Family Retreats in New England at the Barbara C. Harris Center in Greenfield, NH. These weeks of retreat are a great way for families affected by disability to connect with each other, with people from a variety of churches throughout the region, and ultimately, to strengthen their connection with the Lord. Families are refreshed by the Bible teaching, the fellowship in small groups, the recreational activities and the freedom to be themselves!

Short-term missionaries (STMs) are volunteers who serve families, providing extra support to the family member with disabilities, thus allowing other family members to participate in programming designed for them, confident that the family member with a disability is being cared for and is also able to fully participate in his or her program.

Contact us for more information and cost to attend one of the New Hampshire Family Retreats as a family or as an STM at 617-723-1750 or by emailing the retreat director at lsmith@joniandfriends.org

Beyond Limits
Our office has also produced a one-year Bible curriculum called Beyond Limits. This 52-week curriculum is specifically designed for those who are teaching teens and adults with developmental disabilities, such as mental retardation or autism. It can be used in a Sunday School class or a mid-week class or discipleship group. It is also adaptable for use as Bible curriculum for parents who are home-schooling students with special needs.

Jesus' call to "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19) includes people with developmental disabilities. Beyond Limits uses Bible stories from the book of Matthew to present themes that are foundational to growing as a follower of Jesus. Salvation, Prayer, Worship, Witnessing, Obedience and Service are themes that are revisited throughout the year.

Using the Visual Bible "Matthew" series (available on video or DVD) as the central teaching visual, Beyond Limits will captivate your students as they watch the dramatization of the Bible lessons. But for all of us, discipleship is more than knowing Bible stories; it is applying truth to our lives. Through application activities specifically designed to relate to the life experiences of teens and adults with developmental disabilities, your students will be encouraged to apply truth in their own lives. Beyond Limits seeks to help students grow in their faith and to develop the gifts and abilities that God has placed within them. Designed for students with minimal or no reading skills, these lessons can be used with students of varying cognitive abilities. The teacher's guide is written for laypersons and can be used both by experienced teachers and by those who are ministering to students with special needs for the very first time! Although it is designed for use in self-contained classes, there are also suggestions of ways to better integrate students with special needs into the larger life of the congregation throughout the curriculum. We believe students need to be taught God's Word in ways that they can best understand, but it is equally important that individuals with special needs have the opportunity to be part of the life of the church as a whole.

Here is a sample lesson and the Beyond Limits brochure. For more information contact us at GreaterBoston@joniandfriends.org