The Personal Development of Hinder Not

Hinder Not  is the manifestation of God’s work in my life over the last nine years. During that time, I became a father of seven wonderful children. I also had the opportunity to be a Sunday Bible fellowship teacher to 1st and 3rd graders, a large group teacher for 3rd through 5th graders, and an activities director for Kindergartners up to 5th graders. However, I experienced my most eye opening work when I was a special education teacher.
For two years I had the opportunity to see children in their most common element – school. I heard and witnessed the toils and struggles of the students trying to master basic skills in order to progress into knowledgeable adults some day. My primary work was with children who struggled harder than most to learn.  As I taught them strategies, I also had the opportunity to find out more about their life. One student in particular had a hard time staying awake during school. I asked her why and the she told me that after school she went to work with her parents. They finished work at midnight and would either go grocery shopping or do laundry at the laundromat. She told me that most nights she would get to bed close to 2:00 in the morning. I shuddered at the thought of this and my heart grew in desire to find ways to minister to my students.
After the spring of 2007, I was laid off as a teacher and had plenty of time to think of ways to minister to children with special needs and their families. I also had the blessing of putting my experience to the test in the church we had attended for several years. A handsome young boy with autism was coming to the point of possibly being transferred from the preschool hallway to the elementary hallway up stairs. A child with autism already has trouble with transitions and this move would be like you taking a trip to another country without knowing the language, customs, or ways of its people. The parents and grandparents were very concerned, so I was asked to help smooth out the transition. After communicating with the boy’s family, I learned that he was not moving up to kindergarten that year and was entering a new treatment program. I learned more about the program and began to train his teachers and the ministry staff on ways to work with him. That year was a big success for him and the people around him. The next year he was transitioning to kindergarten and everyone was ready to make it happen. The transition went well and a new vision was added to the calling God had placed on my life when I surrendered to the ministry at the age of seventeen. That experience is what I consider as the birth of Hinder Not.
As a young ministry, I see that many more relationships and experiences will help to mold the work of this ministry. The primary goal is grounded on Matthew 19:13-15 where Jesus commanded that that the disciples should not hinder the parents from bringing their children to Him. Hinder Not is here to help make the ministries of churches inclusive to the special needs community, their families, and their other caregivers. Please make it a point in your prayer time lift this new ministry up. If you have any questions please  email me at wayd2him@live.com or call me at (770) 592-2125 or (404) 308-4696.