From a God-sized dream to reality

It started as an idea among a group of families with special needs children: Where will my child with disabilities live when I am no longer able to provide care? How will they get the quality, loving attention they need? Why are there not enough residential options for adults with special needs in South Carolina?

After all, these parents knew full well that long-term independence and self-reliance are not attained by everyone, especially when certain special children become adults. In the 1990s, when the idea took root, intellectual and developmental disabilities made independent living impossible for nearly three thousand adults in South Carolina. Most of these children were now middle-aged and remained at home with aging parents who were struggling with the double responsibility of caring for themselves and their handicapped adult children.

Out of these questions arose a beautiful possibility.

In 2003, thanks to a partnership between these families and the South Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church and a lot of hard work, Aldersgate Special Needs Ministry was born.

This book shares the story of the first twenty years of this thriving ministry, which helps men and women with developmental disabilities find residential solutions in Christian homes where they can enjoy the highest quality of life and greatest level of independence.

"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest."-Isaiah 32:18 (NIV)