By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



ChristWay Church of God is hosting a pageant next month that is a little different than most.

The No Boundaries Pageant, set for Jan. 30 at the church, is strictly for special-needs girls.

Also, the idea behind the pageant is more than just a one-night event: It is the kickoff to a full-scale ministry for special-needs children and their parents.

“We have some ladies here who have this passion. God has put this on them and they feel like this is their calling,” said ChristWay church secretary Crystal Reno. “Most of them have family members or friends who have this need. It’s a personal thing along with having a heart and compassion for it.”

The ministry, also to be called No Boundaries, was the idea of church member Amy Harris.

Harris has a little brother with autism. She has seen her parents struggle with balancing home and church life.

“My mom and dad take turns going to church on Sundays,” said Harris. “There’s no church in the area that has a ministry for kids with disabilities.”

Harris lives in Pinson and has attended ChristWay for four years.

She said that when she approached the pastor, F.R. Bryant, he was excited about the ministry idea.

Bryant was unavailable for comment.

No Boundaries is still in the planning stages.

“We’re trying to get everybody trained and everything in place,” said Harris.

The volunteers for No Boundaries will be fully trained for the ministry. Reno said they will all learn CPR and be trained by people who work regularly with special-needs children.

According to Harris, the volunteers will work with occupational therapists and training therapists.

“Parents can know their special-needs children are being taken care of properly,” said Reno.

Plans call for a “respite night,” where parents can drop off their children on Saturday evenings.

“Parents can go have dinner by themselves or even just go to the grocery store,” Reno said.

Harris anticipates respite nights starting in January.

There will also be trained volunteers to head up classes for special-needs children on Sundays, so parents can have the choice of attending services weekly.

The pageant on Jan. 30 will open the doors to the No Boundaries ministry.

Girls ages infant to 20 are invited to sign up. There is no charge to be in the pageant.

Some dresses have been donated to the church for the event. To see if there is a dress size available for your child, call the church at 631-7790.

The deadline to enter the pageant is Dec. 31.

For a registration form or for additional information, visit www.christwaycog.org.