For years, attending church as a family wasn't possible for the Alstons, whose 6-year-old son has autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. That is until a chance conversation led the family to a Virginia church dedicated to creating a space for individuals with special needs to grow in faith.
David Platt, the lead pastor at McLean Bible Church, told The Christian Post that caring for families like the Alstons is a priority for the church because they believe it's also a priority for God.
"He (God) loves, pursues, and is committed to providing for each of these individuals and their families, and we want to be a reflection of who He is for them every Sunday and all throughout the week," Platt said.
Saad and Krystal Alston are the parents of three children, and their youngest, Kristian, struggled with keeping still and remaining seated during church services. The family tried to work around their son’s disability by taking turns attending services with their older children at a Baptist church in Bailey’s Crossroads, which the couple had attended for 15 years.
As much as the church might have wanted to help, it didn't have the resources to address the Alston family’s needs.
One day, Krystal confided in another mother about her family’s situation during Kristian’s adaptive gymnastics class, an activity that can help children work on their motor skills.
“I was telling her that we were having trouble attending church as a family with Kristian and that they were great, but they just didn’t have the resources,” Krystal told CP.
“And then the mom asked me, ‘Have you ever heard of McLean Bible?’ I told her that we had, but we had never visited, and then she told us about the Access Ministry.”
McLean Bible Church has served individuals and families since 1996 through its Access Ministry, which includes Sunday school classes for individuals with special needs, monthly respite activities, sibling events and summer camp. What started as a way to accommodate four families with special needs children has grown into a ministry that serves more than 1,000 children and their families.
“We want to come around these families, and we want to make sure they can come to church together,” Access Ministry Director Julia Lundquist told CP. “We’ve seen how this ministry has been the core of our church, and our whole church family has realized these people are an important part of our church.”
When the Alstons attended McLean Bible Church for the first time, something special stood out to Saad: the family was able to sit together in the sanctuary throughout the service. This was a welcome change from their previous situation, which usually saw one parent sitting in the nursery with Kristian if they wanted to attend church.
“The support has been consistent; they love on Kristian,” Krystal said about the church’s staff. “They do a really good job of meeting the needs of each family but also the needs of each child or participant.”
As of June, Krystal and her family have attended McLean for a year. Kristian is part of the Access Ministry’s Beautiful Blessings classes for children ages 2 to 15, which assigns a one-on-one “buddy” to help the child participate in children’s or student ministry.
The couple’s older children, 15-year-old Isaiah and 16-year-old AJ, are also involved in youth ministry through McLean. Krystal and Saad have been part of a marriage ministry called Re|Engage for a year, and they started serving as facilitators last September.
Knowing that his son often struggles with verbal communication, Saad felt that McLean was a good fit for his family once Kristian expressed excitement about returning. Each Saturday night, as the family settles down for bed, Kristian will ask eagerly, “‘Go to church tomorrow? Go to church tomorrow?’”
“That started when he was only speaking about two-word phrases at a time,” the father said. “The encouragement there was that he was articulating his wants and needs, and that’s been a real difficult thing for him. So, just for him to do that, we knew that was a really sincere thing, and we really liked this place.”
According to Lundquist, 25 new Access families have joined at McLean's Tysons location this year, a 20% growth for McLean’s Sunday Access classes. The ministry has also had 20 new volunteers join the team since January, allowing McLean to continue welcoming new families.
