Nine-year-old Matthew Joyner had just moved to Leawood three decades ago when he became the namesake of a local program that is still in operation today.
After meeting Matthew, Pastor Adam Hamilton of the Church of the Resurrection told Matthew’s parents he had a vision — he wanted to create a way to serve Matthew and people like him in the church.
Today, the Church of the Resurrection’s Matthew’s Ministry special needs program has grown to serve more than 200 families.
The Joyners joined the church in 1993
Matthew Joyner and his family moved to Leawood from Arlington, Texas, in 1993 and made it a priority to find a new church.
At the time, the Church of the Resurrection was meeting in smaller spaces, such as a funeral home off of State Line Road and at Leawood Elementary School. (The current campus, with its distinctive roof jutting into the air over 135th Street, wouldn’t open until 2017.)
Ann and Jerry Joyner attended an open house for the church, and not long after, Hamilton met Matthew during a visit to their house.
Hamilton told Ann and Jerry that he thought Matthew could be the start of the church’s first special needs ministry, and he organized a meet-and-greet for church volunteers to meet Matthew.
After that, Ann said, “the rest was history.”
“It was an ‘Aha! Moment,’” she said. “[Hamilton] just said, ‘Give us a chance.’”
Matthew passed away in 2005
Matthew was born with a rare chromosomal condition that limited his mobility and ability to speak.
He was 21 years old when he died, after having endured several surgeries over the years.
Ann recalled that Matthew brought fun into his family’s lives.
Today, a large stained-glass window in the church in Leawood contains a nod to Matthew — an image of him reading a book.
Joyner has also published a book detailing Matthew’s life.
“He was a blast,” Joyner said. “He had an infectious laugh. He was filled with joy.”
Matthew’s Ministry offers individual and group programs
The ministry’s “Angel Care” program offers one-on-one support for people with special needs during weekday and Sunday services, as well weekly small groups and Bible studies.
The ministry also runs a “Family Night Out” program, which first began in 2001 that pairs participants with volunteers for activities and crafts for one evening a month.
Through other programs like the ministry’s Sonflower Bakery, Drama Club and Sonflower Hand Bell Ringers, participants get to explore their skills in baking and music.
Matthew’s Ministry leaders say these programs allow participants to use new skills of which their families may not have known they were capable.
“This started with one individual, and it took us several years to build on that,” said Marna Terblanche, the current director of Matthew’s Ministry. “Each program that we added was because a need arose for it.”
Leaders hope Matthew’s Ministry keeps growing
For the next 30 years, Terblanche said she hopes to see Matthew’s Ministry continue to expand in a number of ways.
That includes spreading its services to the other five Church of the Resurrection locations around the Kansas City area — as well as expanding vocational training to give participants more employment opportunities and creating more services for people that might require extra care.
Terblanche said she would like to collaborate more with other organizations in the community that serve people with special needs.
“Since I started this role, I’ve just thought, ‘Why aren’t all of us working together?'” She said. “All of the organizations that do this kind of thing in the community, we all want to do the same thing, right? We all want to serve this population.”
Ann Joyner said that in the years to come, she looks forward to seeing Matthew’s Ministry continue to grow.
The program is not just for serving people with special needs, she said, but it’s also a teaching opportunity for those around them.
“It’s an awareness ministry, it’s an outreach ministry,” she said. “It’s not just for people with special needs, it’s something that community needs. Because these are their next-door neighbors and their relatives.”
Go deeper: Find more information about Matthew’s Ministry here.
