Inspire, Spring 2009

Cedarville University 13 During Shepherds Ministries’ 45th anniversary, my wife, Nancy (Ross) ’73, and I found ourselves flat on our faces before the Lord. Our ministry, located in Union Grove, Wisconsin, started in a local church to provide care for children with developmental disabilities. But now, our clients were aging, something that hadn’t been on the radar of those who began this great ministry. And the gap between the rising cost of care and the increasing inability of parents to pay was advancing faster than the generous giving from individuals and churches. How could we continue? What was God leading us to do? I called together our board of directors and executive team for a visioning summit. In those days of prayer and discussion, we took stock of our current ministry and laid out a vision for the future. In this process, we discovered an opportunity. A gap had emerged among the age groups in our ministry. All of our applicants and current clients were in their 30s, 40s, and beyond. Where were the 20-somethings? To answer this question, Shepherds launched a national study. The results confirmed that there was not only a gap in services but also a gaping hole in meeting the transitional needs of 20-somethings. Many of these young people were failing at their first job and ending up at home on the couch, without motivation or hope for the future. The waiting lists for additional services were up to 10 years long. Because of this hole in services, we realized we had a tremendous opportunity. And so we launched a bold new initiative: Shepherds College. This postsecondary school equips students with developmental disabilities to successfully transition from school to work and from home to independent living. Shepherds College offers a genuine “degree of hope” that fulfills a great need for this population. Grabbing an Opportunity DEGREE OF Hope “All of our applicants and current clients were in their 30s, 40s, and beyond. Where were the 20-somethings?”