A Special Hope Podcast is the brainchild of guest blogger, Sarah Broady. Today, Sarah explains how the podcast came to be. Tomorrow in Part 2, she’ll be back with the details on how to subscribe and share the podcast with your friends who are parents of kids with special needs and disabilities.

On the way home from the Wonderfully Made Conference in Kansas City in the fall of 2018, I was on the same flight as fellow speaker, John Felageller, so we had lots of time to chat. I asked if he listened to podcasts and what his favorites were. Then, a light went off. We had just come off our second conference of the year for special needs families and ministry leaders, and I had the idea for a podcast that accomplished what these conferences sought to do. My conference workshop focused on building better relationships between parents and ministry leaders, and I wondered, is there a way to take that presentation and put it in podcast form? Is there room in the podcasting world for me? Would anyone actually listen? What in the world would I even do?

I decided that I would work best by talking with someone else. I enjoy interview style podcasts and by focusing on interviewing other people, I would have a never-ending pool of future content. I was proud to kick off the show by interviewing the one that inspires me to do what I do as a writer, speaker and now podcaster – my son with autism, Samuel Broady. You can listen to Episode 1, “All About Hope and Autism: An Interview with Samuel Broady” on your favorite podcasting app or the website!

I knew the podcast needed a title to describe the podcast in a few words. It needed to be concise and catchy. My website is Hope in Autism, and I wanted hope to be a major aspect of the podcast. As a Christian, I wanted to point my listeners to the unique and special hope we have in Jesus Christ. One day, the title hit me – A Special Hope Podcast – a title that hit the nail on the head, It conveys the life of special needs and the special hope we have as believers. At the end of each podcast conversation, I ask the interviewee what their special hope is, especially related to their faith, in doing what they do. 

A main goals of the podcast is to bridge the gap between families and ministry leaders, whether church or community ministries, and foster understanding and compassion. My hope is that ministry leaders listen with the intent of understanding where families are coming from. I hope the stories of families who have been hurt by the church show them what not to do, or how to handle situations better. I hope they’ll learn from what other ministry leaders are doing as they serve disability families. I hope families are encouraged by the stories of fellow special needs families and know they’re not alone. I hope parents hear about resources – books, websites, and other podcasts. I hope parents will better understand the perspectives of ministry leaders so they will better navigate conflict. 

Many books, organizations, and ministries have been born out of lives different than originally planned because of the presence of disability. Romans talks about stair steps to hope, the first step being suffering, and  the pinnacle being hope. While disability does not equal suffering, we all know the grief and hardship and even loss that can come of it. A Special Hope Podcast is all about discovering special hope in the stories of those living with special needs, those who minister to special needs families, and the God who is making all things new in the midst of the trials and difficulties that can accompany disability, and how it affects both the individual and the family caring for them.

Part 2

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