First Baptist Church of Plano

Autism Light #84 is the First Baptist Church of Plano. 

The First Baptist Church of Plano is located at 1300 East 15th Street in Plano, Texas.  The church was started in 1872. Dr. Jerry Carlisle has served as the pastor of the church since 2002. The First Baptist Church of Plano is an Autism Light because one of their ministries is an Autism Book Club.

The Autism Book Club is one of the small group ministries of the First Baptist Church of Plano. Their website provides this introduction to the Autism Book Club.

Learning to cope with a diagnosis and treatment options for children with autism is a daunting process. Every journey in our life has a purpose, and even in the tough times there is so much God can teach us. We can enjoy our children and our role as parents as we learn to help our children conquer their challenges and celebrate their strengths and accomplishments. The purpose of this group is to find the hope, healing, and learning that comes through faith and trust in God. Our focus will be to find the inspiration that we receive when looking at and sharing the scriptures, and encouraging one another through the challenges of being parents and caregivers of special needs children (Source).

The Autism Book Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at the First Baptist Church of Plano and is led by Rose Henke.  The following are some of the books they are studying between August, 2011 and August, 2012:

• Raindrops on Roman
• Life Without Limits
• Autism's Hidden Blessings
• Joni: An Unforgettable Story
• A Friend Like Henry
• Life Interrupted: Navigating the Unexpected

The format for the Autism Book Club is they discuss the above books every other month and on the other months they are going through Max Lucado's Life Lesson Series.  On August 10, 2011 the group also had the special opportunity to meet Bobbi Sheahan and Dr. Kathy DeOrnellas discuss their book What I Wish I'd Known About Raising a Child with Autism.  For more information on this program visit www.fbcplano.org/autism-book-club.

For more information about the First Baptist Church of Plano visit their website at www.fbcplano.org.  The First Baptist Church of Plano's Facebook page is another source of ongoing information via social media.

Special thanks to the First Baptist Church of Plano for sponsoring an Autism Book Club that can be a spiritual inspiration for those people impacted by the autism of a loved one.  Perhaps this program can serve as an idea for other churches as well as other types of groups to consider undertaking on behalf of autism support and awareness.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism.