We sat down with Rodney Wiebe, to hear firsthand about a role that has grown alongside Bethesda’s vision for community and belonging. Rodney, Bethesda’s Director of Family Support & Community Development brings both professional expertise and lived experience to this role. A pastor by training and a parent of three children—two of whom have developmental disabilities—Rodney’s commitment to inclusion is deeply personal. Over the years, he has served Bethesda in several roles, including Home Share Coordinator and Director of Family Support, before stepping into what has since evolved into the expanded position of Director of Family Support & Community Development. Created three years ago, the role has grown alongside Bethesda’s vision, and this interview offers a glimpse into how the position took shape, what it has become today, and what excites Rodney most about the work ahead.
1. What does community development look like at Bethesda?
We look at Community Development as an opportunity to reach out to the community, whether that be churches, schools, even businesses or whatever that might be, and to tell them about who we are and what we do. And depending on the audience, I make it very clear that we do it from a Christian perspective.
The goal is that if we can get the Bethesda name out there and tell people what we do and how we do it, that will in turn lead into families being able to know who we are and what we do and when they need support, they can reach out; they know who to reach out to. And that’s also why Family Support services and Community Development are under one department.
Some of the many roles that Rodney Wiebe takes on as Director of Family Support & Community Development.
2. Can you provide context for the reader why community development as a strategic growth area was prioritized at Bethesda. What gaps does it fill?
There are a lot of families, even in our churches, [Bethesda’s original supporting churches, the reformed church tradition], that didn’t know where to go to get support. The world of government services to people with diverse abilities, whether they be children or adults, is difficult to navigate. We really wanted to make sure that people knew where they could go to get this help. And we do make it quite clear, we will serve anybody. You don’t have to be a Christian family. However, if you are a Christian family, you know you’re going to get a Christian perspective, a Christian foundation here.
We want people to know that there’s a lot of agencies out there that can help you. And sometimes, I can say, I think another agency would be better suited to support you because of what your child’s needs are. Like, I don’t have to… I’m not out there trying to drum up business for Bethesda. We have enough. We have enough people where, you know, we’ve got lots to do. But I’m out there trying to make sure that families are getting the support that they need, and if that’s with Bethesda, great. If it’s with another agency that’s okay, too. Other organizations may have supports that we don’t have, and we can guide people to different things like that.
Another element is that as we develop our relationships with businesses and other organizations, they can potentially support us, whether that be money or time, materials, or services or whatever.
3. Community Development as an organizational file is relatively new, and was attached to family support responsibilities in 2022. Like any new file, it takes a while to carve out a path. Can you tell us a little about that journey?
My vision when I applied for the job was simply, let’s start with churches and make connections. Maybe they’ll donate to us, maybe not, but at least if they have a family there with a child with a disability or a diverse ability, then they will reach out to us. Let’s start there, then let’s get into some of the schools. The job description was somewhat open. I was told basically, “Rod, we hired you because of who you are – make this job your own.” Which was wonderful, but I asked around for people’s thoughts, and got lots of feedback, and in the end, I went with my instinct to start making connections with churches. [Editor’s clarification: this includes connections we have with churches that have supported Bethesda from the beginning as well as new churches we didn’t have prior connection to.]
At first, I think the scope was way too big, so, we drew it in to areas that we wanted to really focus on. This was mainly in and around Abbotsford. I used some of the connections that I had because being a pastor, I knew a lot of the pastors still, so I was able to connect with a few churches that were not yet connected to Bethesda. But the networks have grown beyond that and we plan to continue branching out.
4. Can you give some examples of the connections you’ve made?
We’ve established a good connection with Abbotsford Christian School. We are making connections with MEI. And then there’s Columbia Bible College [CBC], we have a few initiatives with them. I’m invited to their Educational Assistants class where I’m going to be teaching the students in a three-hour workshop on Mandt de-escalation training. I’ve already been to one CBC class talking as a parent about what it’s like to have kids with diverse abilities. I’m trying to get into leading a chapel service, maybe once a year or something, or things like that.
These students are college-age adults who are going to CBC, but not necessarily to be a pastor. They might not know exactly what they want to do, and so if they hear about the work we do—oh, I can serve the Lord by working at Bethesda, maybe that’s what I should do—indirectly, that could work into recruitment. From that one class, we’ve already had one person reach out to apply to work at Bethesda.
At Trinity Western University, we’ve met with a class of 10 doctoral candidates and hosted them at a Circle of Friends gathering. They came back to the office for a Q&A session, where they learned more about the ministry of Bethesda. So, it feels like we’re well on the way to making community connections in these areas.
5. Is there potential for partnerships with other organizations where there may be overlap, you can develop initiatives together that we wouldn't be able to do so easily on our own?
That’s the hope, right? And I think we’ve done it on a smaller scale. Like this Christmas, we supported four local families through Safe Families. Staff at our office donated and made gift baskets and they were distributed through that agency, so we already have some things that we can do with other agencies. And there’s the annual Family Fun Night in March that we do together with Northview Imagine and Young Life Capernaum. And opening another family support group in Langley. We don’t have the staffing capacity to do it on our own, but by partnering with a church–SouthRidge Church–we are able to offer parents in Langley a place to meet other parents.
6. Can you describe one or two initiatives you’ve led that have surprised you, maybe led to connections or things you weren’t expecting or that delighted you?
I think relationships can unexpectedly broaden the horizons of the people we support, as well as our staff. For example, Brian Doerksen is doing a music video, and he wants to involve some of the people we support in the video. It’s a song about coming home, how everybody needs a home. Now that’s gonna be so exciting for the people we support featured in the video. And every year he invites all the people we support to his Christmas concerts. All this because Brian became aware of Bethesda through his sons who started attending Tapestry Community Inclusion a few years ago.
This Sunday [January 18th], he is the featured music guest at Clearbrook MB Church. They do a hymn sing, once a month, with four to five hundred people attending. Then Brian reached out and asked if somebody at Bethesda would be willing to come and do a 3 to 5 minute introduction of Bethesda and who we are. So I get to do that, which I’m proud to do, and I really like doing stuff with Brian like he invites us to his Christmas concerts. Yeah, I mean, all that happened because Brian became aware of Bethesda.
7. What has leading this file shown you about the interest and desire you’re encountered to include people of all abilities? Is there anything encouraging or motivating that you can share with people in the Bethesda community?
I think people are interested, people genuinely want to be on the positive end of inclusion. This last year I was invited to preach at two churches where I spoke about reading scripture through the lens of a person with disabilities. You know, ‘before you knew me, you formed me in my mother’s womb.’ Well, all of a sudden, that person is not a mistake. So, what does that say for people that have developmental disabilities? It means they’re not a mistake. They’re loved by God. And the response I got to the message told me when people are led to read scripture through an inclusive lens, they start to see disability differently.
I can tell you, going into some of Bethesda’s supporting churches, it’s really blown my mind; I didn’t know. Like, some of them have a designated person in their congregation that is the disability liaison person. And I’m, like, wow, that’s awesome, right? So they’re thinking about this.
Other churches that I’ve met with have been completely on board like, yes, we believe in this. But you know how when somebody passes away and people say if there’s anything I can do for you, let me know, but you never know what to ask for? And I feel like churches can be in that same place. If I go and say Bethesda is here to help you, let me know. And then they don’t reach out, it might be because they don’t know what would be helpful. So, what I’ve been trying to do with that is offer them specific things. I’m developing this parental de-escalation training. No certification for it, but you can help parents or volunteers that are working in your church, and we’ll do this for free. This will be a Bethesda assistance to the church, a way of giving back.
8. How might these new partnerships and relationships change things at Bethesda?
I’m not sure that there’s a limit to how well this could help Bethesda and I’m very aware, humbly aware that yes, I have my ideas, but God is doing something way greater than I am. I have to have a plan because that’s my job, so I have to have a plan, but in reality when God gives an opportunity, as long as I can be wise enough to say yes to that opportunity, those are the ones that bear fruit.
I think employment-wise, as people get to know Bethesda, we attract them to work here. I mean, we have people that want to work for Bethesda just because they’ve gotten to know us from here or there, and now they’d like to work at Bethesda.
So if we can make those kind of connections, those kind of relationships with churches and schools. But it doesn’t always have to be agencies or organizations. But with people too, right? But the more relationships are built, that can open up opportunities for us, for the people we support.
