Welcome to Mortification of Spin, a casual conversation about things that count with Carl Truman, Todd Pruitt, and Amy Bird.

Mortification of Spin is a weekly podcast from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

Let's join this week's conversation.

Thank you. Well, you are listening to Mortification of Spin.

My name is Todd Pruitt, and I am joined as always by my co-hosts Amy Bird and Carl Truman.

And today we are having a special conversation with some friends of mine.

Actually, we attend the same church together. And we want to talk about a topic that is, I think,

for some people, awkward to talk about, but it need not be. And it can be something that not

only does the church need to talk about, but can talk about with happiness and with joy.

Our guests today are Tim and John L. Frost.

Tim is an associate pastor at the church where I serve as the lead pastor.

Tim is, after having served for a number of years as the youth pastor at that church, now coordinates all of our staff and does an excellent job with that.

John L is his wonderful and long-suffering wife, and they are both here to talk about life and

ministry to and with a child with Down syndrome. What is it like to be a family with a child with

Down syndrome? How can the church minister to families who are

walking through life joyfully, but at sometimes with those special challenges that come along

with the child with Down syndrome. I will tell you that Tim and John L, they have a daughter named

Addie. How old is Addy now? Five. And then their beloved son, Declan, who is what, he's got to be two and a half, and Declan, who is one of my favorite people at church, and he never talks back to me, never gives me any attitude like his dad does.

But Declan, their precious son, has Down syndrome.

And Tim, I will always remember the Sunday morning.

You called me early on a Sunday morning after Declan had been born and the doctor had told

you all that there were signs of Down syndrome.

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