After finding healing and purpose through discipleship at McDowell Church, Kari Baker launched KIND Families to encourage parents navigating autism, ADHD, and other neurological differences.

By Kari Baker and Carl Stagner | Read Time: 5 minutes

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One Church of God congregation in Scottsdale, Arizona, keeps churning out ministry that touches and transforms lives far beyond their sprawling campus at the foot of the McDowell Mountains. The health of McDowell Church, pastored by Matt Anderson, isn’t defined merely by attendance, number of events on the weekly calendar, or size of the indoor—and outdoor—worship spaces; it’s proven by what starts within its broad spheres of influence, even if and when it moves on to make a difference in other locations.

In recent months, CHOGnews has chronicled the launch of leaders from McDowell Church to other parts of the Phoenix metropolitan area, as well as cities a couple hours north, such as Flagstaff. Praise the Lord for church plants and revitalization efforts which find their origins in a church that seeks not to make something big of itself, but rather to make big of Jesus and advance his kingdom!

The inspirational story of KIND Families, founded and led by Kari Baker, is one such example. Discovering Jesus Christ for herself under the preaching and teaching of Pastor Matt, then being nurtured and discipled through women’s Bible studies and rich community, Kari also matched spiritual gifting with call, capability, and cause. Combining firsthand experience with special needs and a burning desire to help others from a place of Christ-centered love and compassion, Kari now offers practical, much-needed support to families facing similar challenges. By harnessing various forms of media, her impact—once a seed of possibility—is reaping a harvest both near and far.

She tells the story like this:

When Kari Baker walked through the doors of McDowell Church in 2016, she was near the end of her rope. Her only son Brady had been diagnosed with autism a few years earlier, and since then she had been doing everything in her power to ensure he received therapies, services, and interventions to give him the best chance at a productive life.

After years of running in what seemed like a perpetual hamster wheel, she finally realized the problem—nothing was in her power. Brady was making progress but, as one skill was tackled, another need emerged. She was exhausted, isolated, ashamed, and desperately clinging to a life plan that no longer belonged to her.

Kari had a good working knowledge of Christianity, mostly from Sunday school and church camp as a child. She remembered how much lighter she felt when she attended the occasional service for Christmas or Easter, and wondered if attending church would help lift the heaviness she carried constantly as a special-needs mom.

From the very first Sunday at McDowell Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, the worship music and sermons seemed to be directed straight at Kari’s heart. After a few months, she was craving a deeper understanding of Jesus and more connection with the congregation, so she signed up for a Women’s Bible study. She was struck by how much the women at her table loved Jesus, and she found herself desiring that level of closeness with her Creator.

One night in 2017, Kari was completing the homework for a study on the Book of John, and she came across John 9:1–3.

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”

The short verses flung open the door on which Kari had been hesitating to knock for months. Suddenly and dramatically her own eyes opened to the purpose behind Brady’s diagnosis, and she set aside the misguided notion that Brady’s struggles were her fault. She finally understood God’s design for Brady was perfect and precise, and she could see the many ways God was working in him and through him.

The next few years Kari continued to study Scripture and grow in her faith and, in November 2020, she and her son Brady were baptized together at McDowell Church. Kari jumped into various service roles at the church including the worship team, women’s ministry, and she led the Women’s Bible study group for three years.

Along the way she became a resource for other parents navigating a diagnosis inside and outside McDowell. She started feeling called to encourage families in a more broad and impactful way so, in 2023, Kari left behind her thirty-year career as a financial planner to follow God’s plan.

She founded KIND Families, a ministry to support parents and faith-based communities who love kids with Invisible Neurological Differences (KIND), such as autism, ADHD, and other neurodiversity. Kari wrote a book about her experiences called Finding KIND, which has a free companion study guide for groups and Bible studies. She is also the host of The KIND Families Podcast, and she is available to speak either virtually or in person for conferences or gatherings.

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

McDowell Church was the incubator for a faith like a mustard seed that is now comforting thousands of people who need to find God’s purpose, love, and comfort in their special-needs journey.

Learn more about KIND Families at kindfamilies.com or reach out to Kari directly kari@kariabaker.com.