“I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot or two / I hope by then I will be ready to teach and preach and work as missionaries do.”

For children in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , there’s a popular songbook with aspirational tunes about the tradition of embarking on a proselyting mission after high school. But for many young Mormons with special needs, going on a mission has been an impossible dream.

But now, a new service mission program being test-piloted in San Diego and eight other U.S. cities offers young adults with special needs the opportunity to live at home with their families while doing volunteer work in their community.

The Young Church-Service Missionary program, or YCSM, is designed for young men and women with physical disabilities, medical conditions or special circumstances that prohibit them from moving away. It’s also for “early release” missionaries who have been forced by health reasons to return home early.


That was the case for Dylan Howard, 22, of Rancho Penasquitos.

Not long after he arrived in his mission city of Louisville, Ky., last spring, he began struggling with anxiety and loneliness and made the difficult decision to return home. Then he heard about the fledgling YCSM program and was excited at the opportunity to serve. Today he’s volunteering more than 40 hours a week at four Church locations around the county, including its Deseret Industries thrift store in Chula Vista and its central facilities management office.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said, in an interview at the thrift store Tuesday. “I can come in here and put my name tag on and be Elder Howard by day, and then go home and be with my family at night. The important thing is that even if I’m working for Deseret Industries or facilities management, I’m still serving the church. The overarching thing is I’m serving heavenly father.”

The YCSM program has been in the planning stages for the past three years as the Church looks for ways to provide a mission experience to special needs young adults. For many years, Mormon retirees have done Church-Service missions, so this year the same opportunity was extended to men ages 18 to 25 and women 19 to 25.


YCSM missionaries don’t preach the Gospel; they only work as much as their health allows, and their length of service is variable. Howard said he is planning to serve, full-time, for at least a year, and he’s grateful for the flexibility he’s been given to seek out other service work in the community.

Zoe Carlson, 20, of Escondido volunteers as a reception at the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints’ Bishop’s Storehouse food pantry in Kearny Mesa. Carlson, who was born with spina bifida, is taking part in the Church’s new Young Church-Service Missionary program, which allows members with physical or emotional disabilities to serve their mission at home, doing community service rather than proselyting abroad. San Diego is one of just nine cities nationwide test-piloting the program. (Peggy Peattie)

The program’s roll-out has been intentionally slow and limited in scope to give the Church time to work out all the kinks. San Diego and Sacramento are the only locations it’s been introduced in California. The other locations are in Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Georgia.

The San Diego/Southwest Riverside County district, known as a Stake, has just 34 YCSM participants so far, but eventually that number could grow into the hundreds, said Robert McKinley, 77, who with his wife, Joan, serves as the local Stake’s assistant mission leader.


“The plan is to road test it,” said McKinley, a Vista resident. “We report back to Salt Lake City every two weeks on what’s working and what’s not, and we’ll keep doing that until they feel it’s where it needs to be. The goal is to eventually expand the program worldwide to a number that could be in excess of 300,000 serving.”

McKinley said the program has had an unexpected benefit for the few dozen who have been approved so far.

“I’m reminded of a quote from Gandhi who said the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. We’re finding that these young men and women, frankly because of their special needs, have been marginalized. Now they’re not only serving and filling the world with love, but they’re finding themselves as they serve others,” McKinley said.

Not all Mormons go on missions. Of the 14.5 million Church members today, there are about 75,000 young men and women now serving on 18-month to 2-year proselyting missions, and most of them are from countries outside the U.S., McKinley said.


To be approved by their Bishop for a proselyting mission, young adults must qualify as “worthy of service,” which McKinley says means they’re following church principles, including avoiding alcohol, tobacco and drugs. But even some who are worthy face other barriers that make them better candidates for YCSM.

Zoe Carlson, 20, of Escondido was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. Proselyting missionaries are expected to make recruiting calls to new church members without the use of a personal car. Although her faith was strong, she knew growing up that her disability would make her odds slim for mission service.

“My faith is a major part of my life,” she said. “Everyone has struggles. Mine are just more visible than some others. My religion has helped me in that struggle, and it’s been a comfort and support system. I always wanted to serve on a mission growing up, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to do it with my disability.”

Three months ago, she was selected for the YCSM program. She now performs 14 to 15 hours of community service a week for two Church programs. She helps people trace their lineage at the Church’s Family History Center in Escondido, and she answers phones and keeps track of orders at the Bishop’s Storehouse food pantry in Kearny Mesa.


“It’s a different kind of service, but I’m really enjoying it,” she said. “Here I’m fulfilling the needs people have to cover their basic need for food. Then they can, in turn, fulfill their other responsibilities in life.”

Storehouse manager Judy Riddle said she has four YCSM missionaries now working at the center, which provides free, onetime allotments of groceries to anyone in need (not just church members). She described Carlson as a sunny-natured volunteer who has steadily gained confidence and skill since she started.

McKinley said that everyone who applies for the YCSM program undergoes the same qualification test as a proselyting missionary. The reasons they are approved for the service program vary.

One young YCSM recruit was an “early release” missionary who came home after he developed plantar fasciitis, a painful heel condition that made walking difficult. Another is a young woman who was accepted to a prestigious nursing program and didn’t want to lose her spot at the college by going abroad on a mission. Young people on the autism spectrum or with other emotional or psychological issues are also potential candidates.


So far, the local YCSM missionaries are serving mostly in jobs for the Church, which operates several public welfare programs around the county. Sister Joan McKinley said their biggest challenge has been finding organizations outside the Church who are willing to accept the missionaries.

“What we’re finding is that the whole world is so oriented to paying for services. It’s so important to us that these services are accepted with love and not the need to be paid,” she said. “We envision that their service will fill the world with love and encourage mankind to do their best.”

Other than the hurdle of finding new work sites, Bob McKinley said the program has been a huge success with its missionaries.

“For many of them, this is their first opportunity to be appreciated and loved and be able to have done something,” he said. “Their special needs have put them on the sidelines. But now they have this opportunity to do something and feel rewarded, and they just light up like a light bulb.”


pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com