Jeff Steinberg coming to Zion's Stone Church

Zion's Stone Church, 45 Cemetery Road, New Ringgold, will present the Jeff Steinberg Ministry Team at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 18.

Born in Philadelphia with multiple birth defects, he has no arms and two bent, scissored legs a condition known as Phocomelia, thought to be the result of Thalidomide or a similar drug prescribed for his mother during pregnancy.

He and the news of his condition were kept from his mother until he was almost 2 years old.

Steinberg spent his first years in a welfare shelter in Philadelphia, and then later in the Shriners' Hospital For Crippled Children.

He underwent numerous surgeries, learned to walk in braces, feed himself with a prosthetic arm, all provided free by the Shriners.

He lived at home for nine months and in 1960 the state placed him into a home for the severely disabled in Allentown, where he lived for more than 10 years.

Now, at 52, he travels the country, singing and speaking about the masterpiece in each of us and encouraging listeners to see what God can do through them, no matter what their limitations appear to be.

At 4 feet, 6 inches tall, Steinberg says, "I am God's unique design. I am proof that there is no limit to what a person can become, no matter what he or she may look like ..."

His own definition of a handicap as "anything that keeps me from being or becoming all that God created me to be" helps his audience to "shed their excuses for not using their talents and abilities to serve God."

He has shared his message throughout the U.S. and Canada, on TV, including "The National Easter Seal Telethon," and has helped to raise more than $250,000 to benefit people with disabilities.

In 1987 Steinberg was the 13th inductee into the Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities at Good Shepherd in Allentown.

His autobiography, "Masterpiece In Progress," now in its fourth printing, is published by New Leaf Press.

He has recorded 10 albums and in 1990 he released an unabridged reading of his autobiography on cassette, on his own Gloveprints label.

The Jeff Steinberg Ministry Team shares a message of hope, humor and encouragement, inspiration and a unique challenge: "You're a masterpiece in progress."

For more information about the event, call the Rev. Michael Frost at Zion's Stone Church at (570) 386-5111.

For more information about Steinberg, visit www.tinygiant.com.