Sometimes Christian Ministry conferences are not addressing the needs of Special Needs families and kids with disabilities. It is often not in their radar.

People need to understand the WHY. Why have a disability ministry. Why it is important to care for and include kids (and adults) with disabilities in our churches. Sometimes people care about the HOW or focus on the HOW without first understanding the WHY.

Secular organizations have loved and valued our kids before we, as a Church, have done so. This is something that should break our hearts, and perhaps we need to repent and seek ways in which we lead the way in how to include and love those impacted by disability.

We can physically include kids with disabilities in our Children's programs, but that does not mean they are meaningfully included.

There is a theology of "welcoming." A theology that says, "You are valuable." Saying yes to families impacted by disability is a theological milestone in that we become who we ought to be as a church and we follow what Scripture tells us to do.

Disability ministry is not an elective. It should not be an elective at church, and it should not be an elective at Leadership conferences.

Having a disability ministry is not a grandiose heroic measure. It is what we are called to do.

People with disabilities and families impacted by disability are not projects. They are people. People who need to hear the gospel and be a part of our faith communities.

We have, unfortunately, failed to be the Church to people impacted by disability. But, we can change that!

Disability Ministry is not only for big churches with many resources and people. Small churches can do disability ministry too. Small churches can function as a family, and this way the depth of relationship can be deeper.

Ten ways in which a small church can do disability ministry:

You welcome every person, not just by saying hi, but by attitude. If someone worships different than you do and they are loud, you welcome the diversity and the fact that every person can participate in worship time.

If a special needs parent is sitting in the foyer with their child, you don’t let them sit alone. You go to the foyer and sit with them, letting them know you are glad they made the effort to be there even if they are unable to sit in the sanctuary.

You recognize that holy moments can happen walking in the church parking lot walking side-by-side with a parent pushing their child in a wheelchair. Sometimes Church is too overwhelming for some kids with sensory issues.

You call when you notice the special needs family didn’t make it to church. This lets them know you see them, they are not invisible, and that you care.

You recognize that every person, regardless of ability or disability, is an invaluable member of the Body of Christ.

You are okay with messy because the very essence of life is that it is messy.

You recognize that everyone belongs, and everyone serves.

You are willing to try new things to include everyone. When that doesn’t work out, you try again with something new.

You function as a family, everyone has a role to play, and everyone is supported and valued.

You love.

What we covered in the show:

1. What prompted Jolene and Katie to write "Every Child Welcome

2. What advice Jolene and Katie have for churches that want to start a special needs ministry

3. What to do if a church isn't big enough for a formal special needs ministry. What can individuals do to welcome families of kids with special needs?

4. Changes in churches over the years in regards to welcoming kids with disabilities.

5. Jolene and Katie discuss strategies for maintaining inclusion as children become teens.

Quotes from the show:

Make it understandable for every church volunteers or church leaders in a way that makes it understandable.

Structure, familiarity, and routine can be very helpful for kids with disabilities.

Good teaching for kids with special needs is just plain good teaching.

Disability ministry is about people and not about programs.

We don't need to know the details and what the diagnosis is, it is our job to make them feel comfortable and accepted.

Parents need Sundays to go well too.

Every Child Welcome

Join me as I interview Christ Morris from Redefining Normal. Building Hope about what it is like to walk into a church as a special needs family, and what happens when church hurts.

Questions for reflection:

What could the church have done differently in the situation the Morris family faced?

Why is it that in some faith communities there is still a belief that disability is a result of demon possession?

What should the leadership of a church do when these comments are said about families impacted by disability?

How often should a church be talking about what the Bible has to say about disability?

What should churches do to educate their congregations on issues of disability?

Think about your church, what can your church do to embrace disability?

The power of story:

Stories are powerful agents of change. They teach us and inspire us to change, to move to action, and to create solutions. Sharing stories about what happens when church hurts are shared not to berate the church, but to encourage us all to find solutions. To dig deep into the word of God and to know God's heart towards people and families impacted by disability.

The Morris family has found a church family where they belong, but it did not come without pain in other places. What if they had walked away after their first negative and painful experience? Are there families missing in our churches because they too were faced with accusations and myths about disability? what can we, the church, do to restore and heal those families who have been hurt?

From the show:

Churches do not often address issues regarding disability.

Disability often results in discrimination, even within the church. A good question for us to ask is, against whom are we discriminating? We are familiar with discrimination, but a group we rarely talk about when it comes to discrimination is individuals with disabilities.

The fact of the matter is no denomination is reaching out to people with disabilities and it's not just a blind spot, it is a point of disobedience. The only reason we think it is okay not to do something about it is because nobody else is either. If everybody in every church is not taking in people with disabilities, then nobody has to. It is a pervasive sin. It says we are not willing to love other people who appears to be different from us.

My dear brother and sisters how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over other people.

If we chose not to love specific neighbors, then who are we as the church? James 2:1 NLT

Christian churches have accessible bathrooms because the government forced us to, not because of a desire to reach out to people with disabilities.

Solutions can be simple, but they cause us to change our traditions.

How do we facilitate people with disabilities to express their gifting?

What supports do we need to have in place so they can serve?

What does the Bible have to say about disability, a mash dash through the Bible:

The whole Bible applies to everybody, including those with disabilities

Genesis 2: We are created in the image of God people with disabilities are created in the image of God

Genesis 4: God does create people with disabilities and He accomplishes His purposes through them.

John 9: Disability is not a result of sin. We are all sinners, if disability was a result of sin, all our children would be disabled.

God places all parts of the Body, exactly where He wanted them to be.

Sometimes the different parts of the body tell other parts of the body, “You are not what I want you to be, you are not part of the body.” Sometimes they’ve been told that so many times they come to believe that perhaps they are not part of the body. But all parts of the body are integral to the body or we cannot function as a body. The parts we think are less honorable, we are to treat those with special honor. What would it look like to treat someone with special honor? I change. I change in order to treat them with special honor.

Mark 7:8,14 says "You exchange the commands of God for the traditions of men."

"In order to integrate you I have to change everything the way I’ve been doing it, stick with my traditions. I will stick to my traditions and then exclude you."

What do you say when a church says, “I am not called” to disability ministry.

When 20% are individuals with disabilities with a larger number of people impacted by it, how can I say I am not going to reach out to those people? When pastors say “I am not impacted” that is not a positive thing to say.

Why will I not love you? Because you are going to cause me to change and change my traditions. You will cause us to becomes who we should become. You will cause us to learn how to love people.

The church is complicit in devaluing people.

Disability is just a characteristic, and often times it is no relevant to the interaction we have with others or for people to be part of the Body.

If we are missing people with disabilities, it points to the fact that we are not loving our neighbor.

A word of encouragement from Jeff:

In the last 10 years, positive changes have happened.

Our guest today is Craig Johnson, founder of Champions Club, a ministry model for kids with disabilities in the church that can be easily replicated at any church of any size. Join us today as we talk about how Champions Club works, why it works, and how the curriculum makes it to easy to minister to kids with disabilities.

From the show:

Champions Club is a specially designed developmental area for kids, youth, and adults with disabilities. The goal is to develop a program that meets the developmental needs of children in four important ways, SPIRITUALLY, INTELLECTUALLY, MENTALLY, and PHYSICALLY. The focus is on spiritual growth through God’s Word, developing the intellect of each participant through the five senses, educationally through various learning tools, as well as engaging the child physically during active gross motor fun. We can adapt Champions Clubs to a school or public facility environment. Now there are Champions Clubs in schools, churches, and facilities all across America and around the world.

Craig shares how being a special needs dad, and being in charge of the different ministries at Lakewood Church, he felt God speaking to him about doing something for special needs families

The main two elements when creating champions club was first, dealing with the rejection is prevalent for special needs families. They wanted to have everything set up so that nobody would be turned away. Second, it had to serve the parents as much as it served the children.

Champions Club includes four stations, and children rotate between the four stations.

Church leading the way.

Champions Club has a desire to lead the way in what it means to include and develop children with disabilities.

Kids learn how they respond to God, and how God responds to them.

Champions Club is a model that is easily duplicated regardless of church size or budget. It focuses on inclusion, belonging, and developing of kids with disabilities.

Learn more about Champions Club HERE.

The most important training of leaders has to do with their heart response to people with disabilities. If they understand the need, the message, and grab the passion for it, that passion spreads to more people.

Most people do not have anything for special needs, including publishers who put our curriculum for children. Champions Club created a curriculum specifically written and created to connect with the hearts and minds of children with disabilities.

Welcome to Season 2 of the Accessible church Podcast! Today, our guest is Vinnie Adams, the director of the Reflectors Special Needs Ministry at Faith Church in Dyer, IN. Vinnie and I talked about how effective it is to focus on common ground when building a disability ministry. Notes from the show: Not many churches have […]

From the show:

Ellen Stumbo shares how a few months ago, when sharing about Disability Matters, her friend - who is disabled - used the slogan, "Nothing About Us Without Us." Tonia shared that in any ministry or effort to reach the disability community, it was important to include people with disabilities in the process, as they are the experts on disability.

When dreaming about a disability ministry, the most important aspect is to ask questions of those we hope to serve, and then listen to what they say. And not only listen, but take to heart what we hear, and put it into action.

When reaching out to families impacted by disability, go to the families directly, how can their children be best serves and supported in Sunday School or the Children's program?

When reaching out to adults with disabilities, ask them directly.

In the show Ellen mentions a warning when working with adults with intellectual disabilities. There is a tendency of treating adults with ID as children, "They are 30, but developmentally they are like a 7 year old." While it is easy to understand why people explain it that way, a 30 year old, even an adult with an intellectual disability, has lived for 30 years and has had adult experiences in their life. Adults with intellectual disabilities are not large children, they are adults, and therefore it is important that we approach them and treat them like adults. Will there be adaptations and modification? Most likely! But an adult is an adult, no matter what their intellectual capacity is.

Quotes from the show:

Disabled people should be included in decisions regarding disability.

Don't assume that you know, go find someone who is disabled and ask us.

We might want to be served in the ministry, but we might want to help too.

In general, we are not looked upon as people who can contribute.

We should be able to help if we want to.

Be open to our ideas, don't assume we don't know. Your idea might not be what we need.

I wanted to go pray for people, but I felt like I couldn't because as soon as I came forward to pray for others, people prayed for me. (Regarding disabled adults serving in the church).

My role should be to ask questions and not jump into conclusions without having a background, without listening, and without understanding people's experiences.

From the show:

I asked Denise to talk to us about Disability Etiquette, this basically means, how should an able bodied person treat someone with a disability. These are the nine main points we touched on during the show:

Use people first language.

Speak directly to the person rather than the caregiver or parent

When introduced to a person with a disability it is appropriate to offer to shake hands.

If you offer assistance wait til the offer is accepted.. Then listen for instructions.

Treat adults as adults. Address people who have disabilities by their first name, only when extending the same familiarity to all others present. Never patronize people who use a wheelchair by patting them on the head or shoulder.

Don't make assumptions about what a person can or cannot do based on his disability. All people with disabilities are different and have a wide variety of abilities.

Don't push pull or lean on a person's wheelchair unless they ask you to. It is considered like hanging on a person and is considered inappropriate. The chair is considered part of a personal body space of the person who uses it.

When Speaking with a person in a wheelchair or who uses crutches, place yourself at eye level in front of the person to facilitate the conversation.

If a person with a disability is in a church setting and a non disabled person comes up to them who believes in the laying on of hands for healing. The non disabled needs to ask permission before laying hands on the disabled person to see if they would like to be prayed for in that way.

Quotes from the show:

If someone says, "No, I don't need help" don't feel offended or think, "Oh maybe I shouldn't have said or asked that.” Just realize that they have their own way of doing things and they want to be as independent as they chose. or they are use to it. Wait and listen for their instructions and proceed from there.

For a long time every time my daughter saw someone in a wheelchair she would wheel herself to them and ask, “ Has anyone ever pushed you without. your permission?” It was a big deal for her. I don't think she ever experienced someone taking that freedom away from her and that independence to such an extent. It was a scary experience, she didn't know the woman.

Ask. Always ask first.

Treat us like adults because we are people too. Let us chime in to the conversation and treat us like everyone else.

What I need people to understand is that even though you might not understand my speech right away, hold tight. Bear with me and eventually I will get it out because when my anxiety dissipates I will be fine.

Don't assume that everybody who has a physical disability and they carry themselves differently, don't assume that we are intellectually challenged. Or don't assume we are lesser of a person. Because most of the time people think that of me .But once I start talking and tell them I have this degree and I am a Life Coach. They are like “Oh I didn't know.”

If I didn't have to prove myself and break those assumptions that other people have this would be an easier world to deal with. So don't make assumptions and don't let those assumptions stick. Take time to get to know that person.

Patronizing looks like you are being kind. But instead it's the tone of voice and the manner in which you speak to the other person that communicates an assumption of superiority.

They assume because I sit in a wheelchair and because of all this other stuff that I must have an intellectual disability or whatever. When they start getting to know me they're like, "Oh you have had experiences just like everybody else!"

I am so tired of having to prove myself to everyone.

I think if a random man came and touched my legs without my permission, even at a church I would tell him to go away or call the police.

Talking about the church and disability can bring in many different perspectives, but what is God's perspective on disability? What is God's purpose or design in disability? Our guest today is Mike Matthews, the senior pastor at First Baptist of Claysville, PA. Mike was born with cerebral palsy.

From the show:

Mike shares what it was like to be a teenager who has cerebral palsy and what it was like to connect with other disability advocates when he was 16 years old.

Mike shares about being involved with the Independent Living Movement.

Mike talks about his passion to help others see God's good design in disability.

Big topic of discussion: Healing and Disability

Host Ellen Stumbo asks Mike, "If you were not a pastor and a strong believer, based on your experiences at church and your interaction with other Christians, would you attend church?"

Quotes from the show:

I don't want to be an object of ministry. I want to do ministry as part of the Body of Christ.

Many disabled people get the message from Christians that they need to be fixed before God can accept them.

No matter what condition you are in, you need Jesus!

God's hand is in disability. There are good purposes. To see that, you have to have an eternal perspective.

God uses the messy for His glory.

"You are not welcomed here. This is the image the church has painted of God. You need to be healed before you come in.