In the final part of this 3-part series, Sandra Peoples shares age group-specific strategies for churches to welcome, include, and create a place of belonging for adoptive children and teens with disabilities and traumatic backgrounds.
Part 2: How Churches Can Provide Long-Term Support for Adoptive Families
God's directive for adoptive families is the same as it is for every family. But adoptive, special-needs families experience extra challenges to meet this calling. In part 2 of this 3-part series, Sandra Peoples shares practical tips for churches to provide places of inclusion and belonging for families.
Rest Is A Weapon
Churches That Encourage Adoption Should Be Trauma Informed and Disability Accommodating
Churches rightly encourage adoption and support families going through the adoption process, but are they prepared when the child or teen comes home and is diagnosed with special needs or trauma-related issues? Sandra Peoples shares three-part series on a theology of disability that can serve as a motivation for churches to meet the needs of these families.
A Real Life Luisa
Learning to Sit at the Feet of Jesus
Finding Hope When Caregiving Stress Leads to Faith and Mental Health Struggles
When I learned my daughter would be born with a more severe genetic disorder than my son’s, the news devastated me. After her birth, I began to experience debilitating symptoms of PTSD. Months later, I made what should have been a lethal suicide attempt. My case was extreme, but is it that uncommon for caregivers to experience clinical mental health conditions?
The Sweetest Gift
Emma's Story: Sexual Abuse Trauma and the Process of Recovery, Part 2
This post is part 2 of our interview with “Emma,” a woman who endured years of sexual abuse by someone she knew. Read part 1 here. We share her experience in these posts to increase awareness of opportunities for abuse and provide prevention and recovery resources to parents and ministry leaders alike.