Elaina sits down with Kari Baker, author of Finding KiND: Discovering Hope and Purpose While Loving Kids with Invisible Neurological Differences, and talks about special needs parenting, autism spectrum, and supporting other families on the same journey.
Our first day on the ninth floor, the doctors never said, "Your child has cancer." You know those childhood cancer commercials that tug at your heart? Never happened. My husband received a phone call that confirmed a biopsy, but once we were on the oncology floor, the word cancer was never uttered. Medical textbook words were used, and the rush was definitely on. We knew exactly what was happening without ever being explicitly told in those basic words.
It’s February, and we’ve all somewhat settled into 2025 and are ready to look ahead to what the year will bring. To help you prepare for your church’s steps of accessibility and inclusive events, we’ve created a Ministry Planning Calendar! In this episode, Sandra Peoples will walk you through ideas for planning ahead and praying for what God will do in 2025.
Elaina Marchenko sits down with Rachael VerMeulen from A Little Extra Love Ministries to talk about the reality for families affected by special needs, the need for disability support in Colorado, and what Rachael will be sharing at Disability & the Church Conference.
The church is a place for everyone, yet for many families with neurodivergent children, attending church events or services can be a challenging experience. Children with sensory and communication differences may need unique accommodations to feel comfortable, included, and valued. This season, as your church plans special services and activities, consider these three simple yet impactful ways to create a more welcoming environment for neurodivergent kids and their families.
One of the challenges I constantly face is change. Change means that the old way is no longer working. Change means that a new way is begging for opportunity. I can’t but help to think that with all the changes we are being forced into making in our churches, the way that we worship God must be at the very top of the list of changes that we are seeking to make.
Just a handful of weeks into the pandemic quarantine, I was already starting to take stock of lessons God was teaching me. In the course of time and in the newly emerging chaos of rushing back to “normal” life, I’m already struggling to remember, let alone walk out, the lessons I was so certain would not leave me! How about you? During meetings with disability leaders and a recent check-in call with a group of pastors who are navigating ministry in these times, I have heard valuable insights from varied fronts.
Any of us involved in disability ministry have a vision to see people with disabilities living out their divine vocation, but that vision often feels fraught with all kinds of barriers. As I have been reading through Paul’s letters, I have been struck by the regularity with which Paul asks for prayer. Here are four things we can glean from Paul’s prayer requests and how these should shape our own prayer requests, particularly as we carry out our disability ministries.
As teachers and leaders, we get to encourage the spiritual development of the students in our churches. But what should we expect from the children in our special-needs classes? Sandra Peoples shares how to write ISPs for each child in your special-needs ministry—Individualized Spiritual Plans that will help you set goals and measure progress!
Since March churches and church leaders have had to find ways to creatively navigate the storm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. All across the globe, churches have been using ingenuity to engage their congregants that are unable to attend worship gatherings in a centralized physical location. This pandemic is the perfect opportunity for the Church to take inventory of its efforts to include a population of people who have been missing from our weekly gatherings: the disability community.
Recently, I’ve been preparing for a presentation titled “Learning inclusion from the Early Church” in which I cover some of the earliest Christian perspectives on disability. Looking at how the post-apostolic church viewed and incorporated people with disabilities has been illuminating, and there is much we can learn from our forebears.
