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.
Larah Roberts sits down with Beth Golik and talks about the annual Night to Shine Event sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation. Beth gives a peek into what the event looks like and also shares how your church can prepare and host one of these events in your city!
Elaina sits down with Andrea Roseman from Access Ministry to discuss the wins of 2024, the changes she wants to make in 2025, and the way the Lord is working in and through Access Ministry.
As The Banquet Network is working to develop a training on disability for international missionaries, we’ve had the opportunity to listen to people with disabilities, across the world, share with us what they want missionaries to know. There is a significant theme that has continued to emerge in these interviews: people with disabilities want missionaries to care about disability, because it is in Christ that they have found purpose.
It always seems like the crises of disability come at the most inconvenient times, doesn’t it? A meltdown just as you’re heading out the door, a shot of pain in the middle of a nice dinner, a hole In your eye when you’re far from home. But perhaps the unpredictability of disability is an invitation—an invitation to pay attention to God.
Shortly before Dr. Grcevich’s book Mental Health and the Church was published, we asked our readers to share their experiences, both good and bad, about mental health needs and church support. We continue to get responses, and want to share a few that we have received since we made our initial request, for the insight that churches and ministries can glean from the experiences of others.
God is the master director and storyteller. The most important story, of how He works with humanity and how He came to rescue humanity as fully God and fully human is of course the Big Story. But the Big Story is full of trillions of lesser stories. And I’m convinced the lesser stories mostly revolve around God breaking through the illusions we have in our lives.
