It's actually a trick question. If you consider it "your ministry," then you've already given me the answer.
God's the one doing the work, and we don't deserve to take part in it. Praise him, though, for making us worthy, not by our own behavior but by the actions of his son.
It's not our ministry.
It's his.
Now to him who is able
to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church
My apologies that this is a little late! I'm excited about this week's round-up of links, and I hope you'll find them helpful too as you think about how you can do life and share Christ with people with disabilities in your church and community.
Registration is LIVE for volunteers and families for our December 10th respite care event. Check it out here! If you're in the Raleigh area and have a child with special needs, we would love to have you there. Feel free to share the link with friends, neighbors, and others - we want the word out! You don't have to have any connection to Providence in order to attend. Let me know if you have any questions!
Inclusion Fusion will be accessible online - all the videos and notes - through DECEMBER 3, so don't worry if you didn't get to watch them all last weekend!
Usually, I reserve these articles for the list at the end, but I want to call special attention to what Green Trails United Methodist Church in Missouri is doing. Instead of creating a completely separate service for people with special needs, they tightened up the typical service, shortening it and making some other changes. The feedback has been positive - from those with and without special needs. They are also started a sensory-friendly service as another option, but their efforts to welcome those with disabilities - from service changes to trainings to the use of Boardmaker - is much more comprehensive and inclusive than most churches.
Churches welcoming people with disabilities and otherwise engaging with the special needs community:
one holding an art show to benefit another organization's program for pre-teens with autism spectrum disorders
a pastor who makes pottery and donates a tenth of the income to charities, including a speech therapy center where his son has been treated
a church that held a sensory-friendly Halloween event for kids with special needs
a church that is briefly mentioned in a story about individuals with autism, one of whom attends a church's friendship group
a church hosting a day program for adults with developmental disabilities
And, finally, this presentation by Temple Grandin is very similar to the one she gave at the Accessibility Summit at McLean Bible Church earlier this year. I found it helpful, and I think you will too. (Be forewarned, though, that it's over an hour, so make sure you have the time to watch it!)
I had the privilege of presenting two sessions at Inclusion Fusion, and you can find the links to the presentations (up through TODAY, and rumor has is that Steve will be making an announcement later today about if/how you'll be able to access the sessions after today) below, as well as the notes.
Common Misconceptions in Special Needs Ministry
The description: As more churches engage in special needs ministry, we need to take time to dispel some the most common myths. In this session, we’ll discuss common misconceptions, and you’ll leave with practical tools and tips to use at your church. Myths and half-truths that will be discussed are (1) disability ministry is a children’s ministry endeavor, (2) you don’t need to bother until you have someone with special needs come to your church, (3) you must use one particular model, (4) you need a special education professional to run it, (5) it’s just too hard (or, the flipside, “it’s easy”), (6) it’s just another program, (7) it’s all about ministering to people with disabilities, (8) it’s optional, and (9) it’s about people with disabilities.
The description:In Psalm 78:6, we are instructed to share the works of God with children, “that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn…” Church leaders are motivated to engage in disability ministry because we desire to include those with special needs in our congregations, both the current generations and those to come. However, when we consider Psalm 78:6 as well as the call in Matthew 25 to care for “the least of these,” we must recognize that the individuals with disabilities who are most vulnerable among us are those yet unborn. In this presentation, we will examine Bible verses about the sanctity of life and unpack the ramifications this has for both our understanding disability and our reaction to the rates of abortion of babies with disabilities. Practical ideas for showing the sanctity of all life in your church and to your community will also be discussed. The intended audience for this session is all Christians, not just those currently engaged with the disability community.
Finally, I have agreed to speak at two large ministry conferences in 2012, and I'll be sharing more details about those later this week and next week.
Tomorrow I'll be posting the weekly round-up of links related to disability ministry! As usual, if you see one you think I should include (or even if you write one you think would be helpful to others!), shoot me an email: shannon [at] theworksofgoddisplayed [dot] com.
According to the World Health Organization World Report on Disability Fact Sheet there are now one billion people with disabilities in the world, or about 15% of the total population of the earth.
The church has plenty to do, here and around the world!
