how?

This page is currently under construction - 

being updated to be more user-friendly. I'm leaving up the old, cluttered version in the meantime. Feel free to email me - shannon {at} theworksofgoddisplayed {dot} com if you have any questions before I clean this page up!

I created this blog to write primarily about WHY special needs ministry is a crucial part of what the church is called to be. Part of that, though, is also writing about HOW it is done. Below I have linked to my posts about the hows of special needs ministry, as well as links to other blogs and online resources for more how tos.

Getting started
"But what if I don't know where to start?"
The YES
What disability ministry is
"But what if we don't want to add another program to our church?"
Five ways to make your church more inclusive 
How did my church's special needs ministry start?
"But what if I think that most kids with ___________ are making it up?"
"But what if our special needs ministry is different from yours?" 
Ministering WITH, not just ministering TO 

Q&A posts
Special needs ministry Q&A: Age-appropriate classes, high-sensory youth programs, and adult involvement
Special needs ministry Q&A: Liability, AWANA, number needed for a class, age grouping
Special needs ministry Q&A: Accommodations, distractions in worship services, choir, and youth trips

Leadership
Part 1 and Part 2 of a post called "But what if we don't have someone with your background at our church?"
What stood out at our last leadership training
Training greeters at your church to welcome those with special needs (a post from another blog)
Show grace to yourself. To parents. To volunteers. To the church. To everyone.
Past. Present. Future. Remember that God controls all three.
I'm not [blank] so that I can [blank]: making wise choices
Ministering with an attitude of superiority?
Studying Sardis: Waking up and taking the next step
Learning from Laodicea: No condescending attitudes

Partnering with parents/caregivers
Why partnering with parents is a requirement, not an option
Welcoming parents
How do we respond when their theology is their child?
Messy advocacy vs. partnership
The simple story of a mom's winsome church advocacy
Providing respite care (this is a HUGE topic for special needs ministry, and I'll have more posts coming!)
Respite events without "religious content?" Not at our church 
What parents of children with disabilities want other parents to know
Supporting families or enabling dysfunction?

Being resourceful
A post about finding resources outside of the church
Practical ideas we'll be using this fall

Volunteers
Protecting volunteers
Defining roles for volunteers
Recruiting volunteers from outside of your church
Using teens as special needs ministry volunteers (an article from an external site)
Training teens to be special needs ministry volunteers (a post from another blog)
The vast options for volunteer opportunities in special needs ministry (a post from another blog)

Policies
Special needs ministry policies: Start with the WHY
Your special needs ministry policies are worthless (and possibly damaging) if they just sit on a shelf.
The importance of good health policies
Confidentiality: Why it matters
What's your ministry's elopement plan? 
How can you identify individuals who might need support?
A post from another blog about Sunday school safety and security (not specific to special needs, but still useful)
A lesson in safety from an outing with my kiddos
Using person-first language shows that we focus on people (not categories) 
Access Ministry: It's not a fancy or unique name, but it's ours

Making modifications and accommodations to remove barriers to inclusion
modifying for the individual not the disability
Behavior is communication {5 tips for responding} 
"But what if they can't understand the teaching?"

• Part 1: Teaching how-to
• Part 2: How can they be saved?

"Fair" doesn't mean "the same": a series about modifications and accommodations - parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
Identifying and emphasizing the essentials
A guest post about helping kids with special needs adjust to changes in your church building
Teaching lessons for all learners
Tips for setting up the physical environment to be welcoming, from my friend Harmony: Part 1 and Part 2
Adapting curriculum for kids with special needs (link to an article on an external site)

Ministry to & with adults with special needs
Description of our adult Sunday school class

Specific special needs

• Autism: 
• A guest post about ministering to children with autism and their families
• Notes from the Children Desiring God workshop on autism 
• Autism-related blog posts from the week of April 6, 2011
• Two posts from other sites about not judging the parents when a child has autism or another disability: 1 & 2
• Down syndrome:
• My post from World Down Syndrome Day 2011
• Tammy's guest post about her son with Down syndrome
• ADHD:
• "But what if I think that most kids with ____________ are making it up?"
• Interesting ADHD research and implications for the church
• Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD)
• A post from a different site about dealing with kids who are defiant in children's ministry (and part two of that post is found here)
• Individuals whose needs require hospitalization
• An article from another site providing guidance for making a hospital visit
• Allergies
• An article from another site about steps you can take to welcome kids with significant allergies

Joy Prom, a big event for teens and adults with special needs
A how-to guide for hosting a prom for teens and adults with disabilities
Joy Prom 2010
Joy Prom 2011 
  
Supporting adoptions of children with special needs
Adoption and Special Needs: Praying for Kirill, plus updates to that post here and here

why?

This page is currently under construction - 

being updated to be more user-friendly. I'm leaving up the old, cluttered version in the meantime. Feel free to email me - shannon {at} theworksofgoddisplayed {dot} com if you have any questions before I clean this page up!

Why implement special needs ministry at your church? Is it worth the effort?

I have a few posts that answer that question in different ways:

• If what you're asking is "What's the biblical basis for this?" then this post might help.
• If what you're asking is "What is special needs ministry anyway?" then this post explaining why it isn't a program is a good place to look. Also, this post might help.
• If what you're asking is "How does this ministry centered in the Gospel?" then you might want to check this post. This one one might be good too. And this one. And this one about God's unwavering faithfulness even when he says no. And this one about imputed righteousness.
• If you're thinking, "Okay, that sounds nice, but what are we missing out on if we don't do it?," read this. And this. And this. And this.
• And if you're looking for all posts from this blog that explain the "whys" of special needs ministry, then scroll down to see a list of those.

Thank you for being willing to think about what special needs ministry could look like at your church. Please leave a comment here or email me (shannon@theworksofgoddisplayed.com) if you have any questions or if there's a "why"-related question you'd like me to address.



Here's the list of post written from the start of this blog through September 2011 about the reasons for special needs ministry:

A symptom of a larger problem (Our problem isn't that we don't welcome people with special needs. That's just a symptom.)
The biblical basis for special needs ministry
What's it all about? (hint: Jesus!)
Are you okay with only sharing the Gospel with 5 out of every 6 kids? Me neither. (One of my favorites!)
Who is welcome at your church? (my first post!)
a kid first (why the person is more important than the disability)
What disability ministry is
What I take for granted at church because my kids don't have disabilities
How pop culture is getting it right more often than we are ... and how they get it wrong too
a post on considering the perspective of others 
What if being the church influenced how we live in our communities and not just where we go on Sundays?
a rant on injustice
What we can learn from one man (Michael W. Smith) noticing and encouraging a star-struck teen (me)
An opportunity or an inconvenience? 
Image bearers encountering Christ 
What if the healing comes? And what if it doesn't?
See the person. See the image of God. See the handiwork. See the righteousness.
Words. They matter.
If we value life, we don't get to choose which lives we value

My series of "But what if..." posts:

• But what if we don't have anyone with special needs at our church?
• But what if I don't know where to start?
• But what if we don't want to add another program to our church?
• But what if we don't have someone with your background at our church?: Part 1 and Part 2
• But what if it just seems too hard and requires too much? 
• But what if I think that most kids with __________ are making it up? 
• "But what if they can't understand the teaching?" Part 1: Teaching how-to and Part 2: How can they be saved?
• But what if our special needs ministry is different from yours? 

What the Bible says

• Weak. And yet perfect. {2 Corinthians 12:9-10}
• No partiality {James 2:1-3}
• We love because He first loved us {1 John 4:7-21}
• Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly. {Micah 6:8}
• Whatever you do {Colossians 3:23-24}
• Let us not grow weary of doing good {Galatians 6:9-10}
• Is it not I, the Lord? {Exodus 4:11}
• Living sacrifices {Romans 12:1-2}
• Wonderfully, fearfully knit together {Psalm 139:13-16}
• The precious and hopeful word "but" {Psalm 73:26}
• Different members. One body. {1 Corinthians 12:12-26}
• that the works of God might be displayed {John 9:1-3}
• The same God who empowers them all in everyone {1 Corinthians 12:4-7}
• Worthy Creator of ALL things {Revelation 4:11}

Fantastic video about special needs ministry (includes a video from the Texas Baptist organization)

A series of guest posts from people with disabilities and their family members: Fridays from the Families

D6family.com: People with special needs, one of the most unreached people groups in the US

Visit me today over at the D6family blog, writing about one of the most unreached people groups in the United States. While I'm sure you can guess what groups I'm talking about, you'll want to check it out for several useful statistics for sharing the need for special needs ministry.

some sweet family pictures from our beach weekend

all of us together before going out for Lee's birthday dinner

zoomed in a bit

praying together during our family worship time before we left this morning

links I'm loving in disability ministry: fake Christians, imperfect vessels, real inclusion, angry kids

The Realities of Inclusion & Kids With Special Needs
 Inclusion in theory is beautiful and collaborative and harmonious. Inclusion in practice can be messy. Ellen writes about Max's camp experience, "in the end I just wasn't sure how much he'd interacted with other kids—or how inclusive his time there was, other than the fact that he was physically among so-called typical kids."

My thought: We want people with disabilities not just present in the church but also part of the body.

How can we as the church be more than just physically inclusive?

what I want you to know about living with a child who has anger issues

"I now look at kids that are throwing tantrums and know some of them are acting up due to parenting or lack of parenting, but I want you to know some kids are just wired in a way that is not acceptable to society. I know you don’t want your kids to be friends with my son and that hurts but I understand. Maybe just try every now and then to be friends with that mom and kid."

My thought: Kids with angry behaviors may be hard to include in traditional way, for the safety of other kids.

Are we willing to love these families and work to figure out unconventional inclusion for them?

imperfect vessels
This blog series, with 99 Balloons running point, is knocking my socks off. (And, if I'm honest, making me a little nervous about how my post - running on September 11 - will measure up to the rest of the amazing folks included in this project.)

and on a similar note..

Why people think Christians are fake.

"But when people think Christians are fake, I think this is part of the reason why. We tell each other we’re not prone to wander. We act like our days of falling down are forever behind us. And we create environments where no one can be honest. You can’t share your whole life with somebody when the expectation is that you don’t fail."

My thought: When we wear the name "Christian," that should acknowledge that we're not the great ones.

How can we let Christ's light shine through our broken places, be that disability or sin?