Inclusion Fusion Live attendees - Orlando, FL, April 17, 2021
2021 has been a year of unprecedented challenge in expanding the scope of disability ministry within the church. I’m especially grateful for the outstanding work done by Beth Golik, Catherine Boyle and all of Key Ministry’s amazing volunteers this past year while I’ve had to devote far more time and attention to providing child psychiatric services to kids and families wrestling with the impacts of COVID.
Historically, our mission has always involved helping churches minister with families of kids with disabilities. The reality is that many churches - and church leaders have been struggling to do ministry in the later stages of the pandemic. The pandemic probably served as a catalyst to change within the church over the last eighteen months that would have otherwise unfolded over the next 18 years.
In the words of the influential pastor Carey Nieuwhof, The Great Return to church has become the Great Realization: Maybe they’re not coming back. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. According to a Lifeway study conducted in September, nearly half of 1,000 pastors surveyed reported attendance to be at least 30-50% lower than pre-pandemic levels. Earlier research demonstrated that younger families were most likely to be absent in the initial stages of COVID.
Pastors have not recovered. 38% admitted they’ve considered quitting full-time ministry in the past year in a Barna group survey, including 46% of pastors under the age of 45. Our challenge is pastors who are struggling are unlikely to take on new or expanded ministry initiatives.
“We started seeing early warning signs of burnout among pastors before COVID,” says David Kinnaman, President of Barna Group. “with initial warning bells sounding in Barna’s The State of Pastors study in 2017. Now, after 18 months of the pandemic, along with intense congregational divisions and financial strain, an alarming percentage of pastors is experiencing significant burnout, driving them to seriously consider leaving ministry.
Much of our focus this fall has been on development of new strategies for advancing disability ministry in an environment where established church leaders are struggling to maintain their existing ministries with more demands, fewer volunteers and less money. I’ll share some of those ideas in my next post. Here’s what we’ve been able to accomplish thus far in 2021.
Inclusion Fusion Live was live - offering an opportunity for ministry leaders to gather for training and fellowship in the physical presence of one another. This year’s conference featured a series of conversations around critical topics for disability ministry. The featured conversation spotlighted ministry leaders with disabilities and the importance of including persons with disabilities in conversations about diversity in the church.
Our team continued to create community and provide support for disability ministry leaders. The Special Needs and Disability Ministry Leaders Facebook group we facilitate now has 2,163 members, representing an increase of 109 members since the first of the year. Over two thirds of members have been active in the group in the past four weeks, and 80% have been active in the last sixty days. In addition, our ministry team held nine monthly Idea Share roundtables for leaders in disability ministry regularly attended by 15-25 participants.
We produced a broad range of live, online training events related to disability ministry and mental health ministry topics. Ten monthly disability ministry video roundtables addressed the following topics…
• Work/Life Balance in Disability Ministry
• Volunteer Guardians and Your Church
• Creating a House Church Network for Special Needs Ministry
• Tips & Tools for the Inclusive Sunday School Classroom
• Creating a Church Culture Where Everyone Uses Their Gifts to Serve
• Beyond Ramps: Characteristics of Disability Inclusive Churches
• Reimagining and Relaunching Your Ministry
• Community Outreach Ideas Your Church Can Try This Fall
• Finding Community: Young Adult Women on the Spectrum and the Church
• Volunteer Recruitment and Retention: Keeping it Real
We also offered a similar series focused on key topics related to mental health ministry. Topics addressed included cultural competency, trauma, caregiver support and sexual abuse prevention.
We continue to offer free consultation to churches interested in starting or growing ministries to serve kids and families impacted by disabilities. Since the beginning of the year, our team has responded to 65 requests for help related to general disability ministry and 49 requests for help with mental health ministry.
A “typical” consultation request fielded by our team.
We were frequent participants in conferences sponsored by other ministries. Some of the events we were honored to have been part of in 2021 included…
Southern Baptist Texas Convention Special Needs Ministry Videoconference
All Access Disability Ministry Conference
Evangelical Free Church Special Needs Ministry Webinar
Faith Inclusion Network Conference
Lutheran Foundation Mental Health Inclusion Webinar
SoCal Disability Ministry Conference
Thrive and Cultivate Summit
Church Mental Health Summit
Wonderfully Made Special Needs Ministry Conference
Our ministry team would very much appreciate your prayers, encouragement and financial support during this Christmas season. While great challenge awaits in the coming year, we also see great opportunity for raising up new leaders and instituting innovative ministry practices as churches seek to re-establish their “new normal.”
If you’ve taken care of your responsibilities to your local church, we’d appreciate any donation you’re able to provide. Would you consider contributing to my Facebook fundraiser on behalf of Key Ministry? Online gifts are an increasingly important source of support for our work. My practice will match the first $5,000 in donations to my fundraiser on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
If you’re unable to give but have been touched by our ministry or supported by a church we serve, we’d love to hear from you. The stories of families impacted by disability experiencing the love of Christ through their church experiences is the greatest encouragement our ministry team can possibly receive.
Best Wishes to all our followers for a safe, blessed and joyous Christmas season!
