When our church, The Roads Church, located in Southern Illinois, decided to start a special needs ministry a few years ago, we were embarking into unfamiliar territory. As a speech-language pathologist and mother of a child with special needs, I became part of the early planning team and collaborated with a few leaders in the church.
At first, we worked to identify where the greatest need was in our church. We discovered there was a gap between the children that were too old for children’s church but not ready to stay in the sanctuary to attend service. It was clear we needed a classroom to meet this need, but what that would look like was the next decision. There were months of communicating, praying, researching, emailing, and meetings between several of us at church.
Once a couple of key decisions were made, we needed to build a team of people who would serve in the ministry. At our church, a volunteer who wants to serve on any team must complete a set of four classes that give the heart of our church and expectations for those who serve. Anyone who volunteers in the kids’ area must be background checked. These safeguards were already in place, which would be especially important to protect our children with special needs.
We started looking at who was already serving in the kids’ area and specifically who was assisting our children with special needs. These people had been vetted and had shown commitment to our church. We also contacted a couple of people in the church who had professional experience that would be beneficial as we started out. From the beginning, we desired to have a few youth without disabilities in the room each week, to foster peer relationships and role modeling. There were three kids already naturally doing this within the classes. From there, we tapped on people’s shoulders, told them about our new ministry, and asked them to consider serving at least one or two Sundays a month.
Initially, our team was small, but each person was dedicated to the ministry. Our church, as a policy, requires a minimum of two adults for each service as we always want accountability, and never want to put anyone in a compromising situation. All of the other classrooms have higher numbers of children and more adults at each service, but our special needs ministry has found two adults for our small class to be more than adequate. We generally have one youth serving as well. In the beginning, most of those serving did so about two times a month. A couple of us served more often at first, to build relationships with the children and learn how to shape our class.
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Like all the other children's classes, two of us serving became the directors. We were responsible for scheduling volunteers, selecting or writing lessons, writing lesson plans, and making some of the bigger decisions for the room. A few adults became lead teachers who led our services on Sunday. The other adults serve as assistants for the lead teachers on Sundays.
Over time, we added people to our team. We generally have a new volunteer observe one week, ask questions, and see how our classroom works, because our room is much different than the other rooms in the kid’s area. After someone does that first observation, we ask if they want to be placed on the regular rotation.
Early on in the ministry, we developed a handbook for each volunteer who would be serving. This handbook gave the vision of the ministry, goals of the class, explained what some of the items in the room were for (i.e., sensory items, gross motor activities, etc.), and gave some basic parameters for discipline and guidance for talking with parents. This handbook was given to all new volunteers and served to get everyone on the same foundational level. Other documents were created for new students, so we could discover the needs of new children and how to support them in our class.
When I think back to that empty blue room nestled within our kids’ area, I recall the weight and responsibility I felt, as we decided how to implement a special needs ministry. Now, that blue room is filled with tables, chairs, a trampoline, books, weighted items, and a visual schedule. There are lions, fuzzy pillows, and other items chosen based upon the interests of the kids in our room.
If your church is thinking about a special-needs ministry, do not be afraid to start something new. Trust that God will supply and give you knowledge on how to proceed. There are many wonderful resources here on Key Ministry’s website, if you need help getting started. We did not know what we were doing in the beginning. It started with an idea, and it turned into a much-needed ministry.
Evana is a wife and mother of two children. She enjoys serving in her church’s special-needs ministry. Evana is also a pediatric speech-language pathologist and serves children with autism, feeding disorders, and other developmental delays. You can connect with Evana on Twitter, Facebook, and her blog, A Special Purposed Life. You can also read more about her family’s story in her book, Badges of Motherhood: One Mother’s Story about Family, Down syndrome, Hospitals, and Faith.
