Beth Golik and Sandra Peoples give a Disability & the Church 2024 Conference Recap that happened this past week in Orlando, FL.
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Sandra Peoples: Hi friends. Welcome to episode 099 of Key Ministry, the podcast. Today I am co-hosting the episode with Beth Golik. I am Sandra Peoples, and we are really excited because we are bringing you a Disability and a Church 2024 wrap up. After Beth and I actually saw each other in the hotel the next morning and kind of had our own wrap up, and so this is fun. We thought this would actually make a pretty fun episode if we sat down and talked through all of the highlights, all of the awesome things that happened last week in Orlando, and got to share them not only with the people who were there, but the people who wish they could have been there. So we're going to chat through a few questions, a few stats, highlight some of the sessions that we either got to attend or heard were really awesome. And so we're going to give you all of the behind the scenes that happened on the stage that happened and everything in between. So we're excited that you are joining us for this episode today.
Beth Golik: Yeah. So yes, when we had our little rehash after the conference in the hotel the next morning, I think we talked for, gosh, at least an hour until the coffee got cold. So yes, we probably won't share that much with you today, but the conference, in case you missed it and you're having FOMO, the conference was held at Calvary Orlando, which is a big beautiful church in Orlando, Florida, and there were 500 people in attendance. So that includes all of our attendees, our speakers, our exhibitors, and it was fantastic to be together with all of those people in one place. There was just an atmosphere, I can't even really describe it honestly, but there was just this incredible feeling of being with your people. It was like a big family reunion, and it was really a combination of the people that we see every year that are truly family to us and people that were brand new for us. So it was really exciting to meet people that I've maybe seen in a little Zoom box on a disability ministry video round table, or people that I had been emailing with leading up to the conference. So it was fabulous to have 500 people together. So people came from all over. We had 36 states represented and four countries, which was just really exciting. Sandra why don't you tell them about our little wager we had going on?
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, I mean, in true Beth and Sandra style, we had to add just an extra layer of fun and maybe even a little competition to which state would have the most attendees, whether it was Beth's home state of Ohio or my home state, the great state of Texas. And so without holding back the stats on our people, why don't you share with them which states came in at the top of the attendee list?
Beth Golik: Alright, well, at number 10, we had a tie between Minnesota and Kentucky at number nine. We had Maryland, which I thought that was pretty exciting.
Sandra Peoples: They're doing some awesome stuff up in Maryland.
Beth Golik: They really are. Shout out to Maryland!
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, it's kind of not surprising. So that's really exciting.
Beth Golik: Number eight, we had a three-way tie, so Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Illinois at number seven, Indiana and North Carolina at number six, Georgia, number five, South Carolina, and I'd like to give a huge shout out to David's table. Plus we had another church that brought, gosh, a lot, maybe 10 or 12 people.
Sandra Peoples: Oh wow. That's awesome.
Beth Golik: Then at number four, there was a tie between Tennessee and Ohio.
Sandra Peoples: Yay.
Beth Golik: Number three was Virginia, and number two was the great state of Texas…
Sandra Peoples: Great state of Texas, I mean, you could say it with a little more enthusiasm than that.
Beth Golik: Great state of Texas! And at number one, and this is not a big surprise, but at number one, Florida sent 106 people to the conference.
Sandra Peoples: Wow. That's awesome. That's really exciting because a lot of those people either heard about us for the first time or attended for the first time because we're normally in Ohio. The past few years we've been at your home church in Ohio, which is always a lovely host, and I really missed seeing the friends at your church, but it was nice to be in a little bit of a different location, meet some new people, and man, Florida kind of blew the rest of us out of the water with that number.
Beth Golik: Yes, they did. Yes, they did. And so one of the reasons we hosted this conference in Orlando this year was because we wanted to tie it in with Nathaniel's Hope, make 'm Smile event, which our conference attendees got to have a behind the scenes look, a little tour down at Lake Eola Park by Marie and Tim Kuck on Friday night, and then on Saturday, people who are still in town for the conference got to go walk around this incredible event that serves, I think there were 3000 people with disabilities of all ages.
Sandra Peoples: That blows me away.
Beth Golik: It was incredible. Close to 30,000 attendees, I believe is what it was. It's a huge, huge event, and it was really just such a treat for everybody to be able to be part of it, either as an observer, learning about the behind the scenes or watching it in person, maybe with their family or serving. Several of our attendees were volunteers. So it was really amazing.
Sandra Peoples: That's really cool. I didn't get to go, but I saw so many pictures and videos of how amazing it was. So what an awesome opportunity for us to be able to partner with them and hopefully learn from them and take that vision back to our home states and replicate either what they did or just even an event that has the same spirit that that event has.
Beth Golik: And Tim and Marie Kuck, who are the founders of Nathaniel's Hope, actually received the President's award this year. So that's part of the conference kickoff was recognizing Tim and Marie and Nathaniel's Hope for the work they've been doing and how they've just been so obedient to the calling that they've received for these past 22 years.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, it's amazing. There's such a gift to their area and to all of us who are in disability ministry. One of my goals for the conference was not to cry because I cry every year, and so I kind of had to avoid Marie because she's one of those, I mean, you chat with her and you just pour your heart out, and she's so kind and so generous with her time. And I saw her at another event in Seattle back in March and cried a lot in my conversation with her, but you just can't help it. She just helps you feel so seen and cared for. And so, man, I'm glad that we could kind of be in her backyard and that more people got to experience how generous she is with her time and her love and her care.
Beth Golik: Absolutely. And I hope this really inspired people to take, I mean, we can't all do it to the scale that Orlando does, but I know Nathaniel's Hope would really love to partner with churches all over the country to bring a Make 'm Smile event.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, that's so cool. That's so cool. And we had quite a few new speakers this year. We had lots of really great breakouts. I mean, it seemed to just cover every topic you could think of. Some super specific, some really broad and general, some that were a little bit introductory if you were new to ministry and others that were very specific. There was one on multi-site churches that Amy and Susan did, and some of the big churches from Texas attended, and they loved it. So I mean, you just think of how many people got together in those rooms around these common struggles or areas of potential growth and were able to chat about it. I went to two specifically that I really liked. One was Charla Holst on Universal Design for Learning. We had a podcast episode about that a month or two ago, and so that was really new to me. So it was amazing to learn from her.
And I went to Laura and Courtney's on adapted curriculum, and that was really great. We use products from both of them in our church, and lots and lots of churches are realizing that traditional curriculum may not meet all the needs that they have. And so it was great to have them there and explain to us how you can be multi-sensory, how you can break things down, and the experience that they have that they were able to share with us. All three of those speakers was really great, I learned a whole lot from all of them.
Beth Golik: And you brought up something, so Laura and Courtney partner together, Susan and Amy partner together. So one of the things that Key Ministry really wants to platform are different ministries, different organizations partnering together. So there were several presentations that were done by two or three individuals from different ministries collaborating to present one workshop. So that's something that's really important. When the program committee is making selections, they take that into account. The other thing is Key Ministry specifically wants to platform new speaker. Speakers who are new to this audience. And so again, the program committee always keeps some slots aside for folks that have not yet had this audience.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, that's exciting. One of the new speakers was from Texas, and so I knew her well, Cynthia, and she had such an amazing experience. I mean, if this is going to be your first time out of the gate speaking at a breakout session, this is the kindest, most generous audience you could be around. And you and your team, of course do such a great job organizing it and making it as smooth as possible. So I know I talked to Cynthia, and even as a first time speaker, she said it went great. She loved it. So I'm glad that they share their knowledge with us, that they trust us in those kind of spaces to be accommodating and get them in front of audiences. But also it's the audiences that make it so exciting and the people who attend each session.
Beth Golik: So something new that we did this year was we had a few, we call them community conversations, and so we had two of them happen during, or one happened during each of the two lunch hours, but Thursday night we had, it was an optional community conversation session with Dr. Erik Carter, and it was limited to 240 people, which is a lot of people because we had to seat everybody around round tables because it was literally a round table discussion. But he did a fabulous job facilitating a discussion on accessible worship. And if you weren't there, the good news is you're going to be able to, he will be putting this data together. And so this is something we are all going to be able to learn from down the road. But being in that room and just listening to 240 ministry leaders sharing what's going on in their church, maybe what's not going on, it was an incredible site to behold, just the buzz in the room and just what a great time to just connect and learn from each other. So I'm really excited for that idea to be replicated and to see what the data will show.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, I mean, Erik Carter himself is a gift to our community and the data that he collects and the way that he analyzes it and is so generous in sharing it with us. So I was a table host at that event, and so I had myself and four or five other people at the table, and I mean, I was supposed to write all the ideas down and I was like, oh my goodness, I can only write so fast. They were just so many good ideas, which is one of the coolest things about getting together with other disability ministry leaders is the ideas and the solutions and the creativity that we all bring to the table.
Beth Golik: Absolutely. Absolutely. So Sandra, you did a main stage presentation, which was such a great way to kick off the conference. So just tell our listeners, just give us a little nugget of what you shared with us. It was so encouraging.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah. Well, I kind of shared because I grew up with a sister with Down syndrome and have a son with autism. I've been in disability ministry I mean, really my whole life, I've had to be a part of inclusive churches every step of the way. And I was just thinking that's 45 years of seeing what inclusion looks like in churches and even with all that experience, I have never been more optimistic about it than I am now. I mean, so many things are falling into place and so many resources are being developed, and so many conversations are happening. So many classes being taught at universities and seminaries and all, I mean, it just feels like for such a time as this, we are ready. We are ready, and churches are ready for us and our knowledge. And I really kind of felt that optimism the whole weekend. I did not feel any kind of I mean, even if people came with kind of hard stories or man, I'm the only one in my church that's doing this, they still had a lot of optimism about what God will do in their churches and through their service. So I mean, I was super optimistic coming into it. I'm even more optimistic after the weekend and being around all of those amazing leaders.
Beth Golik: And I think being around all those amazing leaders was kind of what Steve, Dr. Steve Grcevich shared from the main stage again at the beginning of the conference. And he talked about being not alone. He speaks in front of huge audiences, he's a child and adolescent psychiatrist and is a member of many organizations associated with that, but this, it's these people, the disability ministry community, that is where he truly feels not alone. And I think that was just evident throughout the conference, throughout our time together.
Sandra Peoples: And he creates spaces like this, so none of us feel alone. So in his biggest need, and he created a solution so we can all benefit and none of us have to feel alone in this work that we're doing
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Beth Golik: So one of my favorite times during the conference was so Friday morning we were able to worship together, and that was just a really special time. So Lori Sealy did the music and we could have a whole podcast just on,
Sandra Peoples: How much I had never met her before. So I mean, I knew who she was because she's friends with Steph Hubach and Steph's one of our board members. And so I had heard her name before, but man, she impacted the conference in so many different ways.
Beth Golik: So many ways,
Sandra Peoples: So many ways. So really that worship set the tone for what we were there to do.
Beth Golik: Right. And she also was part of a panel. She did a quick take, which is our version of Ted Talks, and she did a workshop. And unfortunately, my workshop was scheduled opposite of hers, and so I did not get to attend her workshop, but so many people were talking about how much it impacted them. So I am so grateful to finally have met Lori in person. We've zoomed before, but what a tremendous addition she was. I mean, she's such an integral part of the whole experience this last week,
Sandra Peoples: And she has a quick take on the YouTube page, and so we can all hear from the, I've already seen it shared on Facebook multiple times in the last few days, and so I haven't had time to go listen to it yet, but it's at the top of my post-conference to do list!
Beth Golik: Exactly
Sandra Peoples: To catch up on her quick take and lots of other ones. We really had some amazing quick take speakers this year.
Beth Golik: We did, we did. And I was getting texts from Elaina, our social media manager. Well, she was in managing the Quick takes, and she would say, this one was amazing, this one was awesome. So I can't wait to go back and listen. So yes, those are on our YouTube, the Key Ministry YouTube channel. Yeah, so definitely you want to check those out. Ryan Wolfe [from Ability Ministry] delivered the message during the worship session, and it was amazing. And that's available on YouTube as well.
Sandra Peoples: And one of the things I loved about his session is he made it accessible feeling without having to name it an accessible service. I mean, that's what we really want. We want some of these steps of accessibility to almost be invisible. We just want it to be normal and not atypical. And I think he modeled that so well. He had some interactive parts to it. He had good application, he had ways that we could interact with him, and either they shared a social media post where, because in the sermon he flips a coin, there's a big coin, he's talking about treasures. And he said, heads Beth and her team did an amazing job, tails Beth and her team did an amazing job, but it's like no matter where it lands, it's true! Beth and the team did an amazing job.
Beth Golik: That's sweet.
Sandra Peoples: It was really sweet.
Beth Golik: But you nailed it that the way he was modeling accessible worship without saying, this is how you do accessible worship. And what was cool was the night before, the afternoon before when Dr. Erik Carter was doing his main stage session, he had a slide up that listed elements of accessible worship, and it was identical to what Ryan actually modeled in real life. So that was great. That was great. It
Sandra Peoples: It was really great. I had to scroll through lots of people's images to find that one with Dr. Carter and those circles behind him that he explained That was such a helpful way to understand if our listeners weren't there. He talked about the history of special education being separate and then how we kind of followed that in ministry settings and created these separate spaces. But of course, the goal eventually is to do ministry with people with disabilities and not just to people with disabilities. And so he always articulates that and even gives us these visuals of it so that we can clearly understand what that looks like.
Beth Golik: And I just want to point this out, and I forgot to tell him this, but I noticed this and I just thought it was, again, just an example of doing it without pointing it out. But as he was speaking and referencing his slides, he would describe the image on the slide because there are people who were in the room or who will be watching this on YouTube later that maybe can't see the slide. And I just thought that was great how he did that as part of his presentation. It's just an example of accessibility, just modeling that.
Photo by Linda Bunk
Sandra Peoples: And we learn those things when we hear from people with disabilities telling us that's what they need. And that kind of leads to the panel discussion that we had on Friday where we had ministry leaders who themselves have disabilities, and we asked them some questions and they were able to share with us how God has worked through them and some of the strengths that they bring to their ministries. So that was really interesting and helpful, that lunch discussion and hearing from the participants on that they had a variety of disabilities, so they were speaking from their experiences and we all could learn and apply those to our ministry context.
Beth Golik: That was a great panel and thank you for moderating that. You did a great job with that.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, I mean, it was fun. It was fun to sit and chat with them and learn. I mean, just every space, whether it was a big lunch panel like that, or just little discussions that you're having because you sat down at a four person table and three other people sat with you mean, some of those conversations are just as impactful. And the connections that you make in those ways can lead to really strong friendships or really strong ways that strengthen your ministry. You get these ideas, you start talking, and then you're able to take that back and apply it to your church and the families that you serve.
Beth Golik: And it really is our heart that people do continue those relationships and not just lose those networking contacts that were made there, but to continue those conversations. So this brings us to the end of the conference, and the last all conference gathering was so incredibly impactful to me. So do you want to share your thoughts on that?
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, Pastor Lamar Hardwick just bringing a word for us, and he said a few times he was representing the board and he was representing people with disabilities. And I mean, just kind of the theme of the whole thing, really optimistic, really encouraged, really thankful for what disability ministry leaders are doing. I mean, for my own family, if it weren't for disability ministry leaders in my church, my family wouldn't be able to attend. I mean, this is a big deal. And so he just really spoke from his heart about how appreciative he is as a person with a disability that we are as disability ministry leaders using our time and our talents and all of that to pour into churches so that more families can attend these churches.
Beth Golik: Yeah, I mean, I thought he closed the conference so beautifully, and again, there was just this, I can't even describe, but there was just this feeling when we were all together. It was pretty great.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, it was pretty great. I saw the picture of everybody praying over Lamar, and it's so moving. I mean, just to think what a voice he is for us and how much we learn from him and how we just continue to pray for strength for him and healing for his body and for his family. If our listeners don't know, he has stage four cancer, and so he can really get worn out easily. He's continuing to take chemo treatments every two weeks, and that's just exhausting on the body and on the mind and everything. And so the fact that he was able to come and be there and serve us so that we were able to hear from him and listen to him. I had people come up to me and say, I can't wait until Pastor Lamar gets here. I can't wait to meet him and say hi to him and get him to sign his new book and be able to hear from him in that last session. So he's a gift. He's a gift to us as a board member. He was a gift as a writer when he came on the team years ago. And that first year that he spoke at the conference, and I mean, even Steve and his introduction said he applied to speak one year and then now we can't imagine it without him.
Beth Golik: I know, right? We were honored that he, because I know it's exhausting and we are honored that he chose to do it, and so we're very grateful to Lamar.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, he's a blessing to all of us.
Beth Golik: Well, we just had a great time. We really did. Of course, we will let you know about future events in the weeks to come.
Sandra Peoples: Hey friends. I tried to get it out of her before we started, but they're just not ready to spill the secrets yet, so we got to hang in there. But we do have the Mental Health conference coming in the fall, so there are opportunities to get together again and come to Cleveland if you really, I really missed, I mean, I live in Houston, so the Orlando weather was very similar to Houston weather, so I know lots of people enjoyed warming up, but I kind of enjoy that shot of being cold again before I get too hot. So I'm looking forward to the opportunity of Cleveland in the fall. It's where it'll be a little cooler where I can get a break from the Houston Heat and be in Cool Cleveland.
Beth Golik: There you go. So we encourage our listeners to follow us on social media and visit our website key ministry.org for details on that.
Sandra Peoples: Yeah, it's going to be fun. Well, thanks Beth for chatting with me. I think we gave them a pretty good representation of our breakfast conversation and all.
Beth Golik: I think so
Sandra Peoples: As we kind of hid in a corner and processed it. So it's really fun. I'm so thankful for the work that you and Catherine and Steve and Elaina did to make this happen.
Beth Golik: Well, thank you for being part of it. We are grateful that you're serving on the board and podcast co-host and just a great friend, so thank you.
Sandra Peoples: I know, I know. I'm so glad we get to be together in person at least once a year, like you said, kind of a family reunion just with 500 friends and family members there with us too, and hopefully growing. There's always room for more. I know a lot of people are kind of looking at their church budgets right now. Some of them are due at the end of summer. And so, man, if you can swing it in your budget, it will benefit you and your ministry in so many ways. So many, especially if you're discouraged or need solutions, and I mean, this is the place to come. There's no other place where there's this many disability ministry leaders together all with the same goal, which is the gospel, getting the gospel to people with disabilities and their families. And so coming together around that shared goal is why it's such an encouraging and sweet time.
Beth Golik: I agree. Alright, well I love chatting with you and until next time.
Sandra Peoples: Alright, thanks for listening in friends, as Beth and I got to chat. We'll see you next week.
