This week Elaina, from Key Ministry, sits down with Sergei Marchenko, Lead Pastor of Chatham Bible Church, and Special Needs Parent. They discuss preparing for the holiday season, church inclusion, special needs parenting and more!
In this episode of Key Ministry the Podcast, Catherine Boyle shares 4 steps any church can take when an individual or family has a significant mental health need that may require ongoing church support.
On behalf of our team at Key Ministry, we encourage prospective attendees to “save” April 29th-May 1 on their calendars and invite prospective speakers to apply to be part of the faculty for Disability and the Church, Key Ministry’s annual national disability ministry conference, to be held at McLean Bible Church in McLean, VA.
At Mental Health & the Church Conference 2024, Dr. Steve Grcevich interviewed Kelly & her son Daniel Rosati on their experience with Schizophrenia, their powerful testimony of Jesus' grace, and how the church can support families like theirs.
Sandra Peoples was recently asked what qualifications she has to fulfill her ministry role. Maybe it’s a question you’ve asked yourself! What qualifications and characteristics do you need to advocate for families and help your church be more accessible? If you’re called to do disability ministry but don’t always feel qualified, this episode is for you
Many young people with learning disabilities do not have adequate preparation for adult life. The reason sometimes is that people mistakenly assume that having learning disabilities means not being able to learn. This is not the case. Rather, it means that they have difficulty learning. To help with this needed preparation, I have just published a teaching pack for parents, educators and church leaders.
My husband has advanced dementia. Many people I meet want to understand, but often make assumptions and therefore make mistakes. The Bible warns us not to look at externals; this is not how God looks at individuals. We need to be willing to look at our assumptions and make changes; we must be willing to learn.
As we all have a little more time at home because of Coronavirus, disability ministry leaders may be thinking ahead to summer. While summer brings an opportunity for rest, there are valid concerns for those who may be left out because of seasonal changes. There is a way of cultivating life with each other that protects the consistency of connections and cultivates an ongoing sense of belonging. Here are four questions to consider as your church builds communities of belonging to include people with disabilities.
Labels can define us. Many times we attribute value to people according to what they do. We see people through our perceived definition of the label. They cease to become an individual person and become confined by the label. But churches need to be careful about labelling people, to ensure that we don’t just see the person with a disability through the eyes of the label.
