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
A new year is starting, so I want to encourage you as the pastor, congregation member who is a parent of someone with a hidden disability, or member/volunteer who has your own hidden disability to find ways to be more mindful so that you are not like the 1,000 subway riders who miss a great opportunity.
Loneliness kills. Loneliness is especially ravaging the disability community, where 85% of people with disabilities report being lonely, and 1 in 8 of them spend less than 30 minutes a day with other people. But the encouraging thing about all this is that the antidote to this pandemic of loneliness—and the loneliness of people with disabilities in particular—is remarkably simple. You and I already have the answer: God has designed the church to be the remedy.
Since 2005, I have served on my church staff to provide clinical mental health counseling services to our congregation and others in our area. I have known people who wanted counseling but couldn’t get it, and others who had access to counseling but didn’t get it. I’ve known pastors who burned out without even considering seeking mental health treatment, and I’ve also known pastors who sought periodic counseling just as a personal self-care routine. Why is it that some people with symptoms of a mental illness go to counseling while others don’t?
Recently, a homeless stranger approached me for assistance to feed himself and his son. We discussed many things in our brief interaction before I said to him, “You matter, and you are a person.” His response stood out to me: “It feels good to be thought of as a person.” In that encounter, I practiced Companionship, something that can be offered to anyone we encounter.
‘Tis the season of waiting, expecting, hoping, dreaming, and if we’re going to be totally honest, Christmas is also a time of worrying. You may think that expectation and anxiety don’t belong together, but when you look closely at the Christmas story, the story is full of things that don’t seem to go together.
