Key Ministry, Resources, Training Events
Stephen Grcevich MD
The Case for Supporting Key Ministry

The training, content, gatherings and experiences that we’ve created for pastors, church staff and ministry volunteers produced with the assistance of like-minded colleagues serving in disability ministry have become our principal service. So much of what we’re able do to help churches welcome and support families, we accomplish by bringing together experts from other ministry organizations.

The Case for Supporting Key Ministry
Caregiving
Jolene Philo
November Is Family Caregiver Awareness Month

November is Caregiver Awareness Month. As someone who became one of my dad’s caregivers before I started school, I grew up thinking everyone in the world was aware of caregivers and caregiving. As a young adult my husband and I cared for a son born with a life-threatening medical condition, and his typical sibling. As members of the sandwich generation, my brother, sister, and I cared for our mother for 15 years after she was diagnosed with dementia. This explains why, when I first heard that November is Caregiver Awareness Month, I was incredulous, and I still am. 

November Is Family Caregiver Awareness Month
Care and Support, Disability Ministry, Special Needs Ministry
Larah Roberts
A Conversation with Lauren Hickman from Hope ...

In this episode, Lauren Hickman shares her personal journey and calling to disability ministry, describing how God has guided her every step of the way to serve families impacted by disability.

A Conversation with Lauren Hickman from Hope Allen Center: Podcast EP 125
Autism, Care and Support, Church Support, Disability Ministry, podcast, Special Needs Parenting, Special Needs Ministry, Sandra Peoples
Sandra Peoples
Strategies for Small and Normative Sized ...

 In today’s episode, Sandra talks about the challenges small to normative-sized churches face in disability ministry and shares how the churches she’s been a part of have overcome these challenges.

Strategies for Small and Normative Sized Churches with Sandra Peoples: Podcast EP 124
Care and Support, Church Support, Disability Theology, Hope, podcast, Special Needs Parenting
Elaina Marchenko
Prepping for the Holidays, a Pastor & ...

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!

Prepping for the Holidays, a Pastor & Parent Perspective with Sergei Marchenko: Podcast EP 123

Special Needs Ministry

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Waiting Alongside: A Powerful Way The Body of Christ Can Support Those Who Seem Weaker

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Waiting Alongside: A Powerful Way The Body of Christ Can Support Those Who Seem Weaker

Lately I’ve been focusing on being thankful. I‘ve posted “thankful posts” every couple of days, trying daily to find something to thank Jesus for. Mine is an ongoing season of caregiving for my 16-year-old twin girls who both have disabilities and will never live independently. But there is ALWAYS something to thank Jesus for: for the peace I had today, for the ones who prayed in their seats, for those who asked if we were okay, for this body of believers, who simply were there, alongside us, while we waited.

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Special Needs In Real Life

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Special Needs In Real Life

One of the reasons why Illuminate - Inclusion Fusion Live 2020 is the largest disability ministry conference in the United States is because it addresses real life with special needs. But our desire is that this conference will address questions that maybe you haven’t been able to ask anywhere else.

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Labels: Helpful or Not?

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Labels: Helpful or Not?

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.

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An Invitation to Influence

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An Invitation to Influence

When we see the presence of a disability in the New Testament, we are exposed to some very important Kingdom of God values that are essential in the Christian life and in the life of the local church. The value in having leaders with disabilities in our churches is that the church will remain intimately involved with the type of ministry that expresses the heart of God’s kingdom.

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55 Years of Pioneering Successful Special Needs Ministry

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55 Years of Pioneering Successful Special Needs Ministry

College Church in Wheaton, Illinois has been “around the block“ in disability ministry for 45 years! The ministry team keeps learning and is more invested than ever. Their story is rich with inspiration for those who are still dreaming about disability ministry or just getting started.

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No Place Too Small: Special Needs Ministry in a Small Church

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No Place Too Small: Special Needs Ministry in a Small Church

I could talk about a multitude of things: our amazing lead pastor, our creative genius of a children’s pastor, team building and volunteer training, or leading a special needs ministry. But it makes much more sense to tell you why any church can do this special needs ministry “thing.” Because we did with a newbie ministry leader, a little bit of grit, a tiny budget, and a whole lot of prayer. If we can do it, so can you.

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Ten disability ministry trends to watch in the 2020s

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Ten disability ministry trends to watch in the 2020s

I'll share a non-exhaustive list of ten predictions for how the disability ministry field might evolve and grow over the next ten years.

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Don’t Miss the Music

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Don’t Miss the Music

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.

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Creative Communication in Church

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Creative Communication in Church

We now recognize that there are alternative, nonverbal ways in which we can communicate. Most churches, however, still rely heavily on the traditional sermon to convey God’s message. As I contemplated how other forms of communication could be integrated into churches, I was struck by how Jesus communicated with people. He used a variety of different approaches to express the Father’s message.

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Things That Don't Seem to Go Together - In Christmas, and In Special Needs

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Things That Don't Seem to Go Together - In Christmas, and In Special Needs

‘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.