Key Ministry promotes meaningful connection between churches and families of kids with disabilities for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ.

For the first thirteen years of our existence, our Key Ministry team focused our available time, talent, and treasure on resourcing and supporting churches to welcome, serve, and include kids with disabilities and their families. Our historic assumption has been that churches drive the process. But if we’re called to be bridge builders between the church and families impacted by disability (with a special emphasis on families of kids with mental illness, trauma, or developmental disabilities), we recognize that the bridges we build must be capable of supporting traffic coming from both directions!

Key for Families is the culmination of a burden God placed on the hearts of several of our board members that we would seek to come alongside families of kids with disabilities by providing a place where they might find faith and friendship for their journey.

You’ll find encouragement and inspiration from the parents of kids with special needs who have joined with our team to produce Not Alone, the blog that serves as the heart of Key for Families. They know the heartache of getting a diagnosis as well as the joy found in the smallest of their child’s accomplishments. They speak the same language. They’ve sat in IEPs, hospital waiting rooms, and in the hall during the church service. They push wheelchairs, prepare gluten-free/casein-free foods, calm night terrors, and plan for their children’s futures. Beyond the challenges involved with raising a child with a disability, they share in common a strong faith in God. Because of this faith, they believe their children have worth and a purpose in life and that the hardest days can bring glory to God. The parents who create Not Alone seek to pass on the comfort they have received to comfort others … including you!

You’ll find communities on Facebook with other parents built around common interests (specific conditions such as ADHD or Asperger’s Disorder, parents who serve in ministry, and parents involved with homeschooling to name a few). You’ll experience opportunities to connect through book studies, Bible studies, and other educational activities for parents and caregivers. We’ll provide opportunities for small groups through videoconference-based technology and help you connect with groups and other expressions of Christian community offered through like-minded ministries.

We’ll help direct you to churches offering respite care for families of kids with disabilities, ministries offering parent mentors, and ministries offering support to adoptive and foster parents. Through our Facebook communities, blogs, and social media platforms, we’ll offer you lots of great resources to help with the daily challenges common among families impacted by disability.

Most importantly, we’ve established a nationwide database of churches prepared to welcome families of kids with common disabilities, and our team is delighted to introduce parents to disability ministry leaders of churches in their home regions where their families might attend worship services and grow in faith in the physical presence of other Christ-followers.

We look forward to coming alongside you and your family as you embark upon or continue your faith journey!