For the last two years, our Key Ministry team has been hard at work developing a comprehensive model for a mental health ministry to welcome and include kids with mental illness and their families into the full scope of activities offered through the local church. The model is beginning to take shape and we’re now at the point that we’re ready to test-drive and to share with some friends.

I’d be delighted if you could join me and several excellent speakers in Louisville, KY on Saturday, November 7 as the Kentucky United Methodist Church Conference on Children’s and Family Ministry sponsors An Inclusive Children’s Ministry, a free, one day conference for children’s leaders and parents to learn how to make ministry to children inclusive of all children.

I’m honored to be invited to present the keynote presentation for the conference, Hostile Territory: Helping Families Impacted by Mental Illness Overcome Barriers to Attending Church. In that presentation, I’ll identify seven barriers families often encounter to attending church when kids experience emotional or behavioral challenges and share practical ideas for pastors, church staff and volunteers looking to help families overcome the barriers. In addition, I’ll be doing a breakout session on Helping Kids With the “3A’s” – ADHD, Anxiety and Asperger’s Disorder to Thrive at Church. In that session, we’ll take a more in-depth look at the challenges families of kids with those three conditions face in engaging at church and promoting spiritual growth.

In addition to my sessions, other presenters will address:

• Ministering to Children of Death and Divorce
• Children’s Ministries for Foster/Adoptive Families
• Creating a Triangle of Care: Family, Church & School

Other speakers will include Rev. Leanne Hadley, United Methodist Elder and founder of First Steps Spirituality Center in Colorado Springs, CO, Nancy Newby, United Methodist Deacon and Specialist in Adoption and  Sherri Stover, LCSW from Square One Specialists in Louisville.

The conference is free, but registration is required. Click here to sign up for this one-day ministry event at Christ Church in Louisville, KY on Saturday, November 7!

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Interested in attending conferences and events at which members of the Key Ministry team will be presenting? Our ministry website provides an up-to-date list of training events events to meet and learn from our crew. We look forward to seeing you during the coming months at events in Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and Washington, DC. Would you like to explore having someone from Key Ministry present at your next conference? Send us some information through our Contact Us link and expect someone to get back to you soon!