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Category Archives: Inclusion
“Thinking Orange”…A Parent’s Perspective-Mike Woods from Making Room
You are God’s gift to families who have a child with autism. God calls people just like you to Himself, and then blesses you with the purpose of becoming part of a community of Christ-followers focused on helping “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40). In Scripture God calls his people to live out the gospel pattern of welcome and generosity. “Therefore, “ Paul says, “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Ro.15:7). Continue reading
Posted in Autism, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Parents
Tagged Autism, Church4EveryChild, Family Ministry, Key Ministry, Making Room, Mike Woods, Parents, Think Orange
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Thinking “Orange”…Communicating the Message
Kids (and not infrequently, parents) with hidden disabilities often have difficulty filtering out extraneous information to the point that they miss out on what’s important. One of the top two or three complaints I get from moms about their kids when they first come to our office is that they need constant reminders to do chores or complete homework because other things around the house (TV, the computer, the dog, their little brother) intrude upon their consciousness. Church leaders and volunteers are faced with the challenge of cutting through the information overload that characterizes modern American society with kids and parents with conditions that make prioritizing more difficult. Continue reading
Posted in Families, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Ministry Environments, Parents, Spiritual Development, Strategies
Tagged children's ministry, Family Ministry, Harmony Hensley, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, ministry environments, Orange Conference, Reggie Joiner, Think Orange, Vineyard Community Church
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“Thinking Orange”: The advantages of an integrated ministry strategy
When we think about ministry to the family as opposed to ministry to the child with a disability, collective intentionality is required to ensure the child’s disability doesn’t serve as an impediment to the ability of other family members to participate in activities and programs central to the church’s philosophy of ministry. Continue reading
“Thinking Orange”: Libby Peterson on Partnering With Parents
We are coming to believe that every time we tell parents we are here to “equip” them in the faith training of their children we reinforce their belief that they are not adequate AND we feed the cultural lie that parents should contract out each aspect of their child’s growth and development. Parents need discipleship – to fall in love again with Christ – and encouragement to share what they know and are consistently learning with their kids. The church is here to HELP. Too often churches talk about partnering with parents when the church is in fact taking the LEAD and expecting parents to get on board with their initiatives.
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Thinking “Orange”: Warm Hearts…The family’s role in spiritual development is magnified when kids have disabilities…as well as the church’s role (Part Two)
I’ve found many church leaders to be very short-sighted in their conceptualization of disability ministry, resulting in the need for more family-centered approaches. How are the kids in the family supposed to come to know and love Jesus if we’re not prepared to welcome the parents to church…and all the other activities we’ve found to be helpful in facilitating spiritual growth? Continue reading
What Does it Mean For the Church to be “Light” to a Family Impacted by Disability? (Part One of Two)
I think there’s the potential for “multiple wins” here. The very attributes of the church that best reflect the character of God are those that will draw families of kids with disabilities to the “light.” In order to put the “light” on display to families of kids with disabilities, we get to parade the light in front of lots of other folks who may not otherwise get to see the “light.” Continue reading
To Make “Orange” You Need Red in Addition to Yellow
We’ll be focusing on the unique challenges involved in partnering with families of kids with disabilities around the spiritual development of their children, and explore strategies churches may use to partner with such families. In doing so, it is our hope that the church will understand the advantages of the “Orange” strategy in ministry to kids with hidden disabilities and their families. Continue reading
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