Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christian Book and fine booksellers everywhere
Thanks to Ministry-To-Children!
“The most complete special needs ministry resource I’ve ever come across.”
Honored to be in Sharecare Now’s Top Ten online influencers in children’s mental health!
Category Archives: Key Ministry
What Can Christians Learn From the Chick-Fil-A Boycott?
The “elephant in the living room” in our ongoing culture wars is that Jesus, Christianity and the teachings of Scripture make some people very, very uncomfortable. After all, if Jesus is who He says He is and if the Bible is what it claims to be (the inerrant Word of God), a response is demanded of each of us. God’s standard is PERFECTION. NONE of us are capable of meeting the standard on our own. Recognition of our own inadequacy to save ourselves and the desire to receive God’s grace and forgiveness lead us, through faith, to acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord. We then seek to be obedient to Him and embark upon a process in which our actions and desires over time become aligned with his desires. But some people aren’t ready to go there.
Continue reading
Why We Do What We Do at Key Ministry
Stephen’s gift to our ministry this year is a video that describes more eloquently why we do what we do better than anything I could write on this blog… Continue reading
Should Disability Ministry Avoid Discussions of “Political” Issues?
At the same time, we’re called as individual followers of Christ to be agents of redemption in EVERY area of life. We would be abandoning our responsibility to care for the sick and advocate for “the least of these” if we remain silent as our society (through the political process) allocates resources to meet competing needs. Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Controversies, Key Ministry
Tagged controversy, Disability Ministry, grace, Leadership, Libby Peterson, politics, Special Needs Ministry, Stephen Grcevich MD, truth
2 Comments
Is it OK for churches to NOT have an identified disability ministry?
Your church doesn’t have to have a disability ministry to “do” disability ministry. Continue reading
Announcing Inclusion Fusion 2012!
I’m pleased to announce that Key Ministry’s Second Annual Inclusion Fusion Disability Ministry Web Summit has been scheduled for November 12-16, 2012.
Continue reading
If Not Special Needs Ministry, What Should We Call It?
All things considered, I would favor the terms disability ministry or disability inclusion to describe the ministry our team resources and supports in churches. My hope in initiating this discussion is to spark leaders in the church to see a bigger game. The population of families who have children with what we’ve traditionally referred to as “hidden disabilities” is enormously larger than the population who have children with the physical or intellectual disabilities that come to mind in association with the term special needs. Most children’s pastors have all they can handle to serve families of kids with special needs and our team makes a practice of meeting churches wherever they’re at. But I’ll continue to communicate in a manner that constantly reminds us of the need to address the obstacles that prevent kids with less visible disabilities and their families from fully participating in the life of the church.
Continue reading
Is “Special Needs” Acceptable People First Language?
I think there’s considerable risk that kids who become aware of being served through a “special needs ministry” would feel hurt and offended. I think there’s a minimal risk that parents who are currently outside the church might avoid involving kids in a “special needs ministry” because of assumptions their child would be treated differently. But why should the church run the risk of using language that might present an additional barrier to families of kids with disabilities connecting with their larger family in Christ through the local church? Continue reading
What’s the Definition of “Special Needs?”
When we use the term “special needs” to refer to a population of underserved children, who exactly are we referring to?
Continue reading
Should We Abandon Use of the Term “Special Needs Ministry?”
I’d argue that our use of the term “special needs” narrows our focus in such a way as to exclude large numbers of kids and families who require some intentional effort and support to be successfully included at church, but fall somewhere outside our existing ministry paradigm. Continue reading
Church4EveryChild 