Category Archives: Strategies

Mental health inclusion…taking the first step

May 2015 is Mental Health Month. In recognition, Key Ministry will be presenting a series of blog posts… Ten Strategies for Promoting Mental Health Inclusion at Church. By the end of the series, we will have created a template for churches … Continue reading

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5 tips for modifying your Sunday school curriculum for diverse learners

Since I know the idea of change can be scary to many of us, here are five tips for making positive and (mostly) painless changes by modifying your Sunday school curriculum for diverse learners… Continue reading

Posted in Adoption, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Ministry Environments, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Four challenges of leading disability ministry as a special needs parent…Shannon Dingle

If the parent of a child with special needs wants to serve or lead in disability ministry at your church, don’t say no. But do ask some questions out of love, knowing that these parents willing to serve also need to be served too. Continue reading

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Lorna Bradley…Special Needs Parenting: From Coping to Thriving

Throughout the years I have seen healing of deeply held emotional and spiritual wounds through coming together in a supportive, welcoming Christian community and working through our challenges together. Continue reading

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When Our “Can’t” Overwhelms Our “Can”…Mike Dobes

Why are the very overseers of the Church reluctant to bring the Gospel to all people, regardless of their disability? In truth, we are all disabled… some of us just hide our disabilities better than others. How do we keep missing an entire people group that is waiting to be heard, loved, accepted and embraced as they are? Continue reading

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Jay Adams and the foundations of a movement…

It’s important for our readers to understand how central Adams has been in impacting how pastors from evangelical and reformed traditions think about mental illness and pastoral counseling. Continue reading

Posted in Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Please don’t say “all kids do that” to adoptive and foster families…

But when foster or adoptive parents like me hear that, it feels dismissive to the real grief, pain, and trauma our kids have experienced and how that history still influences their actions today. Usually when someone tells another parent “all kids do that,” the words are meant to be helpful, to soothe our nerves or encourage us in the midst of a hard parenting moment. But that’s not what your words do. Instead those words invalidate what we know to be true and minimize the extra layer of thinking that parenting kids from hard places requires. Continue reading

Posted in Adoption, Families, Foster Care, Key Ministry, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 75 Comments

The elephant in the living room…Sin, mental illness and the church

We appear to be far more interested in (and comfortable with) outreach to kids, teens and adults who we view as having little or no moral culpability for their disabilities. Continue reading

Posted in Controversies, Families, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Join us at keyministry.tv in January!

Invite friends to check out some highlights from last November’s Inclusion Fusion Disability Ministry Web Summit and experience the first installment of our “Key Talks” disability ministry training curriculum in January!
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Posted in Anxiety Disorders, Key Ministry, PTSD, Resources, Strategies, Training Events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas challenges for kids with common mental health concerns…

We’ll look at three common struggles the kids with mental illness experience over Christmas break and offer ideas parents might try to minimize the impact of the holidays upon their children. Continue reading

Posted in ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Families, Hidden Disabilities, Mental Health, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment