What disability ministry is and isn’t…insights from my first Accessibility Summit

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Dr. G

Emily Colson Accessibility Summit 2013

Editor’s note: Shannon Dingle and Ryan Wolfe are representing Key Ministry the 2016 Accessibility Summit this coming Friday and Saturday at McLean Bible Church in McLean, VA. Shannon shares today from her first experience at the Summit five years ago…

Ryan Wolfe and I are headed to McLean Bible Church this weekend to speak on behalf of Key Ministry. This upcoming trip has me thinking back to my first Accessibility Summit five years ago. That year, I attended a session titled Built to Last – Sustaining a Disability Ministry. It was a panel discussion featuring four directors for special needs ministry at different churches. While I gained several great takeaways from it, these points from Connie Hutchinson from First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, CA resonated with me then and still do now. (The points, bolded and italicized, are hers; the commentary on each comes from me.)

Disability ministry is…

  1. …not a numbers-driven ministry. Connie pointed out that it’s not about how many families with special needs come to your church. It’s about being a welcoming place, reaching out to your community, and serving those who come. Another way of wording this is found in my church’s core beliefs, the emphasis on faithfulness over fruitfulness. We’re called to be faithful; God is the one who brings forth the fruit.
  2. …not cost-effective. We’re not just talking about money here. The human cost in terms of volunteers needed is higher in special needs ministry than in other ministries.
  3. …long-lasting. It’s a lifetime commitment. A lot of churches only have special needs ministry programs for children, maybe even youth. But you know what? Those children and youth grow up. The adult special needs ministry at our church began at the result of one of our kids growing up and her family stepping forward to create a meaningful and welcoming place in our church for her and others. (And you don’t need to wait until the children with special needs at your church grow up; there are adults with disabilities in your community already!)
  4. …a mission field. People with disabilities are less likely to attend worship services, Bible studies, and other church activities than those without disabilities. People with autism are more likely to be atheists and more likely to reject organized religion. More statistics and their sources can be found here. If you want to share the good news of Christ with all people, then this is a good place to start!
  5. …relationship-driven rather than program-driven. This is true of any ministry. However, special needs ministry requires it more so than others, at least in my experience. When I was a youth ministry leader, it was possible to run all our weekly programming without getting to know students well. That wouldn’t be effective ministry, but I’ve seen it happen before. In special needs ministry, though, it’s about the individual not the disability or the program.

 And, finally, I would add one more: It’s worth it.

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Dingles SpringCheck out Shannon Dingle’s blog series on adoption, disability and the church. In the series, Shannon looked at the four different kinds of special needs in adoptive and foster families and shared five ways churches can love their adoptive and foster families. Shannon’s series is a must-read for any church considering adoption or foster care initiatives. Shannon’s series is available here.

Posted in Inclusion, Key Ministry, Special Needs Ministry | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wildflower…a conversation starter for the church on trauma and mental illness

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Dr. G

WF 40Editor’s note: Michael Leaser is our special guest blogger today. Michael is with Faith Street Films and served as the executive producer of Wildflower, a recent theatrical release that explores the topic of post-traumatic stress from a decidedly Christian perspective. We’re pleased to help introduce the film to a larger audience. Here’s Michael…

WF 02Last week, Faith Street Films and Cave Pictures released the film, Wildflower, a psychological thriller that also serves as a powerful conversation starter on mental health and trauma issues. It tells the story of college student Chloe Moray (Nathalia Ramos, House of Anubis), who finds solace from a difficult childhood in her extraordinary art. But when an alarming dream begins to recur nightly, she starts to believe it might be a suppressed memory and that she may have witnessed a terrible crime as a little girl. Her search for peace takes her on a journey that forces her to confront her past traumas and leads her to cross paths with Josh (Cody Longo, Nashville), a young man dealing with his own painful loss. Together they find in each other someone they can trust as they seek to unlock a decade-old cold case.

WF 31The film’s producers are partnering with Key Ministry and other mental health organizations to help bring awareness to these issues and to help lead individuals struggling with mental illness and trauma, along with their loved ones, to the resources and assistance they need to lead as full and healthy a life as possible. At wildflowerthemovie.com/resources, you can find a group discussion guide and links to resource partner websites, including Key Ministry. There is also a video of a Wildflower mental health panel discussion, led by Pastor Matthew Schlesinger of Grace Church in Oceanside, California, that includes representatives from the Mental Health Grace Alliance and the National Alliance on Mental Illness and covers the film’s mental health themes and how people can effectively address mental health concerns for themselves or for loved ones within their families, churches, and communities.

Wildflower is available to rent or purchase here, or at Walmart and all Lifeway and Family Christian stores.

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shutterstock_291556127Key Ministry encourages our readers to check out the resources we’ve developed to help pastors, church leaders, volunteers and families to better understand the nature of trauma in children and teens, Jolene Philo’s series on PTSD in children, and series on other mental health-related topics, including series on the impact of ADHD, anxiety and Asperger’s Disorder on spiritual development in kids, depression in children and teens, pediatric bipolar disorder, and ten strategies for promoting mental health inclusion at church.

Posted in Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health, PTSD, Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Five strategies for maintaining hope if you’re struggling with depression

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Dr. G

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Gillian Marchenko is serving as our guest blogger this Spring. Her new book, Still Life; A Memoir of Living Fully with Depression publishes in May and her work has appeared in numerous publications including Chicago Parent, Today’s Christian Woman, Literary Mama, Thriving Family, and MomSense Magazine. Her first book, Sun Shine Down, was published in 2013. She lives near St. Louis with her husband Sergei and their four daughters. Connect with her through her Facebook page. 

Depression has been defined as the loss of hope. For a lot of us battling this illness, hope simply doesn’t exist. The future can be daunting when another painfully numb day looms ahead. Through my years of therapy for depression, I’ve acquired some strategies that help me hope in the future more often.

  1. Break the future down into ten minute increments. Catastrophic thoughts are a cornerstone of depression. I don’t wonder how my child is doing walking home from school. I decide she has been hit by a car and that I will never see her again. Negative thoughts make the future a very scary place. A therapist once told me that instead of obsessing about the future, I should try to live my life ten minutes at a time. It isn’t healthy to think way down the road if it only contributes to paralyzing depressive symptoms. Ten minute increments is a starting point. It can help me use what little energy I have positively instead of worrying about how I’ll manage this coming summer when all four of my children will be home every day.
  1. shutterstock_360771362Go back to the basics. I am often preoccupied with battling negative thoughts in my head and attempting to live minute by minute with throbbing pain. How does one live ten minutes at a time? I had no idea, so I decided to go back to the basics of my life. Set a timer and take a shower. Make the bed and brush my teeth. Go outside and take a walk around the block even if I hate every second of it. For someone with depression, simple activities can be incredibly difficult. Doing something basic for a short time pushes us into the future whether we like it or not, and surprisingly, it may provide a little relief from our guilt of not doing anything at all.
  1. Don’t think. Just do. I used to wake up in the morning and try to decipher how I felt. What was I thinking when I opened my eyes? Did my body ache? How heavy was the darkness? My most recent therapist, a cognitive behavioral therapist, encouraged me (when able) not to fall into that trap. Don’t think right away. Just do. I try not to allow myself to think about how I feel before accomplishing a few small tasks. These tasks may last for five minutes or an hour, but doing is essential. Focusing on my environment instead of myself has proven to be a healthier way to start my day.
  1. shutterstock_339709205Make lists. If your brain (like mine) is often cloudy and you are stumped as to what you should do, make a list of options for the morning, or for ten minute increments, or for any other time of the day you might be able to tackle. Write down specific activities. I find it also helps to write down a few of my favorite Bible verses and other pieces of advice I’ve received from my therapist so if my anxiety rises too high before I can catch it, or if my depression trips me into a new pothole, I can pull out my lists and either read something over and over while doing some deep breathing or to attempt to do instead of think.
  1. Appreciate small victories. Shame is a huge part of my depression. My mind fixates on my failures. I’m ashamed of what I don’t do for my family. I’m ashamed when I seem to drop out of my own life. One of the ways I fight shame (trust me, I still struggle with it) is by attempting to notice and appreciate small victories. If I get some household chores completed, that’s a victory. If I push myself to do in the morning before thinking, that’s another victory. If I tuck my kids in at night and spend a little time talking to my husband, that’s a victory. Small victories matter. They become scaffolding on which we can begin to rebuild our lives. They can lure us to a future of hope and perhaps, just maybe, a desire to live the kind of life God wants us to live. Small victories, when strung together, can help eradicate the lie of shame that exists in our minds because of our illness.

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Still LifeFor Gillian Marchenko, “dealing with depression” means learning to accept and treat it as a physical illness. In Still Life she describes her journey through various therapies and medications to find a way to live with depression. She faces down the guilt of a wife and mother of four, two with special needs. How can she care for her family when she can’t even get out of bed? Her story is real and raw, not one of quick fixes. But hope remains as she discovers that living with depression is still life.

Still Life is available here for pre-order from IVP Press. The electronic version will be released on April 11, followed by the paperback edition on May 1.

Posted in Depression, Mental Health, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Ron Sandison…She believed in the word “CAN”

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Dr. G

1. Ron & Makayla

Editor’s note: Ron Sandison is a champion for increasing awareness and understanding in the church for persons with autism spectrum disorders. His book, A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom, is being published this week by Charisma House and is available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions. Here’s Ron’s story…

My experience with autism has been an amazing journey. My development began normally until eighteen months. At that time, I began to rapidly regress, losing my ability to communicate using words and ceasing to have eye contact.

When I was seven years old, the educational specialists and doctors informed my parents that I would probably never read beyond a seventh grade level, attend college, excel in athletics, or have meaningful relationships. They used the word “CAN’T.” My mom was determined to help me succeed in life by developing my unique gifts for independence, employment, and relationships.

She believed in the word “CAN.”

My mom believed that by having me interact with typical children my own age I would learn essential social skills, and by developing my talents I could gain independence and accomplish my dreams. She quit her job as an art teacher and worked full-time using pre-ABA art therapy methods to teach me writing and reading skills.

My mom found inspiration in Proverbs 22:29,

“Do you see a man skilled in his labor? He will serve before kings. He won’t serve before obscure men.”

In the 70’s and 80’s before the emphasis on inclusion in the classroom many children with autism and other disabilities only learned skills to equip him them for employment as a janitor, grocery bagger, stock-boy, dishwasher, or pumping gas—serving before obscure men. My mom was determined that would not be me.

By using art therapy, creative writing, and playtime she was able to help me develop my gifts and learn social skills. She also advocated for me to receive intense speech therapy. When I was five years old, my speech development was so delayed that my seven year old brother Chuck boasted to his friends, “My brother Ronnie sounds weird. I believe he speaks Norwegian.”

When I entered eighth grade she advocated for classroom inclusion and had me placed in all regular education classes. She instructed my teachers to use visual teaching methods since I am unable to learn phonetically due to autism.

My mom’s belief in the word “CAN” paid off.

I obtained bachelor degrees in theology and psychology (with a 3.90 GPA) and a Master of Divinity with a minor in Biblical Greek from Oral Roberts University with a perfect 4.0 GPA. I received an athletic scholarship for track and cross-country my freshman year of college. I am happily married going on three years and my wife and I have a newborn daughter (Makayla Marie), born on March 20th. Charisma House, a national publisher, has just published my book A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom.

A Parents Guide to AutismMy mom has been the inspiration behind my book. My book is unique by being the first book on autism published by a traditional Christian publisher written by an author and ordained minister on the autism spectrum. I wrote my book to offer hope and encouragement to parents with a child of autism that through faith, love, therapy and developing their gifts—children with autism can experience independence and freedom.

In writing my book I interviewed over 40 parents who have a child or children with autism who also believed in the power of the word “CAN.” I had Kristine Barnett, author of the best seller, The Spark: A Mother’s Story of Nurturing, Genius, and Autism, write the foreword for my book because her determination and hope for her son, Jacob, reminded me of my own mom. I also interviewed over 40 of the top experts from the autism community to gain their wisdom.

I share my personal struggles with autism and the practical insights I learned from my mom as well as the parents I interviewed. Autism is not something you cure but refine. When you walk on the hot pavement to the beach and your bare foot steps on a sharp, jagged piece of glass…that is what autism unrefined is like – jagged autistic quirks, unfiltered inappropriate comments, out of control stimming, and relentless head banging, screaming, meltdowns. Autism refined, on the other hand, is like walking on the warm sandy beach with the bright blue ocean waves and discovering a smooth piece of glass that has been refined by the power of the ocean. A display of God’s glory. Through the book, parents will learn how to refine their child’s special interests into amazing gifts.

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SandisonRon Sandison works full time in the medical field and is a professor of theology at Destiny School of Ministry. He is an advisory board member of Autism Society Faith Initiative of Autism Society of America. Ron has published articles in Autism Speaks, Autism Society of America, Autism File Magazine, Autism Parenting Magazine, Not Alone, the Mighty, the Detroit News, the Oakland Press, and many more. He is frequently invited to speak at colleges, conferences, autism centers, and churches.

Ron and his wife, Kristen, reside in Rochester Hills, MI, with their newborn daughter. Contact Ron at his website or email him at sandison456@hotmail.com.

Posted in Autism, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Parents, Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Autism resources from Key Ministry

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Dr. G

shutterstock_192826598Key Ministry has developed many resources for pastors, church staff members, volunteers and families interested in supporting kids with autism spectrum disorders. We encourage you to share this listing freely with any church or any family that would find the resources helpful.

Blog posts:

Fitting in at church…by Anonymous: A wonderful, first-person description of attending church written by a college student with Asperger’s Disorder.

Ten truths for parents of kids with autism…Colleen Swindoll-Thompson: Colleen shares the lessons she’s learned after nearly twenty years of parenting her son (Jonathan) with autism spectrum disorder.

481-EmilyColsonMax.jpgEmily Colson…Becoming still: The best-selling author of Dancing with Max shares her personal witness of how God has used her son with autism (Max) to bless so many lives.

I had no plan…Jeff Davidson: A reflection from an accomplished pastor, disability ministry leader…and the father of a 15 year old son with autism.

What families of teens and young adults with developmental disabilities need from church: A look at the results of a two year project of families in Tennessee from the Vanderbilt University Kennedy Center with adolescents or young adults with developmental disabilities focused on “faith and flourishing.”

One Family’s Journey in the Bible Belt…guest post from Stephanie Prosser: A mother and autism advocate describes her family’s experience of searching for a church in Abilene, TX where she, her husband and her son would be able to regularly attend church as a family.

BPCA Success Story From My Church: A story from Bay Presbyterian Church in Ohio is a reminder of the difference inclusion ministry done well can make in the lives of the families served.

“Doing church” when kids struggle with social communication: A look at the challenges someone with difficulty picking up on body language, common rules of social behavior or the tone and inflection of speech if they started attending your church.

The relationship between ADHD and autism: This post examines some possible connections between ADHD and autism and examines how better understanding the overlap between the two conditions may lead to better intervention and support at church.

Church: The Friendliest Place in Town? Mike Woods: A special needs ministry leader who is the father of triplet sons, all with autism spectrum disorders examines the role of the church in creating a community of people willing to develop and nurture friendships with people with special needs.

Blog Series:

Micah in tree 1Asperger’s Disorder and Spiritual Development: Co-authored by Mike Woods, Director of the Special Friends Ministry of First Baptist Orlando and Dr. Steve Grcevich of Key Ministry.

Dave Lynden…Spiritual Autism: A senior pastor and respite care advocate takes a closer look at how his understanding of God has been impacted by his experiences as the parent of a son with autism.

Video:

Do I have to have surgery to open my heart to Jesus? In this interview from Inclusion Fusion 2012, Dr. Cara Daily discusses strategies for discussing abstract spiritual principles to children and teens with autism spectrum disorders. This presentation will be of interest to children’s ministry, student ministry and special needs ministry leaders.

Asperger’s Disorder and Spiritual Development: In this presentation from the 2012 Children’s Ministry Web Summit, Dr. Steve Grcevich discusses strategies for churches to use in including and ministering with kids and teens with Asperger’s Disorder and their families.

Sticks and Stones, Clicks and Phones: Solutions for Preventing Bullying at Church: Katie Wetherbee and Rebecca Hamilton tackled the issue of bullying at church in this presentation from Inclusion Fusion 2012. Pastors, children’s ministry leaders and volunteers need to know how to proactively prevent bullying, because sadly, this kind of behavior can—and does—occur in churches. In this presentation, They share practical strategies for changing the social culture of Sunday mornings.

Emily Colson…Dancing with Max: Emily Colson shares a story…amazing stories of what God has done through her son’s life. God wrote HIS story all over the lives of Emily and her son (Max), now in his 20s and diagnosed with autism. In this presentation, Emily encourages other families to share their stories of how God has been at work through their experience of disability while being honest about the “tough stuff.”

Katie Wetherbee interviews Chuck and Colleen Swindoll: In this two-part interview from Inclusion Fusion 2011, Chuck Swindoll and his daughter (Colleen Swindoll-Thompson) spoke at length about the impact of having a grandson (Jonathan) with autism on their family, how his presence in the family has been a blessing, and how Jonathan has helped Chuck become more effective in his ministry to people with disabilities.

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20160302-OLR_8331Sandra Peoples from our Key Ministry team has a wonderful article in Christianity Today in honor of Autism Awareness Month in which she discusses the challenges her family faced when their son (James) was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, how the church in which her husband served as senior pastor rallied around their family, and how the response of the church to families of kids with special needs is changing. Check out Sandra’s article, My Son’s Autism Changed Everything – Even the Church and share the link with your friends!

Posted in Autism, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The suicide epidemic among high-functioning persons with autism

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Dr. G

shutterstock_280991990What do you think the most common cause of premature death is among adults of typical or high intelligence with autism spectrum disorders? It’s suicide.

A large study was recently published in the British Journal of Psychiatry that examined the risk of death among the 27,122 persons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders in Sweden when compared to age-matched controls. One significant finding from the study is that on average, persons with autism die sixteen years sooner than would be anticipated.  The finding we’ll examine more closely is that adults with autism and no intellectual disability are over nine times more likely to commit suicide when compared to their age-matched peers. Unlike the general population, in which men are significantly more likely to commit suicide than women, women with autism were at higher risk of suicide in this study than men.

Last month’s study isn’t the only signal that persons with autism are especially vulnerable to suicide.

  • A study of 10-14 year-olds with autism reported that 70% of kids with autism also had at least one mental health disorder such as anxiety, ADHD or depression, and 41% had at least two comorbid mental health disorders. Of those with ADHD, 84% received a second comorbid diagnosis.
  • Kids with autism were 28 times more likely to experience suicidal ideation than age-matched peers without autism in this study.
  • In a study of 374 adults with Asperger’s Disorder, 66% of 367 respondents self-reported suicidal ideation, 127 (35%) of 365 respondents self-reported plans or attempts at suicide, and 116 (31%) of 368 respondents self-reported depression. Adults with Asperger’s syndrome were nearly ten times as likely to report lifetime experience of suicidal ideation than individuals from a general UK population sample, and more prone to suicidal ideation than people with one, two, or more medical illnesses, or people with psychotic illness.

Why might suicide represent such an enormous problem among high-functioning persons with autism spectrum disorders?

shutterstock_307429274They’re more likely to experience social isolation and lack social supports. In the fall of 2014, we shared this anonymous post from a college student describing her experience of trying to attend church as a person with autism. Imagine how the challenges she describes would impact her day to day life outside of church.

High-functioning kids with autism are significantly more likely to become victims of bullying when compared to their peers with autism and intellectual disability. It’s become socially inappropriate to ridicule persons with an obvious disability…less so when the disability isn’t so obvious.

They’re more likely to experience difficulties with executive functioning that may translate into a greater risk of acting upon suicidal impulses, more difficulty employing effective problem-solving skills and more difficulty self-regulating emotions. Learn more here about the challenges persons face with executive functioning challenges.

Their propensity to become very fixated on specific thoughts or ideas may intensify suicidal thoughts, or result in more difficulty letting go of feelings of hopelessness when they occur.

What can individual Christians and the church as a whole do to be of help?

shutterstock_303962432Become advocates for better research into specific treatments for mental health conditions that commonly occur among persons with autism spectrum disorders. Persons with autism often have lower response rates and more adverse effects from treatments for common mental health conditions compared to the general population.

Make our churches “bully-free” zones. In my experience working with kids and teens with autism spectrum disorders, there are no greater challenges in getting a kid with autism engaged at church than a personal experience of having been bullied by kids from church.  Here’s a video from two of our former colleagues (Katie Wetherbee and Rebecca Hamilton) on strategies for preventing bullying at church…

Consider the challenges someone who struggles with social communication might face in seeking to become more engaged at your church. Here’s an earlier post in which we look at the challenges someone might facein attending church who has difficulty picking up on body language or the meaning behind the tone and inflection of speech.

Be intentional about making the environments in which we “do church” more “sensory-friendly” for all persons, including persons with autism spectrum disorders. We wrote a post last year in which we described a number of challenges persons with sensory processing differences (common among kids and adults with autism) encounter when they seek to attend church.

Carlyle KingCarlyle King (pictured at right) is a friend of our ministry who has written about some of the challenges he has faced finding acceptance in the church. Carlyle shared the best advice I’ve heard for churches looking to share Christ’s love with persons with autism…

“Reach out and reconnect with our missing parts. Help them find that place where they honor God by functioning as they were made. Recognize that, if they don’t seem to fit, you may be the part needing adjustment.”

Editor’s note: Here’s a great summary publication from Autistica on the urgency of addressing early death among persons with autism spectrum disorders as a public health concern.

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68769Sandra Peoples from our Key Ministry team has a wonderful article in Christianity Today in honor of Autism Awareness Month in which she discusses the challenges her family faced when their son (James) was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, how the church in which her husband served as senior pastor rallied around their family, and how the response of the church to families of kids with special needs is changing. Check out Sandra’s article, My Son’s Autism Changed Everything – Even the Church and share the link with your friends!

Posted in Autism, Controversies, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Special Needs Ministry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

It’s Autism Awareness Day, How Aware Is Your Church? #LIUB

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Sandra

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Editor’s Note: Sandra Peoples, Key Ministry’s Social Community and Family Support Manager, shares this year’s post for Autism Awareness Day. Check out Sandra’s article in Christianity Today before you leave. 

Five years ago, our small church in Pennsylvania didn’t know 3.5 million Americans live with autism spectrum disorder. They just knew James—one of the 3.5 million.

When we first got James’s autism diagnosis, he was the only special-needs child at our church. Because my husband is a pastor, we couldn’t just stay home each Sunday. We also couldn’t shop around for a bigger church that already had an established special-needs ministry. We knew God had us at our church for a reason, and that reason included introducing them to the world of special needs.

God already had the people in place to care for James. An occupational therapist, a special ed teacher, the grandmother of a teenager on the spectrum—and the team grew and grew as church members learned to meet James’s needs and eventually meet the needs of other children.

Now the church has many families affected by special needs. They offer respite nights every two months for kids with special needs and their siblings. They integrate kids with special needs into their Sunday school classes, Awana program, and Vacation Bible School. They continue to train volunteers to ask about food allergies, know the signs of a seizure, and modify lessons so every child can participate.

Part of my ministry with Key is to connect families to churches that will love them well. My husband has been in ministry for over a decade and we recently made the transition to church planting. We love the church. We want every special-needs family to find a church home. I encourage them to visit churches, even though they’ve been hurt by churches in the past. We want every family’s story to have a happy ending. From what I see happening in churches across the country, I have lots of reasons to be optimistic about the future of special-needs ministry.

3.5 million is a overwhelming number. But your church can make a difference one child at a time. No matter the size of your church, God will use the members of His body to do His work.

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Key Ministry Video RoundtableIf you attend a small church doing (or wanting to do) special-needs ministry, we’re doing a round-table discussion just for you on April 20th, co-led by myself, Ellen Stumbo, and Ann Holmes. Make sure you’re a fan of our Facebook page to learn how to register! 

Posted in Autism, Key Ministry, Special Needs Ministry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Five steps churches can take to help persons with depression

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Dr. G

Chatham Easter2Editor’s note: Today’s post from Gillian Marchenko is co-authored by Gillian’s husband (Sergei), a pastor for eleven years and husband to a wife with major depressive disorder for over a decade.

As a couple in ministry and a family who battles major depressive disorder – essentially people living on both sides of the coin – we want to acknowledge that many churches have made progress in the area of mental illness. There is more work to be done, but we praise God that he continues to open the eyes of many believers in the body of Christ to this crucial topic.

Here are five steps churches can take to help members or attendees experiencing depression…

  1. Realize that depression IS a mental illness and deserves to be taken seriously and treated like other ‘visible’ illnesses. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness,

Depression is more than just feeling sad or going through a rough patch. It’s a serious mental health condition that requires understanding, treatment and a good recovery plan. With early detection, diagnosis and a treatment plan consisting of medication, psychotherapy and lifestyle choices, many people get better. But left untreated, depression can be devastating, both for the people who have it and for their families.

Some churches are under false assumptions that depression and other conditions are sin issues or simply a lack of spiritual discipline that one can overcome without professional intervention.

  1. Try to learn to discern (to the best of your ability and with prayer) what may be mental illness from other struggles in life. Both are important. Both require support, guidance, and prayer, but your approach to counseling individuals with mental illness will be different. In addition to support, guidance, and prayer, it is prudent to advise someone to seek help from a medical professional and to consider finding a therapist with expertise in an area that may be beyond, or in addition to, your counsel.
  1. Utilize resources. There are several Christian and secular organizations that can help you better understand mental illness including The Grace Alliance, Fresh Hope, NAMI, and Key Ministry. Many Christian organizations encourage medical, physical, and spiritual therapy.
  1. Don’t leave people with mental illness at the fringes of your church. Sometimes when we don’t know what to do, it is easy to do nothing. The goal of every church should be to encourage believers to grow in Christ. 1 out of 4 people have some kind of mental illness. There will be people in this category in your church this next Sunday. Reach out to them. Remember that God has gifted them for his purpose alone and those gifts should be utilized and encouraged in the church. Stay committed. Walk alongside them instead of waiting for a crisis to help.
  1. Many individuals with mental illness benefit from a wholistic approach to functionality and health, including professional help, medication, community support, and spiritual encouragement. The church is the type of community uniquely designed by God to help provide multifaceted wholistic healing for those affected with mental illness.

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Still LifeIn Still Life,  Gillian Marchenko continues her description of depression: “I must keep still. Otherwise I will plunge to my death. ‘Please God, take this away,’ I pray when I can.”

For Gillian, “dealing with depression” means learning to accept and treat it as a physical illness. In these pages she describes her journey through various therapies and medications to find a way to live with depression. She faces down the guilt of a wife and mother of four, two with special needs. How can she care for her family when she can’t even get out of bed? Her story is real and raw, not one of quick fixes. But hope remains as she discovers that living with depression is still life.

Still Life is available here for pre-order from IVP Press.

Posted in Advocacy, Depression, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Stories, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Could ADHD be a blessing to some Christians?

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Dr. G

 

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Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”?

1 Corinthians 1:26-28 (MSG)

Is it possible that in God’s Kingdom, a condition that causes as much difficulty in day to day functioning as ADHD might actually provide one of His followers with an advantage? Let’s look at how having ADHD might be of benefit to a Christian.

A Christian with ADHD may be more willing to take chances for God. It’s possible that God speaks to many of His followers in a still, small voice. A person with ADHD may be more likely to act on the direction of that voice without first pondering all the reasons why doing so might not be a good idea.

A Christian with ADHD may be very energized by topics or ministry activities that capture their imagination. Many people with ADHD experience the capacity to “hyperfocus” when engaged in an activity they find to be especially interesting. If a kid or an adult with ADHD becomes passionate about a ministry pursuit or activity, they may become extraordinarily productive.

A Christian with ADHD may be very effective in ministry teams when others have complimentary gifts or talents. Because people with ADHD are often capable of entertaining multiple thoughts at once and adept at spotting trends in the culture, many are capable of visionary leadership. Teams can be very successful when such people are paired with good managers. A team with too many folks with ADHD might have great ideas but find itself unable to implement or maintain new initiatives.

A Christian with ADHD may be less inhibited about sharing the Gospel with others. The prospect of sharing one’s faith with other people can be very intimidating, especially in a culture that imposes great pressure not to do so. Here’s one area where a lack of capacity for self-regulation may have some Kingdom benefits.

shutterstock_370850183A Christian with ADHD may be very good at scanning the environment for trends and ideas. I suspect that many Christians active in the blogosphere have some ADHD traits. The capacity to be spot new and interesting ideas is very beneficial for visionary leaders. Why would we be surprised if it turned out that a high percentage of key opinion leaders in the church turned out to have ADHD?

Is ADHD overrepresented among senior pastors? Anecdotally (I’m not mentioning any names), it seems like a higher than expected number of senior pastors I encounter in the work we do with churches through Key Ministry meet more than a few of the symptom criteria for ADHD. For some of the reasons described above, people with ADHD called into ministry may gravitate toward that role. The capacity to chart a ‘big picture” course for the church and the ability to take the risks involved with teaching on a stage or in a pulpit in front of a large audience each week may be adaptive for the person serving as senior pastor.

Throughout the Bible, time and again God made use of His followers who were willing. I could come up with numerous examples of people from the Bible who may have had ADHD, but one in particular comes to mind. Let’s look at who Jesus chose to lead the church:

Impulsiveness: Whacking off the ear of the High Priest’s servant (Malchus) with a sword while surrounded by several hundred enemy soldiers probably wasn’t the best idea in the history of Earth (John 18:10).

Speaking without thinking: Do the words “Get behind me, Satan” ring a bell? (Matthew 16:22-24)

Distractibility: The Son of God was walking across the water toward him on the Sea of Galilee, and this disciple became distracted by the waves. (Matthew 14:22-33)

Difficulty following through on commitments: The encounter with the servant girl in the High Priest’s courtyard didn’t go all that well, either. (Mark 14:66-72)

Despite all of his weaknesses and all of his failures, who did Jesus ultimately select to be the “Rock”, upon whom He built His church? Peter. Shortly after Jesus’ death, Peter, guided by the Holy Spirit, was able to boldly preach the Gospel on the original day of Pentecost, and some pretty amazing stuff has been happening ever since.

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KM Logo UpdatedKey Ministry depends upon your financial contributions so we might continue to offer free training, consultation and support to churches seeking to welcome, serve and include families of kids with disabilities. Please keep our team in your prayers as we prepare to launch our new resources for families of kids with disabilities and consider a generous financial gift in support of the ongoing work of our ministry team.

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One in seven young children have a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder (MBDD). WHY?

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Dr. G

shutterstock_379214836The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released results from an interesting study of 35,000 families across the U.S. with a child between the ages of 2-8. The study found that 15.4% of kids in early childhood had been identified by a doctor or healthcare provider with a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder (ADHD, depression, anxiety problems, behavioral or conduct problems such as oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder, Tourette syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, learning disability, intellectual disability, developmental delay, or speech or other language problems).

We’ve known demographic factors and environmental influences in early childhood have significant impact on development, mental health, and overall health throughout the lifespan. What’s interesting about this study is that it points us to the most important determinants of mental, behavioral and developmental disorders, and provides a “roadmap” for missionary-minded  churches seeking to address pressing needs within their local communities.

Among the factors identified in the study that contribute to MBDDs in young children were…

  • Inadequate health insurance
  • The child lacking a medical home, as defined by having a personal doctor or nurse, a usual source for sick and well care, family-centered care, access to needed referrals, and effective care coordination.
  • Fair or poor parental mental health
  • Difficulties getting by on the family’s income
  • Employment difficulties because of child care issues
  • Living in a neighborhood lacking support
  • Living in a neighborhood lacking amenities (defined here as sidewalks, a park, a recreation center, and library)
  • Living in a neighborhood in poor condition. In a multivariate analysis, fair or poor parental mental health and lacking a medical home were significantly associated with having an MBDD.
  • Living in a home where English is the primary spoken language

Because the factors listed above tend to contribute to one another, the folks at the CDC undertook a complex statistical analysis to determine whether any factor was significant independent of the others. What they found was the lack of a medical home and poor parental mental health were the two most critical risk factors for future development of MBDDs.

So…what could a church potentially do to help?

Help families in need of a pediatrician or family practitioner for their kids to find one. The consistent availability of a personal healthcare practitioner is a critical variable in this study. More than 90% of kids in this study received preventive care within the past year. This study suggests that having a longitudinal relationship with a pediatrician or other healthcare practitioner is critical, because they’re more likely to pick up upon developmental delays in speech, language development, hearing, vision, social interaction and communication when conditions are amenable to early intervention.

shutterstock_338308781Assist parents who are struggling with their own mental health issues to find help. One area in which most churches can do a better job, particularly within their children’s ministries is to check on kids and parents who have been regular attenders who disappear for weeks or months. Kids who are irregular attenders may have parents with conditions contributing to their attendance pattern.

Churches can help in other ways…directing families to organizations where they might find food or clothing assistance, after-school activity programming for working parents who struggle to find affordable childcare, short-term financial assistance when necessary to help pay for doctor’s visits or needed medications.

Some of the highest rates of MBDDs are seen in the Southeastern U.S. where the evangelical church has a more prominent presence…among the four states reporting rates of MBDDs over 20% are Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi. Churches might consider what they might do to help prevent the development of mental, behavioral and developmental disorders among young children in the communities they serve while earning the privilege of sharing the Gospel with the most vulnerable kids and families.

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KM Logo UpdatedKey Ministry has assembled resources to help churches more effectively minister to children and adults with ADHD, anxiety disorders, Asperger’s Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, depression and trauma. Please share our resources with any pastors, church staff, volunteers or families looking to learn more about the influence these conditions can exert upon spiritual development in kids, and what churches can do to help!

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