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Tag Archives: Disability Ministry
The Gifts I’d Like to Give…Camaraderie
We’re intentional in seeking opportunities for all of our key leaders to “shine.” Providing “platform time” for each of our team members at major conferences and proactively seeking out opportunities for every person to use his or her gifts and talents to optimal effect helps promote the culture of trust necessary to promote camaraderie and helps to make our team far stronger. In my day job, the best teaching and research centers have multiple thought leaders who are recognized for their unique areas of expertise. Why should ministry be different? Imagine what our churches would look like if they truly tapped into the gifts and talents of their people and provided them with opportunities to put their gifts on display?
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The Gifts I’d Like To Give…Opportunity
God never wastes a hurt. I’m sure there’s a reason for my discomfort. I’m pondering the steps I might take personally and the steps our ministry team might take to model the change we desire to see in the year ahead. I thought I’d finish out the year through a series of blog posts touching on gifts that our team can “pay forward” to the churches and leaders we serve, so they in turn can help the families they serve to have an experience of church similar to mine. The first gift I’d like to touch on is the gift of opportunity.
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Building the Foundation for a Very Big House
Looking ahead to 2012, our team’s primary strategic initiative the systems and people and funding in place to allow us to offer training, consultation, resources and support to churches throughout the U.S. and beyond with a relational presence. Christianity is about relationships as opposed to religion…and ultimately about our relationship with our Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. We want churches undertaking ministry to families of kids with disabilities to have a person (or people) in their area who they can turn to for help and support…someone they can build a relationship with as they connect with and build relationships with families attracted by their ministry.
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Foster Kids and Medication
My purpose in writing this is to help parents and churches go into foster care ministry with their eyes open. Foster care ministry is an incredibly noble calling. Lots of kids are on way too much medication with way too many side effects with problems for which medication is likely to be of little benefit. Unfortunately, the implication of the 20/20 report that loving parents and the absence of medication will generally lead to happy endings for kids in foster care with problems that led to psychiatric referrals is at the very least incredibly naive, and at worst, a deliberate misrepresentation of reality. Continue reading
Posted in Adoption, Controversies, Families
Tagged 20/20, ABC, Adoption, antipsychotics, children, church, Disability Ministry, Foster Care, Inclusion, medication, psychiatry, Stephen Grcevich MD
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The Mental Health Needs of Kids in Foster Care
Churches planning ministry initiatives to serve kids in foster care need first to develop competency at serving kids with serious mental health issues and their families.
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Posted in Inclusion, Key Ministry, Strategies
Tagged AACAP, antipsychotic medication, children, church, Disability Ministry, Foster Care, inclusion ministry, Key Ministry, mental health
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Inclusion Fusion…What’s Next?
From the comments we’ve received thus far and the many chats and discussions that took place during the conference, our team has sensed a clear consensus that Inclusion Fusion shouldn’t just be a once a year thing. Our team wants to build upon the energy and momentum generated by the Web Summit. Some have suggested periodic (monthly-quarterly) mini-conferences focused upon a topic of interest in special needs ministry coupled with lots of opportunity for interaction between speakers and participants. If we were to do that, some ideas we’re kicking around include…
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Inclusion Fusion Speakers…Chuck Swindoll
Our ministry team is very grateful that Chuck agreed to be our Keynote Speaker for our first annual Special Needs Ministry Web Summit. Chuck’s presentation addresses the challenges families, church staff and volunteers face in demonstrating the love of Christ to persons with special needs. He and his daughter Colleen also sat for a two-part interview with Katie Wetherbee during which Katie had the opportunity to ask Chuck the types of questions that families of kids and adults with disabilities would want him to answer. Continue reading
Posted in Inclusion Fusion, Leadership
Tagged Chuck Swindoll, Church4EveryChild, Dallas Theological Seminary, Disability Ministry, Inclusion Fusion, Insight for Living, Katie Wetherbee, Key Ministry, Pajama Conference, special needs, Special Needs Ministry Web Summit, Stephen Grcevich MD, Stonebriar Community Church
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Inclusion Fusion Speakers…David Glover
David will be serving as a speaker for Inclusion Fusion, and will be sharing on his most recent ministry endeavor, The P.U.R.E. Ministry Project – What, Why, Where, and When. David’s seminar will address the why, what, where, and when of The P.U.R.E. Ministry Project as it relates to you, your church, and your community and how you can become involved!
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Inclusion Fusion Speakers…Jim Hukill
Jim Hukill has been a leader in the disability ministry movement before I became aware that there was a disability ministry movement. For the past fourteen years Jim has served as Executive Director of Lift Disability Network, the successor organization to the Christian Council on Persons With Disabilities. He was one of the first speakers to sign on for Inclusion Fusion. We’re pleased to announce that Jim will be speaking on the topic…Renovate: Transforming a Disability Movement.
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Church…A Hostile Environment? Harmony Hensley
For families and children impacted by disability church is all too often viewed as a “hostile” environment in which they feel judged or unwelcome. Sadly, I’ve met a number of families who would summarize their church experience this way.
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