For many churches, disability inclusion has come a long way. People with disabilities are attending worship services. They’re serving on volunteer teams. They’re participating in Bible studies and small groups. These are important steps. But there is a question that many churches have never seriously considered: Can someone with an intellectual disability serve as an […]
Purpose To provide safe, respectful, and dignified bathroom and personal-care assistance for children and adults with disabilities while protecting participants, families, and volunteers. Children with Disabilities Adults with Disabilities General Guidelines
Listening to People with Disabilities, Families, and Caregivers Great Disability Ministry begins with listening, not assuming. We must give people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers a voice and create space for them to share what they truly need. When we listen well and invite the Holy Spirit into the process, God can use what […]
ATLANTA. — Mark Wallace Maguire announces the release of his newest book, But First, We Must Begin in the Dark: A Father’s Journey Into Special Needs & Faith, an honest exploration of what it means to encounter God while raising a child with special needs. The book follows Maguire’s experience as he interviews five fathers […]
Some years ago, I met a fellow mother at summer swim lessons. She stood out to me, but first I couldn’t pinpoint why. Then, it came to me. As other parents laid out their chairs and towels poolside, settling in to 30 min of relative peace as their child participated in one of the many […]
I recently asked several adults in our Shine ministry a couple of questions about musical worship. What do you like about worship? Why is worship important? Some of my friends answered my questions out loud. Others typed their responses or wrote them down. Two of them communicated using a letter board, spelling out each word […]
Ability Ministry announced the release of VIEW Bible Curriculum, a comprehensive three-year children’s ministry curriculum designed to help churches engage children more deeply with God’s Word while equipping families to continue discipleship beyond Sunday morning. Rather than simply producing another collection of Bible lessons, VIEW Bible Curriculum was created as a complete ministry system that […]
You know the drill. A child with autism joins the Sunday school class, and the conversation immediately turns to accommodation. How do we help them adjust? How do we modify the lesson? How do we manage the behavior? How do we help them fit in? And those are not wrong questions. Accessibility and accommodation matter […]
Using internet mythology to illuminate the very real maze of living with a disability in an inaccessible world — and what the Church is called to do about it. ▼ no-clip here ▼ You know the feeling. One moment you’re walking through a perfectly ordinary space — an office, a shopping mall, a […]
As we enter our 12th year of Shine, a weekly ministry for teens and adults with special needs, we are connecting with more and more churches and ministry leaders who desire to minister to and alongside the special needs community but honestly just don’t know where to begin. Here are a few practical lessons about […]
Because Jesus' table is accessible for everyone...
We desire to see the Church make room for all people affected by disability. To fully participate. To fully partner. To fully lead.
We exist to equip and empower the 25% of the population with a disability, their families, and their churches to become who God has created them to be.
