Let me give you a few multiple-choice answers. You pick and see if you are right.
Most disability ministries are started by:
You may be surprised to find out that the correct answer is (D). Without passionate parents, the field of disability ministry would not be where it is today.
Disability ministry is still very much an emerging ministry. Up to 85% of churches have no programming or intentional outreach for their disability community. Young college students who have grown up volunteering at Jesus Proms, respite programs, and disability ministries will struggle to find any college classes on disability ministry. They most definitely won’t find any four-year degrees in the field.
So where does that leave you? Are you attending an 85% church that currently has no disability ministry programming or outreach? Don’t lose hope! Just like the majority of disability ministries that were started by passionate parents you too can be an advocate for starting a ministry at your church. If you are a parent with a child with a disability great. If not, no problem.
Regardless of whether you are a parent of a child with a disability, a passionate community advocate, a current staff member, or someone else with a calling from God Ability Ministry has the perfect resource for you. You can download it for free today!
All of you will start from the same position and will face the same obstacles. How far your new disability ministry goes or if it will get off the ground at all will be determined by the level of buy-in from your current church leadership. The task of building awareness and buy-in from church leadership is not always an easy task.
You have caught a vision from God and have a passion for reaching your disability community for Christ. This is the first step for everyone. The next step is communicating that vision and passion with clarity. The Ability Ministry resource “Why our church should start a disability ministry” will give you everything you need to help you get your church leadership on board.
This free resource comes with a fully customizable PDF and PowerPoint. You will be provided with links on where and how to find current statistics on how many people in your community live with disabilities. Numbers and statistics are important to every church leader. Church leaders are trained to count and measure everything. When you can communicate to them how big the need and opportunities are in your community you will immediately generate excitement.
The other customizable part of this resource is a place for you to share your heart. Numbers are great but church leaders will want and need to hear your passion for this important ministry.
In addition to the customizable parts of this resource, Ability Ministry has already filled in important sections that your church leadership will need to hear about. Prefilled sections include:
As you prepare to meet with your church leadership to communicate your passion and plans make sure to have the PDF and PowerPoint filled out. Schedule a meeting with leadership and have enough PDFs printed and ready to hand out. Walk through the PowerPoint with them slide by slide. This can be done virtually but we highly recommend doing this in person. Your church leadership will be impressed with your presentation. Of course, be prepared for the questions that they will ask. If you do not have all the answers do not sweat it! That is where Ability Ministry can come in and help. We offer FREE consultation and we can walk alongside you in the process of getting things started.
We are proud of you! You are well on your way to starting a disability ministry at your church
