Does your church have any type of special needs ministry? If so, what does it look like? If it doesn't, how do they handle children with special needs?
I'd love for you to spread the word about this poll and this post to any friends with children with any special needs so I can get a broad range of answers. I'm really curious after reading at 5 minutes for special needs yesterday in the "who are we really and what do we do?" list it says "We often don’t attend church because we can’t find one that welcomes our child."
Thanks for your input and please leave me a note describing your SN ministry or anything else you think might be helpful to this subject. If you'd rather e-mail me I'll post those without names attached in a later post mkp1982@hotmail.com.
Please take a minute to reply to the poll on my side bar and leave any comments on THIS POST about your experience with your church. THANKS!
We've always had a wonderful experience at church, so I was surprised to see the list mentioning that people don't attend church because they can't find one that welcomes their child. I'm going to send you an email too.
ReplyDeleteWe have a daughter who is deaf and we specifically chose a church that had a deaf ministry. They arrange interpreters to attend Sunday School and other church events with my daughter. We really appreciate it. I don't know that the church has any other type of special needs ministry, though. It is definitely something that I think should be added for two reasons. First, it gives the special needs person a chance to be included in the church experience to the degree that he/she is able and also allows for them to learn about Christ. Secondly, it allows the people who care for those special needs individuals to come to church and be fed spiritually. If someone was not provided to help with my daughter my husband and I would never get to attend Sunday School together or attend other church events.
ReplyDeleteThanks for talking about this issue! It is so important and I hope that more churches will start to realize that!
we are fairly new to our church and the one thing that has stood out to me is the changes in the pre-k program after Dom started attending. the first month that we were there, the teachers rotated weekly and there really wasn't any consistency in the program. within 6 weeks, the teachers became 'set', a routine was established, and the teachers started incorporating sign into songs and stories. So our church doesn't have a sn ministry per se but they do make accommodations for our son. Just in an inclusive way. i'll pass this on to another mom in our area who's developing a sn ministry at their church.
ReplyDeletewww.friendship.org
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing Friendship Ministry that one of our local churches has implemented. I can't say enough about it. It's amazing! My oldest son Jimmy attends along with MANY other disabled children and adults in our community. He loves it and always knows which Tuesday it is held on (2nd and 4th Tuesday evening for our church).
Amy
Our church does not have a SN ministry as of yet. But we have a heart to start one. We have a small congregation and everyone there LOVES Miss Polly.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing up this issue!
In our church our kids either attend with their typical peers or if help is needed, an assistant is called to help in their class. I know there are some that have interpreters for the deaf and in some areas there are even whole wards (congregations) for the deaf. Our church puts out signing videos showing the signs for many words used in church and scriptures and other materials in Braille, as well as materials in MANY other languages from around the world. We have materials for those who teach people with disabilites.
ReplyDeleteDolores, LDS
I have been trying so hard to get a special needs ministry going in my own church. Reece has always been welcomed, but even now, he is still really the only one at our church with special needs, so the youth rotate for Sunday School and Children's Church with him. But we could really open up the church and the community if we provided more of what families really need.
ReplyDeleteOur SN ministry is a buddy system and it includes the kids in with their age group just lets them have extra help if they need it. We like it because it lets them be a part of the things everyone's doing but also lets them have someone looking out for them. Adults and teens sign up to be a buddy and are matched with a child so it's the same every week.
ReplyDeleteWe do not have a special needs ministry at this point. I am meeting with our preschool and children's minister next week to discuss this. Our church has been wonderful with people with special needs. We have a deacon that is blind and when we have the Lord's Supper he passes the bread and juice with assistance. The assister is just a guide and very discreetly helps. It took several times of watching closely to see how they did it. We have a teenager that is in a wheelchair and they carried her into the baptistry for baptism and just accomidated. The kids are great with others that have special needs. Right now Sarah has two other friends in her class that have DS. They are in a typical class and we are going to accomidate. They are the only ones not walking, but they will be just fine. I can remember the first time I went to leave Sarah in the nursery and overheard someone make a comment about another child that has DS. I picked Sarah up and left crying. The preschool minister heard of it and found me and we discussed that of all places everyone should feel safe at church and we are going to make sure they do. This lady was pulled aside and kindly talked to about wording of things and that all of our children were to be loved equally. Things are happening at our church in this area. We see the need to reach out to parents of children of special needs. I would love to hear more of what others are doing. I too saw that list and was bothered by it. I pray that God is opening the hearts of churches to start addressing this area. I do know that Lifeway had materials for teaching people with special needs. I will find out more about it and let you know. Sorry this got so long. Glad to know God is opening this up for discussion!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if there is a special needs ministry for kids at our church but there is a "Special Moms" prayer group for moms of kids with special needs.
ReplyDeletePraying for Emma.
Heather
Hello, I was the person who wrote the blog entry on 5mfsn, and included the line about not being able to find a church. However, even though it has been my experience, I have heard similar things from other families who have children with SIGNIFICANT special needs. I emphasize the word SIGNIFICANT because that seems to me to be the primary issue.
ReplyDeleteLike many of you have discussed, I have friends who have children with disabilities, but their disabilities are not as significant as those of my children. I believe it is that significance that makes it difficult for churches to accomodate us.
You can either read my bio on the 5 minutes for special needs site or visit my blog or just read this one blog entry that is from my site and which discusses my experiences in finding a church home.
I really believe that it is making accomodations for the more difficult disabilities that is the issue. I won't stop looking though!
Deborah
Our church includes all kids in the regular religious ed/nursery programs so we don't have a dedicated sn ministry. We are happy with that 'cause I prefer inclusion personally. They do have a sn ministry for adults with special needs (in collaboration with another local church). Mostly social activities.
ReplyDeleteOur church has the "Kingdom Kids" ministry. It is so neat. People sign up to be matched with a SN child and every Sunday they are with that child in Sunday School and Children's Church. I don't have a child with special needs (I'm just TOTALLY addicted to reading about them and praying for them), but I would imagine this ministry where we go to church is very important to the parents and children that need it. I sure hope you can find something similar in your area.
ReplyDeletePraying for you and your babies in TX,
Allison
We attend a very small rural church that is really our "family". I am the first one there with a child (soon to be children) with sn. Since I wanted input into it, I signed up to become the nursery co-ordinator. I am also involved in our school age children's church, so will have input in that as well. I just explained to each person that rotates through the nursery, what Jonathan can and can't do and what we are currently working on. All have been very loving and receptive. I guess I don't know what I would do if they weren't, I imagine I would become involved, like I have and try to educate them.
ReplyDeleteBlessed in rural western NY,
June
I don't have a child with special needs but I have been so impressed with what I see from my home church, Bellevue Baptist in Memphis, TN. They have a "Sunday School" class just for SN children - full of a broad range of debilitation. The sweet teachers are not just babysitting. The children love their class! They sing and learn about Jesus and seem to have so much fun. Accessibility is priority, I've noticed, with theirs being the first class as you enter the building and special parking designated just for their class (as opposed to official handicap spots). I'm sure they would love to tell more. Their website is bellevue.org.
ReplyDeleteIn our area, I have heard a lot of parents talk about difficulties attending church, but several places are starting to address the need. The church I attend recently added a ministry for special needs children and I volunteer in the room.
ReplyDeleteIn the poll, I voted that my son attends, not because he is physically in the room every week, but because the ministry includes the coordinator working with the regular teachers to help them understand children with special needs.
Great question! Trish from Another Piece of the Puzzle and 5 Minutes for Special Needs
I answered yes and Kallie attends it. At first Kallie was ok doing the 'regular' church with her typical peers. Unfortunately as time went on she wasn't able to handle the noise level in the 'little people church' thing they took the classes to. They started a program called Kings Kids. While, IMHO, this program caters to mostly autistic children, I will say it's been a God send for our family. We no longer get called out of church and Kallie LOVES going there. The room is more quiet, less busy, and the lessons are brought down to their level of understanding. The Kings Kids ministry also does a 1st Monday of the month Respite program for the kids, ok for the parents. We get to drop off Kallie, and her sibling Brittany, to the pizza night event and we get 3 hours to ourselves. It's a great program and I always tell friends with kids with disabilities about it!
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear what your findings are as I have a dream of starting a ministry that educates churches in Canada on intergrating children and adults with disabilities into their programs and church families.
ReplyDeleteour church has several ministries for special needs, however, I do not have children :) The one that I am most familiar with is the one for autistic children
ReplyDeleteWe prefer to keep our children with us in worship...regardless of their special needs.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it takes them longer to learn to sit quietly, but we feel it's important for worship to be a family experience.
As far as Sunday School, we prefer to teach them about God and the Bible as a family.
If we do decide to put them in a children's program, one of us would go with them and help them to adapt to the situation that the other children are in.
We DO have a SN ministry at our Church. There is a specific SN class, or you can opt for you child to have an aide so that they can be in their age appropriate classroom. The SN class has been in place for a while, but the aide thing is new ( we are a flagship family). THe lady that is getting it off the ground started a simialr program at her old chuch. MER, I will email you her email.
ReplyDeleteWe attend a city church that makes accommodations for each SN child as needed. I am in the process of writing formal P&Ps and training material for all SN children. We attended Joni & Friends disability ministry training this spring and are excited to add this service to our community!
ReplyDelete