Resources
Organizations
Key Ministry is a wonderful organization that has a wealth of information and resources regarding disability ministry. Twice a month, Key Ministry holds roundtable discussions via Zoom. This is a great opportunity to engage with and learn from a strong community of disability ministry leaders and volunteers around the country. Key Ministry also has a large section of their resources dedicated to mental health, which is unique and necessary for the church community to acknowledge and utilize. You can learn more about Key Ministry here.
The Banquet Network provides free coaching through workshops on how to create a disability inclusion plan for your church. In addition, the Banquet Network provides churches with small grants to jump start a special needs ministry in their church. They have developed a free curriculum to inspire churches to reach and include individuals with disabilities. This can be found on their website. An accessibility survey can be found on the website to help determine how accessible your church currently is and next steps to making your church more accessible. There are links to blog posts, podcasts, and videos that cover a wide range of topics related to inclusion of individuals with disabilities in the church. You can learn more about the Banquet Network here.
99 Balloons is a nonprofit organization that has a mission of building inclusive communities all around the world. The team at 99 Balloons has created an easy way for churches to put on a monthly respite night for families of children with special needs through their rEcess program. Any church can sign up to be a host site for this monthly respite event. This program includes the curriculum for each respite event and training videos for the volunteers. All you need to do is recruit volunteers! You can learn more about 99 Balloons here.
This organization offers a multitude of resources for special needs ministries. One that I enjoy is the Irresistible Church Training Series for Special Needs Ministry which “explores 12 aspects of serving families affected by disability that includes a book, supplemental resources, and training tools, all downloadable for free”. You can learn more about Joni & Friends here.
Ability Ministry is full of great resources for special needs ministries. If you are looking to purchase a special needs curriculum, Ability Ministry has created several to match your needs. My favorite part of this website is the "One Page Docs" section under the "Resources" tab. There you will find several FREE documents that guide you on the journey of including individuals with disabilities in your church. You can learn more about Ability Ministry here.
Wonderful Works has created a network of resources for special needs ministry leaders and volunteers through a facebook group. In the group, Wonderful Works shares information on a new topic each week through short informational videos, recorded interviews, discussion feeds, and/or resourceful handouts. You can learn more about Wonderful Works here.
The Tim Tebow Foundation has developed an app called "Shine On." This app is full of incredible resources for special needs ministry in the church. Categories of resources on the app include: key insights about disabilities, family support, respite & community, and trauma-informed care. Short videos are embedded throughout the resources and cover a variety of topics. You can learn more about the Tim Tebow Foundation here.
Forms
Here is a wonderful intake form that children and caregivers can complete together! This will provide you with important information about the child including their artistic flare. Ensure the completed booklets are available for your volunteers to access as needed to learn additional information about each child.
Heart Shaper. (n.d). All about me book. Retrieved from https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/dcc-web-1/heartshaper-site/AllAboutMeBook.pdf
Here is a more traditional, comprehensive intake form for the caregivers to complete. You can provide a hard copy in person or post these form to your website so that caregivers can complete before coming!
Ministry leaders, this is a wonderful resource to guide you through important conversations you will have with parents of children in your ministry.
LifeKids Buddies (n.d). Partnering with special parents: Ideas to help communicate and support with wisdom and tact. Retrieved from https://open.life.church/resources/3729-lifekids-buddies
Recommended Reading
