by Jim Pierson
 

When I first started working with church programs for people with disabilities, we did not have a specific name for what we did. In those days the words we used were descriptive: a class for students with mental retardation, a special needs class, a special Sunday school class, and services signed for the deaf. National organizations like American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and United Cerebral Palsy had religion divisions that encouraged the spiritual component in the lives of people with disabilities. Both organizations provided good information for the spiritual element.
 

Sometime, and I don’t know when, somebody, and I don’t know whom, started using the term disability ministry. Unlike our early terms, I don’t know how descriptive it is. Don’t get me wrong, I like it and use it all the time. However, when we are encouraging people to start a disability ministry in their congregation, we need to say exactly what we want them to do.
 

Often, I have thought the term does not communicate the concept we want to convey. Feedback I get from audiences suggests they interpret the term to mean a program administered like the youth ministry of the church with budget, staff, and volunteers. So, I have stopped illustrating with the programs I know about that have several staff members, large budgets, and well-trained volunteers. After seminars, I have people say, “We do not have anything in place.” I respond by saying, “Maybe it isn’t obvious. Survey the members of your congregation and ask if there are people with disabilities in their families.” If the rule of thumb works, they will find that 10% of their membership deals with disability in some way.
 

My assumptions received a degree of confirmation recently in Virginia where I was doing two seminars on beginning disability ministry. I asked some opening questions. Does your church have a disability ministry? In two groups, the answers were no with a slight hesitation. Then I asked; do you know a church in your town that has such a ministry? There was only one response in both groups. Finally, I asked about the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. There were no positive responses and some vagueness.
 

As I explained the nature of “disability ministry,” the answers began to change. One participant related, “We have a special needs nursery. We had some babies with special needs and we decided to take care of them in a nursery program.” Another one said, “I provide a buddy for the students with disabilities in my Sunday school class. The discussion took on a different tone when a blind lady chided two of the churches represented for saying they did not have a program to accommodate people with disabilities. She explained that when her husband, also blind, moved to town, a church helped him with the details of his move. She explained that in the church they now attend, the members provide transportation, help with shopping, and other sighted activities.
 

A mother in the group told how her church had included her daughter with severe disabilities in the music program. The daughter’s Sunday school teacher and the members of the choir enjoyed seeing her so happy and a part of their lives.
 

Perhaps, when we conclude that churches are not including people with disabilities in their programs, we are not asking the right question. Make it a simpler more specific question. On Sunday morning when a family of four: a dad, a mom, a daughter, 11, and a son, 6, with autism arrive at the church welcome center. The parents and the daughter can be easily directed to classes. What plan is in place to include the son in a class?
 

The congregation should have an easy plan. A good one is to provide a one-on-one buddy to look after the student in the various programs available on Sunday morning. Recruiting and training a variety of people, teenagers, college students, middle aged members, and seniors will make it easy to match the a person with buddy.
 

Families report horror stories of churches who ask them not to return with their child with a disability. However, my guess is that the majority of churches will work to include the child. The calls we get at CCFH Ministries support the assumption. We provide lots of how-to-include booklets to help in the inclusion process of several disabilities. We have an online training program. A congregation can do the training in a classroom in their church building.
 

Further, our training terminology needs to emphasize the joy of working with people with disabilities. We need to illustrate with examples of the gifts people with disabilities give to us. Encourage people to respect the uniqueness of people with disabilities. Point out the value of every person regardless of ability. The training needs to stress the motivation of the heart to serve and not so much the knowledge to get it done. Often working with the person provides a lot of necessary information.
 

So, what do we call what we do? It is not so much a matter of the name but the purpose. People with disabilities are not excluded from the mandate of the Great Commission (make disciples and teach them). In short, we do the same for people of all abilities. We tell them who Jesus is. After they accept Him, we nurture them in a life of faith.
 

Disability ministry, special needs class, or whatever name we attach to our service is not as important as the eternal result.

Joe’s Debut: Easy, Natural Inclusion

Special is indeed the right word to use when describing the attitudes of our residents as they look forward to competing in Special Olympics games each year and 2007 was no exception. 

Internationally, Special Olympics events provide year-round sports training and athletic competition to more than 1.7 million people with intellectual disabilities in more than 150 countries.

Locally, our residents participate in the Blount County, Tennessee competition.

Developed in 1996, the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes initiative has as its mission to improve athletes’ ability to train and compete in Special Olympics. Health screenings and services are vital parts of this project. 

We all know that disease prevention and health maintenance are the keys to a longer, healthier life. To that end, scientists both inside and outside of the United States government have created Healthy People 2010. It is a comprehensive set of disease prevention and health promotion objectives for the nation to achieve over the first decade of the new century. It identifies a wide range of public health priorities and specific, measurable goals. It seeks to increase life expectancy and quality of life over the next 10 years by helping individuals gain the knowledge, motivation, and opportunities they need to make informed decisions about their health. 

One of the focus areas of Healthy People 2010 is Disability and Secondary Conditions. The goal in this area is to “Promote the health of people with disabilities, prevent secondary conditions, and eliminate disparities between people with and without disabilities in the U.S. population.”

According to Healthy People 2010, people with disabilities do not necessarily have poor health. Often secondary conditions are prompted by the lack of access to health promoting activities.

Special Olympics events are adapted to suit individual challenges and abilities and our residents benefit greatly from this program. 

Click here to view pictures from the event Special Olympics 2007.pdf

For more information visit:
Special Olympics - www.specialolympics.org
Healthy People 2010 - www.healthypeople.gov