Our goal is to enfold all children, regardless of needs and abilities, into the existing children’s ministry of our church. In 1 Corinthians 12:22-23, Paul reminds us that our friends living with disability are indispensable to the body of Christ. A church without disabilities, then, becomes an incomplete church.
Churches of any size and with any budget can create an environment that allows children of all abilities the opportunity to participate, grow, and learn about Jesus Christ. There are several ways that we as a church body can come alongside our families impacted by disability and make our worship settings more inclusive.
Using Inclusive or Inviting Language from the Pulpit, Printed Material, and/or Website
One of the best ways to help families know they are welcome and wanted is to have conversations with your pastoral staff. Encourage them to verbally embrace certain behaviors at the beginning of corporate worship services or before a sermon. This doesn’t have to be lengthy. It can be as simple as saying, “We know that we have families of all different abilities in attendance, please know that we welcome the noise of the children with us today.” Children’s ministers can encourage our pastors to address disabilities and mental health needs in their sermons, as well, if the text allows.
Consider putting a small blurb in your worship guide or on your website indicating the church’s posture of welcoming children with special needs. This helps visitors know you are a safe place for their families to visit. It can make people feel welcome even before stepping foot through your doors.
Budget-Friendly Sensory Kits
While there are organizations that will make sensory kits for you, these can actually be extremely cheap to put together yourself. A good, basic sensory kit includes noise canceling headphones, an emotional thermometer card, and quiet fidget toys.
You can purchase most of these in bulk through places like Amazon. This allows you to make several bags to have on hand at any given time. If you choose to make sensory kits, including this information in your worship guide and on your website can be very helpful. Make sure to inform staff, deacons, and elders where they can find these kits, so that welcoming families can be as seamless as possible.
Implementing a Buddy System
Buddies are a great place to begin if you have just one or two children in your church who would benefit from extra support as we fully enfold them into the existing children’s ministry. At our church, we allow anyone above the age of 14 who has completed our child safety training to be a buddy. Don’t be scared to allow high schoolers to help you here! This is such a great discipleship opportunity, not only for the friend impacted by disability, but also for the teenager willing to help.
When implementing a buddy system, the goals should be to ensure a child is safe, to set them up for success, to provide extra supervision and support, to build relationships, and, most importantly, to point the child to Jesus. You should consider offering a buddy if a child is unsafe (eloping, fall risk, etc.) or if they need significant assistance to build skills or engage. Buddies should be considered temporary supports; regularly assess if and when they can fade out.
Partnering with Parents
Having family interviews is a great way to know what parents’ expectations are for their child as they begin to participate in children’s ministry. Offering this on the website is another great way to give people a direct line to ask questions and also see that they are valued. Buddies should be people who are good with children (people not already serving with kids, high school, or college students). They should be positive and inviting, even if not necessarily experts in this field. Providing your volunteers with important information about their child, following child safety guidelines, and offering resources like fidgets, visual schedules, adaptive bible verses or visual cue cards are easy ways to make sure your people feel set up for success.
Jesus, Savior of All
As mentioned previously, in 1 Corinthians, Paul is really showing us that a unified body is not his own idea but the way that God designed it. Verses 25-26 say, “…so that there should be NO DIVISION in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
We are created to live in fellowship with other believers. This means doing life together, cheering for one another, crying together, helping each other, and so much more. The bad news is that we will fail at this. We failed yesterday. We will fail tomorrow. And we will fail over and over again until we get to be with Jesus in eternity. That’s sin. That is the consequence of the Fall. We will try and fail to live up to the standard that God requires of us, as long as we live on earth.
But, there is still good news. The good news is that God knew this would happen. He knew that we would leave people out. That we would make convenience a priority, and seek earthly comforts over him. So he sent us his Son. Jesus came down and lived a sinless life. He died a tragic death that he did not deserve. He was buried, and then rose again. But before Jesus returned to heaven, he said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). He didn’t say, “Go and make disciples of all the nations but only choose those who you deem most worthy.”
A Seat At the Table
Jesus repeatedly shows us that we all have a seat at the table. How do we figure out a way to make that the reality in our churches, while also recognizing that we still live with the effects of the Fall? We can’t escape it. But we can step out on faith. Start small, listen, ask questions, be willing to recognize where we can grow. Invite a family to coffee. Create some sensory kits. Start incorporating inclusive language from the pulpit, have conversations as a staff or in your small groups about what it would mean to be a complete body of Christ. Whatever these steps look like, it matters. Small steps forward are still steps toward creating a unified body as Christ intended.
God demands perfection, Jesus covered us with his. Our goal can not be perfection, because it is not possible. Our goal is to be faithful to the call that God has placed on us and to help steward children, teens and adults impacted by disabilities and their families so that they will be lifelong worshippers of the one who redeems all things and makes all things new. To him be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
If you’re looking for a new resources to help teach children about the gospel in your church, check out our Gospel Basics curriculum.
