Ongoing Online Access Back in 2020, all of us in ministry were scrambling for ideas of how to keep connection alive with our people during a pandemic. We got creative. We rose to the occasion. It was challenging and it was good. One of those ideas was to offer all manner of ways to connect over Zoom. We did meetings, parties, coaching, mentoring, scavenger hunts, classes, Christmas caroling, games, training, and more. All of this was done remotely and online. We found folks who were looking for friends and never had access to connecting and they found us. Some families...
Dear Pastor, We appreciate you. Thank you for bringing us God’s Word so consistently. You are a gift to us and we are grateful for your shepherding love and faithful guidance. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to share some things that are near and dear to our hearts. Disability Ministry Needs You You can bring a message to the rest of the church family that disability ministry is essential to the church. Why? Because Jesus showed us by example by serving people with special needs all the time, i.e. the lame, the blind, the sick. He was the...
Almost two years ago, we felt led to create something. We noticed that too often folks who do not have disabilities do not get many opportunities within the church or faith-based organizations to hang out and develop relationships with those who do. So, we formed a Life Group at our church called Affinity. Why “affinity?” The definition of affinity is a strong connection or relationship between people or things. We wondered, if we brought people together for the express purpose of studying God’s Word and building community, if the people — whether they had disabilities or not — would grow...
Make Decisions with Confidence Did you know that the popular thought these days is that adults make an average of 35,000 decisions every day? How crazy is that? 35,000! We have never counted how many decisions we actually make each day, but we can testify that some days it seems like way more than we have the energy and brain space to make. How about you? We all have the usual decisions like what to wear, what to make for meals, whether to eat breakfast or not, which route to take to work or to the kids’ school, what to...
CREATE a sense of BELONGING at your Event or in your Group Does the word, “belong”, conjure up positive warm-fuzzy feelings for you or does it make your heart sink? Maybe it does a little of both? Most people have felt like an outsider at some time in their lives. It doesn’t feel good, does it? You, as a parent, a ministry leader or volunteer, a member of any group affected in some way by disability have an opportunity to help others have a positive experience in belonging. Human beings were made to be in community. So often, though, when...
Dear Ministry Leaders, What a wonderful opportunity you have to create a welcoming place for children and their parents as well as the volunteers who serve them. The only problem is – people are involved. Grin. Seriously, we know that you have a very tough job. Serve the Children. Love the Families. Guide the Volunteers. Sounds simple in words, right? Implementing is a whole different picture. There are so many factors that go into creating vibrant ministry for children. God’s Word needs to be presented consistently, truthfully, and enthusiastically. It is vital that you keep the children physically safe. You...
Stop. Assess. Build. Recently, I have become aware of three specific mamas who have experienced utter physical depletion and I know that there are many, many more. What do I mean by depletion? They have very little left within them to take care of the things of daily living. These are moms who have given everything they’ve got to and for their families without focusing on their own basic care on a consistent basis. (No judgment.) These are moms who have at least one child with special needs and whose needs are often unique, constant, exhausting, puzzling, and endless. These...
By Julie Meekins December is just around the corner. Does knowing that put you in a panic? Do you already feel a growing sense of being swamped? December can be so lovely – a month filled with beautiful decorations, sweet music, joyful celebrations, adorable children’s concerts, fun gift-giving, church Christmas pageants, family togetherness — the stuff of life-long sweet memories. Unfortunately, December can also be a trying time for families. We tend to attempt to cram in more projects than is humanly possible, overschedule both our children and ourselves, eat poorly, and take too little time to rest. All of...
Tom and Julie Meekins A number of years ago, it became apparent to us that we and other parents whose children are impacted by disability needed a support group. We went to our church leaders to get the green light, which they gave readily. We have been at this for 6 years now and have learned a few things that may be helpful to you if you already have a parent support group and are looking for fresh ideas or if you are hoping to start one up. Our first suggestion is that you work with who you have in...
Friend, do you need an encouraging word? Are you needing to be reminded that you have a Resource beyond all resources? We do. Whether you are a parent or a ministry leader or volunteer (or maybe you fill all of those roles at some time or another as we do) you can STAND strong – even when you don’t feel it. Why? …because our strength comes from the Lord. He tells us this in Exodus: “The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s...
