In the final part of this 3-part series, Sandra Peoples shares age group-specific strategies for churches to welcome, include, and create a place of belonging for adoptive children and teens with disabilities and traumatic backgrounds.
Author Interview: Parenting and Disabilities - Abiding in God's Presence
Equipped by God: A Missionary with Autism and Bipolar Disorder - Part 1
The Greater Things of Revolutionary Love
The Sunday following my son’s autism diagnosis, we ventured out to church. I could never have predicted the way that attempt would go up in flames. What we experienced was not biblical, and all these years later, I’m now a disability inclusion pastor. What if, as we strive to make churches inclusive for people living with disabilities, that the greatest change from inclusion efforts is that the church finally develops revolutionary love?
What Does A Successful Life Look Like?
A Personal Look at the Mental Health Impacts of Quarantine
Celebrating the Interconnected Tapestry that is the Body of Christ
We are living in times ripe for the history books. Most of us have been weighing questions on topics ranging from the effects of isolation to medical vulnerability, racial equity and religious freedoms. Leaders in the disability movement are keenly aware of overlaps and similarities among the issues at hand. I’ve been praying that God would use this season to grow us into more compassionate and courageously engaged people, because we desperately need to start appreciating our uniquenesses and enjoying how interconnected we are.
An Invitation to Influence
When we see the presence of a disability in the New Testament, we are exposed to some very important Kingdom of God values that are essential in the Christian life and in the life of the local church. The value in having leaders with disabilities in our churches is that the church will remain intimately involved with the type of ministry that expresses the heart of God’s kingdom.
Your Child is Welcome Here
I often say that my son Joel, who has autism, has been the greatest spiritual teacher of my life. The lessons haven’t always been easy, and sometimes they’re not clear until later. But year after year after year, Holy Spirit knowledge pours forth from this young man and blesses all whose eyes and ears are open and receptive. And that includes his church.
