Something you may be considering as a part of your disability ministry is the curriculum. Depending on where you’re starting, you may not need this. However, I think it is good to take a little time, scope things out, and be prepared for when the need may arise. There are some excellent options for curriculum out there, and I want to take you through each one and what they offer.
Friendship Ministries
Friendship Ministries has been around for a long time, providing a curriculum for teachers to go through with friends affected by disability. They have several Bible studies that contain lessons sectioned off into units. Each lesson has a Bible story, pictures/posters to look at to aid in telling the story, as well as an activity and questions to answer at the end of the lesson. This curriculum is definitely geared toward individuals who are higher functioning and able to engage in conversation and activities that encourage lesson application.
Another cool thing about Friendship’s curriculums is that they also have a “Together” series, which is set up to be for people with and without disabilities. This is ideal to create an environment of inclusion in your Bible study, youth group, life group, etc. It makes it very easy to include everyone, and no one feels left out, as there are many different learning styles that are accommodated by this curriculum. If you want to learn more about Friendship and the curriculum they offer, visit this site:
http://www.friendship.org/bookstore
Bethesda
Bethesda has some amazing curriculums that have been adapted for children and adults affected by disability. The lessons in each unit are written out so well for those who will be teaching it. Jill Miller, the author of this series, does a great job of laying out exactly what is needed for the lesson and what the goal is for the lesson so that you as the teacher will know exactly what needs to be accomplished each time you are teaching.
There are a lot of questions asked at the end with simple answers, but they still reinforce the lesson. Her curriculum truly makes the Gospel accessible to all! One exciting thing about this curriculum is that it does not just touch on the “famous” stories of the Bible, but it truly looks into who Jesus is and what that means for each and everyone’s life. It is also a very affordable curriculum, which is nice especially when you’re just starting out and seeing what fits with your specific ministry needs.
To learn more about this curriculum, visit:
https://www.seejesus.net/store/unit-1-compassion-leaders-manual
Ability Ministry
Ability Ministry is another organization that has been around for a few decades. They have lots of curriculum options on their website, both for children and adults. What’s cool about some of their curriculums is that they have season-specific ones, such as Christmas and Easter. They also have ones that focus on different fruits of the spirit as well as character traits that believers should aspire to have–like generosity.
One of the most exciting pieces of curriculum that I have seen on their website is their Baptism Decision video and workbook curriculum. It clearly lays out what the decision of baptism means, and how that affects your life. The workbook gives practical questions to answer as well as explains what giving our life to Christ means.
If you’d like to learn more about the curriculum that Ability Ministry offers, then visit this site:
https://abilityministry.com/product-category/curriculum/
Chirp
Chirp Curriculum was created by a speech-language pathologist, Christie, who believes that the Gospel should be accessible to all. She designed this program to specifically reach those who may have cognitive delays or language disorders. There is a wonderful and informative video on the website that goes into great detail explaining what is included in each lesson.
There is a big variety of lessons available. This would be a good curriculum for an established ministry that has a consistent attendance of students. There is an option to buy access to a curriculum for one time, but you only have access for a year. Otherwise, there is a monthly fee depending on how many students you have, and that gives you consistent access to all of the curriculum, as well as any new curriculum that may come out. Another bonus is that the monthly option gives you the opportunity to send digital copies of everything to your students so that they can access the lessons at home and have them available to print and reinforce what they’re learning at church with their families at home.
To learn more about Chirp Curriculum, visit this site:
Access
The last curriculum that I’m going to share is produced by Lifeway. One really neat thing about this curriculum is that there are not a whole lot of options available, but they do have up-to-date curriculums for sale. By this, I mean that there are ones for sale for the current and upcoming “semester”. So, everyone who is doing the Access curriculum is doing the same thing. It’s cool to know that there are others going through the same curriculum that you are.
These curriculums come with both a leader pack and a personal study guide. I would say that this one is another one that is geared towards higher functioning individuals. Of course, adaptations could be made to accommodate, such as omitting the personal study guide and having more interactive activities included within the actual lesson. This is a great option for inclusive small groups, adult classes for those with disabilities, or a Bible study.
To learn more, visit:
https://www.lifeway.com/en/product-family/access-for-adults-with-special-learning-needs
Bonus Option-Adapt your own!
I wanted to add a bonus option, and that would be to adapt your own curriculum. There are tons of fabulous children and youth curriculums that could be adapted to be more friendly to the classroom that either is including those with disabilities or is all individuals with disabilities. While this sounds like a lot of work, it doesn’t have to be!
You can use the meat of the lesson that is already provided, and add in more visuals, more sensory activities, more reinforcement of the main idea, and maybe some extra breaks if it is needed. It is totally customizable!
Joni and Friends has made a list of curriculums that are easier to adapt, and those include:
The Gospel Project
FaithWeaver NOW
The Story
However, do not let that list limit you. A little creativity and motivation to include all in the Gospel message can go a long way!
There are not a ton of disability ministry-specific curriculums to choose from, but I hope that this list is encouraging to you. There is a fair amount of variety between them all, and they all, at the heart, want the Gospel to be accessible to all. Any of these curriculums could be a great addition to your church’s disability ministry. Have fun exploring, and well all else fails, adapt!