Are you starting a disability ministry, or want to start a disability ministry, in your church but aren’t sure how to do so with the blessing of your leadership? After all, a disability ministry is a much more involved ministry and can be scary to a lot of people, maybe even you. However, this is a step that cannot be ignored. This is a step that must not be skipped: get the leaders of the church to buy-in and understand the need for disability ministry. I’m not going to lie, sometimes this can be the most challenging step. However, it is worth it to take this step first because once the leadership is on board, their passion and desire to serve those with disabilities can be much more easily conveyed to the congregation. We all know it’s easier to listen and respond to a need when we’re hearing it from someone who actually cares about what they’re talking about.
Now, you’re probably wondering how to go about doing this.
Here are a few steps to get you started:
Pray!
Before you do anything else, pray for this ministry that the Lord has laid on your heart. Pray for the conversations that you will have, for the hearts of the leaders that will be involved in these conversations/decisions. Pray for your heart to be calm and loving when it may be met with some opposition (totally normal). Most of all, pray that His will be done in whatever the outcome. Be faithful with the calling He has placed on your life, follow through on it, and leave the rest up to the Lord. He will be faithful to fulfill His will in His time and way. You’re planting an important seed by having this conversation.
Have a Conversation with a Pastor/Leader
This may sound like an obvious answer, but it really is the best place you can start. If it can be hard to get ahold of your pastor because you go to a large church, start with a small group leader/youth pastor/associate pastor. Better yet, try and get ahold of the children’s ministry leader. You’ll be working closely with them anyways once you get your ministry up and going. This is a great first step to getting that disability ministry going.
Meeting with a small group leader or another leader in the church gives you a chance to share your heart and why you feel that the Lord has called you to get the ball rolling on a disability ministry. Often times hearing a personal story about why someone is being called to a specific ministry can have a huge impact on the person hearing it, and they may even be more likely to be on board quicker/escalate it quicker. Once your meeting is drawing to a close, make sure you ask what steps are next to get this going. They may not know for sure, but that should mean they will be escalating it to someone who does. Make sure to find out what that next step is.
Follow Up on Your Conversations
This is very important. If you have your initial meeting with a leader and you don’t hear back after several days, call them. Or email them or text them! We’re human, and sometimes we forget to call people we say we’re going to call, or maybe they have heard back information and just have forgotten/haven’t had the chance to get back to you yet. Either way, it never hurts to seek out more information.
Now, I’m not saying call or text them every day and only wait 12 hours after your meeting before you contact them to see what’s been done on their end, but if it’s been several days and you haven’t heard anything, then reach out. If they tell you that they have reached out to the next person at church and they haven’t heard back, ask who they reached out to and for their contact info if it’s not easily accessible on the church website. Then you can let them know that you will follow up with that person so they are relieved of their responsibility as the middle man.
Now that this step is done and you’ve hopefully been able to continue the conversation with leaders, it’s helpful if you can get a meeting with elders/pastor/leader board in your church. This can sound intimidating, but it is an opportunity to get many people hearing about this ministry rather than just that one person you started talking to.
Be Prepared to Share Why a Disability Ministry is Needed
Getting the need across is so important. This is definitely a conversation to prepare ahead of time for. Look at stats, read family’s testimonies if you don’t have one to draw from, ask someone you know who is impacted by disability to join you in your meeting. There are so many staggering statistics about families that are affected by disability. For instance, did you know that the divorce rate among those who have a child with a disability is eighty percent?! It’s shocking, and there are many people who do not know this. The leadership of a church should be concerned about statistics like this and hopefully eager to help in whatever way that they can to help change that statistic, especially among those who might walk through the doors of their church.
There are some great resources in which you can glean information as you prepare for this meeting. An organization that has many helpful articles and tools is Joni and Friends. Joni and Friends is an international disability ministry organization that seeks to make ministering to those with disabilities a norm in the church. Here’s the great thing about Joni and Friends. If you’re too nervous about a conversation with your church leadership, or you’re having a hard time getting in contact with leadership and feel like you’re being pushed to the wayside a little bit, they can help with that! Most states have at least one office and they have staff whose job it is to help churches become equipped to serve those with disabilities. At the very least they will have resources to offer you, but most of them are willing and able to come to your church or have a conversation with leadership about disability ministry and answer any questions that they might have. This is a resource you don’t want to miss out on if you’re starting a disability ministry and looking to get buy-in from your leadership!
As you can see, starting a disability ministry by getting buy-in from leadership is important! It’s a step that should not be missed and can help tremendously when you get to the point of recruiting volunteers and spreading the word about the ministry. While it may be challenging, there are resources to help you, and don’t be afraid to use them. Above all else, be praying for your leader’s hearts as you start these conversations. The power of prayer in starting a ministry should not be diminished.