Indispensable People
Making the Gospel Accessible to people of ALL abilities so that they may know Christ, grow in Him, and serve Him with the gifts He has given them.
Indispensable People
Empowering Volunteers in Disability Ministry
Volunteers serve as the hands and feet of Jesus in disability ministry, creating welcoming environments where people of all abilities can experience faith and community. We explore recruitment strategies, training approaches, and the transformative impact of inclusive service.
• Effective volunteer recruitment begins with clearly communicating the vision and mission
• Don't be afraid to directly ask potential volunteers based on qualities you see in them
• Look beyond church walls to colleges, other churches, and community groups for volunteers
• Comprehensive training builds volunteer confidence and effectiveness
• Include disability awareness, biblical foundations, and emergency preparedness in training
• People with disabilities should serve as volunteers in various ministry roles
• Creating a community atmosphere among volunteers and participants transforms ministry from tasks to relationships
• Personal stories demonstrate how volunteers of all ages experience profound life change
For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the books The Indispensable Kid, Gospel Accessibility, and The Indispensable People.
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor and missionary, and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population. However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics biblical foundations, perceptions and world-changing ideas. Hey, hey, and welcome to this episode of Indispensable People. Today, we're talking about volunteers, a vital role in a special needs ministry. So join us as we delve into some stories, some strategies and some successes of those who have chosen to dedicate to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for individuals with disabilities. Whether you're a seasoned volunteer, a church leader or someone new to the ministry, this episode will help you with valuable insights and, hopefully, some inspiration. When we discuss the crucial role of volunteers in disability ministries, we need to understand that they act as the hands and feet of Jesus. We are walking around as volunteers with hearts like Jesus' skin on, so let's discover how volunteers can make powerful impacts, and essential steps are needed to build a strong volunteer team. First of all, I could tell you story after story after story after story of lives that have been impacted by volunteers who have chosen to do this ministry. I can tell you that there are kids whose lives have been changed because they have chosen to serve. There are teens, there are adults. I could tell you about Max, who joined our respite team with his family and as he got older he then got to come alongside of an individual and be a buddy, and so he's assigned to be a buddy with one particular person and that person. It was their first time and we were providing Max with some support and all that kind of stuff. But as this particular individual came into respite night for his first time, he was so very nervous and he was ready to turn around and go home. And Max looked at him and he was like hey, dude, you wanna play some basketball, and that was it. They're best fast friends. They have done camps together, respites, all kinds of it. They're best fast friends. They have done camps together, respites, all kinds of things. They are great buddies.
Speaker 1:And the way that we get to watch Max lead which, by the way, at our last respite night he walked in I said hey, max, I have this drama. I need you to put it together. Can you gather up the people and the things that we need to do? And he took the lead Max is 13. Okay, max is 13. The costumes and took our individuals with disabilities and took them backstage, got them dressed, brought them out and they participated in this interactive drama. And a 13-year-old kid did that.
Speaker 1:And I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has got a place for him, a special place of serving and ministering, and God will use him. And I believe that through this ministry and the opportunities that he is growing in and seeing and building confidence in, that God is showing him what is to come. And that's just one. That's a kid. That is a great story to build upon.
Speaker 1:I could tell you about adults who have left our summer getaway camps and they have just talked about how their life has changed, how watching the individuals that have every reason to question why me? And to complain and to stand in irritation and disgust of why God would allow them to live through the challenges that they're living through, and how they stand and worship and praise with just, unabandoned hearts and or with abandoned hearts, and they are showing true worship, how they dive in, how they want to learn more, how they're growing in their faith, they're praying, how they're showing so many things. I'm telling you it's life changing and so many volunteers don't initially take the step in because they're afraid. But we're going to talk about that. So we're going to learn how to effectively share our mission and vision of disability ministry within our churches, because if people don't understand what we're doing or why we're doing it, then they're not going to jump on board. So we want to make sure that we have clear communication in that fact and then that begins the recruitment steps. So here's some things that we need to understand about.
Speaker 1:Recruitment can be daunting. Okay, volunteers in any ministry within the church is difficult, and we want to focus on effective strategies that attract and engage volunteers who are passionate about serving, especially, especially in ministry, whether it's kids, teens or adults. So number one thing and I will tell you, my friend Jenna is so very good at this Don't be afraid to ask. Jenna will say what do you think about this person? And I would say I don't know. They've never shown any interest in this ministry whatsoever and she's like well, what's it hurt to ask? And she will just go right at them and she will say this is what I see in you and I think you'd be a great addition to our ministry. And she just says here's what we can do and find ways to speak into people, find their sweet spots and help them to serve.
Speaker 1:So you want to tap into those local resources, the people that are around there, for instance, outside of the box of our regular church building. We have a college that is close by and that college has a Chi Alpha group who loves and serves Jesus, and so we reach out to them, especially when we do bigger events, to ask them to participate with us. Also, consider in your recruitment to host interest sessions or like job fair kind of volunteer fair kind of things where you create opportunities for people to learn and connect, where they can browse around, see what's going on, see what could be options and connect with the people who are participating in that, so that. So your first step is recruitment and that starts again with a clear vision and it's like the unapologetic. I'm going to ask you, look outside the box. It doesn't even have to be right within your church and if you're doing bigger events that are serving the special needs population in your entire community. Consider collaborating with other churches, because that is incredible. We do that with Night to Shine. It makes a huge difference. We could not do that event if it weren't for the other churches in our area that pitch in and help and jump on board with us Again. Find ways to connect, let people know what you're doing, share about that.
Speaker 1:The next thing is you're going to train, train, train, train, train. A well-prepared volunteer is a confident and an effective one. A well-prepared volunteer is a confident and an effective one. We need to understand the importance of comprehensive training and ongoing support to empower volunteers. And here's the deal If you're the leader and you say I'm not equipped to lead, that, then you reach out to other people, other ministries. That is a good portion of what I do training and equipping and go outside yourself. There will always be someone else who knows more than you do. There's someone else who knows more than I do, and those are the people that I reach out to. So understand that some of your training essentials are going to include disability awareness and etiquette, theological, biblical foundations and practical skills. That's going to be incredibly important.
Speaker 1:You're also going to want to understand how certain situations may impact individuals with disabilities may impact individuals with disabilities. So identifying triggers and also understanding your volunteers and their triggers so that you know who they may best work with. And another essential that is a part of every single ministry that has ever existed is emergency preparedness understanding to equip volunteers with resources to handle difficult situations. Every ministry can have a difficult situation. Disability ministry, more specifically, medical emergencies, things like that, but also anything for anybody else, like whether that kind of stuff fire. You know how is that handled and how do we specifically handle that within our disability ministry. Also, this is going to be really important Involve people with disabilities as volunteers. Inclusion means everyone has a role to play and this episode explores the incredible potential, the incredible potential that comes with involving people with disabilities as volunteers, recognizing their God gift talents, god given talents.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing there are people in my church that have disabilities and they volunteer in our child care ministry. They are greeters. They do all different kinds of things across the church. I will hold a statewide training here in another month and at that training I will have people with disabilities at my check-in table, at my greeting, doing all different kinds of things playing, worship, all the kind of parts and pieces because they have a place and a purpose. But also within that, my summer camp that my husband and I coordinate. At that camp there are multitudes of levels to serve. Last year we instituted for the first time a serve team and that serve team was responsible for greeting, for doing taking care of offering, participating in different activities and hosting all of those kinds of things to make sure that it's full circle. It's not one sided, it's full circle, it's not one-sided, it's full circle.
Speaker 1:And then another piece in part in this and serving is creating a welcoming environment, not only just for those with disabilities, but also for your volunteers. Right, you want to be open, you want to hear their concerns, you want to provide them with the things that they need so they can effectively serve as a volunteer, and you want to make sure that you're fostering community within it. Because, let me just tell you, there is really nothing sweeter than the family that is created within this ministry between the volunteers and between the individuals that we serve and their families. It is an incredible piece in part, and I love every bit of it. And because the thing is is that we're not out here just doing a job? Right, we are sharing the gospel so that lives can be changed.
Speaker 1:And why do we want? Because we want to open up the doors of the body of Christ and make sure that others can be a part of it and connected. So if we're part of the body of Christ, we're in the family of God, we're living life together. It's not just a job, it's not something tasks that we just check off the list. It's for a life change. So let's continue to explore how we can transform the church, create an inclusive and welcoming environment and make sure that all of God's people, especially those he considers indispensable, can be a part of it. Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers? Have I done everything perfectly? I've absolutely not, but we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given them. For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensablepeoplecom and visit Amazon to purchase the books the Indispensable Kid and Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People.
