Engaging Disability With The Gospel

Did you miss our June Resource Recap from Simply The Gospel? No worries! We've got you covered: https://mailchi.mp/simplythegospel/june-resource-recap

We're excited to highlight several new resources, including beautifully illustrated children's books and engaging supports for sharing the gospel. Our book nook features a parenting book on raising emotionally strong boys, while our free resource library continues to grow with editable student information sheets for kids and youth.

Skill Building: Teaching Kids and Teens to Pray

You may not think of prayer as a skill to learn, but there are quite a lot of small skills that have to be combined in order for kids, teens, and adults impacted by disability to successfully pray privately and corporately.

For example, in order to pray in a group you have to be able to: pay attention to what others are saying, discern when it is your turn and not your turn, speak out loud at the appropriate time, remain quiet when it’s not your turn to pray, preplan what you will say (who will you pray for, what will you thank God for), and remember these thoughts until it’s your turn to pray. And ALL of those skills have to be displayed in a relatively short amount of time as the group prays together.

We want kids and teens impacted by disability to participate in Sunday school and worship as much as possible. That’s why we believe in teaching skills!

Utilize one of our free coaching calls to learn how to teach the skills needed to pray - simply email us at [email protected]

You can also check out our prayer request poster. This is a great way to provide visual prompts for the entire classroom (16x20) or for an individual (8.5x12). This supports the skill of deciding who to pray for or what to thank God for, and assists in vocal recall when it is the students’ turn to prayer.

Great for family devotions, personal quiet times, Sunday school, and more!

Individuals with limited expressive language can also learn to pray! Start by having the individual point to the items on the poster that he or she wants to pray for…and then make sure you pray out loud for those requested people or things!

https://simplythegospel.com/product/prayer-request-poster/

History Time! Did you know that Engaging Disability With The Gospel began in 2007?

We have had 17 years of wonderfully faithful ministry during which time we have coached countless PCA and reformed churches to disciple and enfold kids, teens, and adults.

We are so thankful for these two ladies and their collective leadership across 17 years! Stephanie Opdahl Hubach founded this ministry in 2007 and continued leading until 2016. Ashley Hall Belknap picked up the leadership baton in 2016 through the present.

We are thankful that God chooses to work through His people. It is privilege for our team to serve alongside churches and their families! Soli Deo Gloria!

We want kids and teens to learn to worship God, not just be quiet and still in church. In order to learn how to worship God, students impacted by disability may need to build skills in order to begin participating in worship. The more they can actively participate in singing hymns, reciting creeds, and praying prayers, the more engaged they will be.

Building skills simply means we teach (with appropriate visuals, repetition, and often times movement) for mastery. We want kids to know the Lords Prayer so well that they light up with a smile as soon as they hear their pastor begin to pray, “Our Father, who are in Heaven…”

This board book is perfect for EVERY child. Read it aloud at bedtime every evening. Bring it with you to worship on Sunday. Use it alongside a curriculum that teaches the Lord’s Prayer. Incorporate practice reciting the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of Sunday School.

Practice and repetition brings mastery which builds skills for worship!

And for kids and teens with limited expressive language, we encourage you to build skills! Keep reading aloud, pause before giving words to allow your child to fill in the missing word in his head, and allow the student the opportunity to turn the pages. AND consider our Lord’s Prayer CARDS for sequencing as a way to demonstrate mastery without expressive words!

Links in bio!

We are leaving Richmond, VA and the 51st with very full and thankful hearts. Four wonderful days of fellowship and rich conversations on the small and larger points of disability ministry. We reconnected with old friends, and we made new ones. Our team loved being together. And we truly loved each and every visitor that came to our booth!

Is your church ready to take a small step forward in disability ministry? We don’t take a programmatic approach. We simply teach and encourage you to disciple and enfold ALL of the people in your congregation.

To get started, email us and we will take care of the rest: [email protected]

And if you missed the opportunity to shop our latest adapted, discipleship products in person, you can visit our publishing company and store online: www.simplythegospel.com

We LOVE engaging with our PCA churches and families at ! Today is the last day — drop by to see us!

Starting Day 3 with a few more new adapted discipleship resources you should check out!

Perfect for all kids, grandkids, and children with unique learning needs. These books break down large portions of scripture and creeds into smaller parts, utilizing a theologically appropriate visual to support memory and understanding.

Each flipbook has a corresponding set of sequencing cards that can also be used in a sensory bin!

If you aren’t at General Assembly, you can check them out here: https://simplythegospel.com/shop/page/2/

We are ready for another great day in the booth engaging with churches and families!

Come and visit us at exhibit hall and check out our new hymn books and new simply scripture book!

Did you know that having a simple visual prompt to accompany singing increases understanding and memory by over 50%?

These books are perfect for family devotions, Sunday school classes, and for supporting kids with unique learning needs!

In case you aren’t in Richmond, you can also shop online here: https://simplythegospel.com/product-category/illustrated-hymn-books/

Our team spent the day setting up our exhibit booth at the 51st PCA General Assembly in Richmond, VA!

We can’t wait to begin conversations about how to disciple and enfold kids, teens, and adults impacted by disability!

Engaging Disability will be at the 51st PCA General Assembly in Richmond, VA from June 10-14! We will be in the exhibit hall ready to share how we equip churches to come alongside families and individuals impacted by disability. We will also have multiple resources from our ministry store, Simply The Gospel, available for purchase. Come visit us in booth 223!

Learn more here: https://mailchi.mp/engagingdisability/general-assembly-2024

Are you the parent of a child under 12? We want to learn more about children's church experiences! Can you and your child help us by taking our 5-question survey? An adapted version is available for children with disabilities. Use the link below to access the survey!
https://mailchi.mp/engagingdisability/shaping-worship-together

After completing the survey, you'll receive a $5 gift card to our ministry store Simply The Gospel. Thank you for your help!

There's just a few more days to complete our survey on how your church includes children of all abilities! We’re seeking input from pastors, ministry leaders, parents, church members AND children! Would you be willing to complete the survey below?

https://mailchi.mp/engagingdisability/shaping-worship-together

At Engaging Disability, we equip churches to include and disciple families and individuals impacted by disability with gospel-centered training, individualized coaching, and practical resources. While we support churches in including people with disabilities across the lifespan, in this survey we hope to learn how your church includes children with and without disabilities in their congregational worship services.

After completing the survey, you will receive a code for a $5 gift card to our ministry store, Simply The Gospel, where you can find resources to help everyone grow in Christ. Thank you for your help!

We’re seeking input from pastors, ministry leaders, parents, church members AND children! Would you be willing to complete the survey below?

https://mailchi.mp/engagingdisability/shaping-worship-together

At Engaging Disability, we equip churches to include and disciple families and individuals impacted by disability with gospel-centered training, individualized coaching, and practical resources. While we support churches in including people with disabilities across the lifespan, in this survey we hope to learn how your church includes children with and without disabilities in their congregational worship services.

After completing the survey, you will receive a code for a $5 gift card to our ministry store, Simply The Gospel, where you can find resources to help everyone grow in Christ. Thank you for your help!

Easter is right around the corner and we have a variety of gospel-centered resources from Simply The Gospel to fill your Easter baskets! (Plus some fun t-shirts, too!) See our full Easter Gift Guide here: https://mailchi.mp/simplythegospel/eastergiftguide

Support the mission of Engaging Disability with every purchase.

Thank you Center for Parent and Youth Understanding (CPYU) and Reformed Youth Ministries for inviting us to the second annual Northeast Youth Ministry Summit! We have spent the last few days enjoying the fellowship of student ministry leaders against the beautiful backdrop of Ligonier, PA.

Ashley Hall Belknap taught three seminars geared towards helping student ministry leaders disciple and enfold teens with unique learning needs and diagnosed disabilities.

Cheryl Erb welcomed everyone to our exhibit table, cheerfully answering questions and helping them select adapted discipleship materials from our publishing ministry, Simply The Gospel (we adapt so you can teach!)

Our hearts are full, and we are thankful! Pray for these leaders — that they will continue to work to disciple ALL of their students…and that they will come back to us for church coaching when they need wisdom and perspective on the next small step forward.

We had a great time at last week's Women's Leadership Training in Atlanta! Thank you to everyone who stopped by our Engaging Disability and Simply the Gospel booths! We loved sharing our adapted resources and had wonderful conversations about how we help churches support and disciple individuals and families impacted by disability.

If you work in youth ministry, consider registering for this conference! So many good speakers and topics lined up…and Ashley Hall Belknap will be teaching a pre-conference and two additional seminars on aspects of supporting students with unique needs.

We are so thankful and excited to be part of this conference for a second year! Tag your favorite student ministry leader and nudge them to come join us!

It’s our biggest sale of the year! Shop, save, AND the best part…all sales proceeds go directly back to the ministry of Engaging Disability so that we can coach more churches (for free!) to disciple and enfold kids, teens, and adults with disabilities. Catechism cards, hymn books, Christmas resources, and more are all 20% off with code Stocking20.

It's that time of year...our BIGGEST SALE BEGINS TODAY! For one week (11/24 - 12/1), use the code STOCKING20 and receive up to 20% off our discipleship resources! It's time to shop and save...and fill those stockings with resources that will help everyone grow in Christ!
http://www.simplythegospel.com/

God's Faithfulness In Families Impacted By Disability

Our mission is to coach churches on how to disciple and enfold individuals who have a disability. However, it cannot be overstated that the heart of this ministry resides with the individuals and families impacted by disability that are represented in every church we coach. We love our families. They teach us so much about Christ's love for his people – these families model love that is patient, kind, sacrificial, and enduring. They model joy that is rooted in who Christ is and what He has done. They weather trials and hardships with grace and wisdom.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we lift up our voices of thanksgiving for the thousands of families that we have the privilege of serving. From the youngest baby to our seniors, we "thank God in every remembrance of you, always in every prayer...because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." (Philippians 1 : 3).

Our ability to carry out the mission and operations of Engaging Disability With The Gospel is fully dependent on the generous giving from our donors. Each year, we raise over $400,000 so that we can coach churches to disciple and enfold kids, teens, and adults with disabilities....FOR FREE!

This year, we were invited to participate in a fundraiser known as . We set our internal goal at $7,000 and then prayed for people who believe in the work of disability ministry, while also promoting and asking donors to give. Once again, God was faithful. We exceeded our goal, raising a total of $7,685.12.

Thank you to our donors who love this ministry, our staff, and our families impacted by disability! It is because of your generous giving, that we get the privilege of coming alongside churches and get to see first-hand how God is changing churches one family impacted by disability at a time!

Stories of Thankfulness Part 2: How Young Adults With Disabilities Transformed Adult Sunday School

As we continue with our theme of thankfulness this week, one of the greatest blessings we experience is through gaining an up-close view of how God is at work in the churches we coach. Often our churches will come to us asking for wisdom or help as they encounter barriers for their families impacted by disability.

One such question asked by a church we coach, arose in October 2022. They wanted to know how to better disciple and enfold young adults and adults with disabilities into their already-existing adult Sunday school program.

This church had multiple adult Sunday school classes, but most were primarily organized through categories of marriage and age of children (ex: newlyweds, married with young children, empty nesters, etc.).

Traditional age and stage of life categories can be challenging for some of our friends impacted by disability who do not live independently, are not married, and/or do not have children. However, this reality can also be challenging for others in the church such as: families who foster and adopt, singles and widows, immigrant and refugee families, as well as individuals who have been divorced.

As we discussed the options at the staff and pastoral level, this church welcomed Engaging Disability With The Gospel into big picture change for adult Sunday school. Instead of trying to find a place of fit for a few adults with disabilities, they wanted to work on reducing the big picture barriers that kept many away from Sunday school.

We partnered with this church for an entire year, leading and guiding the team that was formed and commissioned to tackle the existing structure, realities, and limitations of Sunday school.

Together, we dove into every aspect of adult Sunday school: the name, the promotion and marketing strategies, the gaps that were present, feedback from the congregation, the content being taught, the structure of classes, how to add new classes that were not driven by age and stage of life, recruiting and training strategies for teachers, and more.

As the final report was written containing all of our recommendations and changes already implemented, we gave tremendous thanks for the myriad of ways that God used a handful of adults with disabilities to transform the entire adult Sunday school.

If your church would like to walk through a similar process, we would love to coach and encourage your church. All it takes to begin is an email: [email protected]. Get ready...God often uses small questions to accomplish His greater purposes!

There’s still time to print and use for Thanksgiving this week!

Stories of Thankfulness Part 1: PCA Culture Change from 2007 to 2023

God has been transforming the PCA! Engaging Disability With The Gospel began in 2007. In the early years, there were a handful of PCA churches faithfully serving, discipling, and enfolding individuals and families impacted by disability. However, most churches were still wrestling with the question, "Is disability ministry important?"

Fast forward 16 years later...God has been faithfully at work across the PCA in expanding disability ministry. Engaging Disability has now actively engaged and coached 500 PCA churches in building sustainable disability ministry reaching across the nursery, children's ministry, youth ministry, and the adult ministries. These churches are welcoming visitors and engaged with us in learning how to effectively disciple kids, teens, and adults with disabilities.

More importantly, the most frequently asked question has changed over time. We rarely encounter a church now who is asking, "Is disability ministry important?" Instead, each week we are asked by new churches, "How can our church better love, serve, enfold, and disciple kids, teens, and adults with disabilities?" God is changing hearts and churches one family impacted by disability at a time.

Over the next week, as we approach Thanksgiving Day, we want to share a few stories of God's faithfulness with you. God is at work in the ministry of Engaging Disability With The Gospel, and we are thankful!

We invite you to follow along, and please chime in with your voices of thanksgiving as we express our gratitude to God for the good things He has done and is doing.

We are in the home stretch for giving through the FaithfulGive campaign! We are just $2,000 away from our end-of-event goal -- we are almost there! Until giving closes tonight at midnight, we would like to encourage our donors by giving ADAPTED RESOURCES for every donation made...

For gifts up to $25, you will receive our Going to Church Social Story Digital Download!

For donations of $25 - $50, you will receive our Gospel-Centered Emotions Toolkit!

For donations of $51 and above, you will receive our 80+ page Church Visual Schedule Packet!

We will reach out to our donors after the close of the event to connect you with your resources! For those donors who gave earlier in the event, don't worry...we've got something special coming your way as well!

Will you help us reach out goal by making a gift today?

https://faithfulgive.org/donate/

As we head into the final day of the FaithfulGive, we want to express our thanks to everyone who has given to our ministry over the last two days! We are able to grow this ministry’s reach because of our generous donors!

If you’ve been considering making a gift, there is still time to help us reach our end-of-event goal! We are only $3,000 away from our goal.

https://faithfulgive.org/causes/engaging-disability-with-the-gospel/

Has your church or family been impacted by this ministry and/or our church coaching? Or have used any of our resources to help teach the Bible to your kids or grandkids — such as our children’s catechism visuals?

If the answer is yes, would you consider making a $5, $10, $15 or $25 donation?

We would love to win the Engaged Donor award with ! All we need are many donors willing to contribute during the next 3 hours. Truly...$5 gifts would mean so much. If all of our Facebook friends gave $5, it would make a tremendous impact on our ability to offer church coaching for free!

https://faithfulgive.org/causes/engaging-disability-with-the-gospel/?mc_cid=f13ba0ef54&mc_eid=7911a0604b