Churches may not even think about including people with special needs or challenges until the first time someone with a disability attends. It would be good to think through a plan so we’re ready.
The First Question Churches Might Ask about Special Needs Ministry
Should we have a separate class for students with special needs?
As the Body of Christ, we must always strategize in ways that line up with God’s purposes and design for the Church. He intends that “each member belongs to all the others” (Rom. 12:5) with growth coming when everybody does their part (Eph. 4:16). We find no exclusions or conditions in those verses and others like it. People with special needs are a part of the Church and have something to contribute to the whole. If we isolate them into a class of their own, they miss out on the opportunity to contribute to the whole and other students will miss out on the blessing these students can bring. Making our classes inclusive communicates what the Body of Christ is about … loving and accepting one another. If we have separate classes, what will we do to show that they belong to the Body just as anyone else?
You’ll find a few more thoughts on the above question in the Bible Teacher’s Handbook of Frequently Asked Questions which also asks:
- How should the classroom be designed so it’s inclusive of students with special needs?
The handbook looks at 48 other issues related to Bible teaching, responding to a total of 153 questions.
Training Resource: Including Students with Special Challenges