How should we handle “Special Needs” in Junior High Ministry (2)

I want to continue on with our look at “Special Needs” in Junior High Ministry.  Last week we talked about “Special Needs” in general. Today I would like to talk a little bit about the opportunities  and options we have to meet the needs of our special needs students.

In ministry we can work with as many different special needs as there are in our community or local schools.  There are a couple reasons some of us as leaders don’t see a lot of special needs students in our ministries.

1.  Parents don’t know that their handicapped or special needs students are welcome in our ministries.

Parents love their children.  They want to know that they are cared for at all times.  Many parents do not want to send their students to a class or ministry for the first time unless they have some reason to believe that their child will be welcome, safe, and cared for.

This is all about communication.  In some churches they offer a special needs class.   This is a special class where these students are separate from the regular class and ministered to on more of a one on one basis.  In other churches these students are “mainstreamed.”  There is no perfect answer for every situation, but the fact is simple that we need to provide the best ministry options for our students that we possibly can.  In some situations this may mean we need to have different students in different situations.

Communication is key!

2.  Nobody has ever invited them.

Just like any person who is not connected with a local church, a family with a special needs student needs an invitation.  People will come and check out a church if we invite them.  In this situation a person may be even more inclined to check out your church if they know upfront that their is a place for their child.  Whether it is an invitation from a paid minister or a regular attender of the church does not matter.  These people just need to be invited.

Many parents understand that their child needs extra attention and time.  They think this could be a burden to place on a ministry.  Like we talked about in my last post.  Parents will be excited to know that you want their child to attend your ministry, and you welcome them with open arms.

3.  We aren’t very welcoming.

If a parent drops a special needs student off at your class or service and one of your volunteers starts to freak out and say, “Oh no what are we going to do?”  This is not very welcoming.  This lets the parent know that you are unprepared to minister to them and their child.  It also singles the child out in a way to make them feel unwelcome.  Even in difficult situations we need to have our volunteers ready to handle any situation with love an respect.  Reassure your volunteers that God will take care of us.  It will all be fine.

Make sure people feel welcome when they arrive.  We only get one chance at a first impression, and a first impression can turn into a reputation very fast.

In our next post I would like to talk about some situations you may face in ministry involving “Special Needs.”  Thanks for reading!