Numerous books addressing topics related to religion, spirituality, and disability have been published over the past two decades. Search for books in this section.
Author(s): Malesa Breeding, Jerry E. Whitworth, Dana Hood, Jerry Whitworth It is said that everyone has a story to tell, a voice that deserves to be heard. There are many thousands of children with special needs who have long been ignored, rejected and excluded from our schools, our communities, and, sadly, from our Bible classes. We believe that these children are loved deeply and completely by our Lord and that they too are called to come unto Him. This book speaks to the heart and to the head. Teachers and pastors will find inspiration and information, reminding them that God calls us to include all children, no matter the challenge. In addition, the book includes wonderfully practical elements with many ideas that can be easily integrated into any classroom. By combining philosophy and strategies, this book will equip the typical church volunteer teacher to meet the needs of all the children in her classroom. Author(s): Ken Tada, Joni Eareckson Tada, Larry Libby This is the true love story of Joni and her husband of 30 years, Ken Tada. A love story showing what it truly means for a man and a woman to live in love … in sickness and in health. Even the honeymoon wasn’t easy. Did Ken realize what he was getting into when he proposed to Joni, a quadriplegic woman? As their marriage years moved on, Ken became increasingly overwhelmed by the never-ceasing demands of caring for Joni, who begins to experience chronic, extreme, nightmarish pain. Ken sinks into depression, and the couple finds themselves on parallel tracks in life, married and living under the same roof but drifting apart emotionally. But as they fight for their marriage and find their way through the mazes of depression and pain, they wrap their two lives around their rock—Jesus. During Ken’s denial of Joni’s diagnosis, and Joni’s thoughts of how wonderful a quick exit to heaven would be, they experience a personal visitation with the savior you will never forget. Author(s): Joni Eareckson Tada Created by the Joni and Friends Christian Institute on Disability, Beyond Suffering is a comprehensive course that gives an overview of the theological and practical underpinnings of the disability ministry movement. It will equip you to think critically, compassionately and clearly about the complex issues that impact people with disabilities and their families and to confidently bring them the love of Christ. Author(s): Benjamin T. Conner Nearly twenty percent of adolescents have developmental disabilities, yet far too often they are marginalized within churches. Amplifying Our Witness challenges congregations to adopt a new, practice-centered approach to congregational ministry -- one that includes and amplifies the witness of adolescents with developmental disabilities. Replete with stories taken from Benjamin Conner's own extensive experience with befriending and discipling adolescents with developmental disabilities, Amplifying Our Witness Author(s): John Koehler Bipolar by Koehler is a great read about a man that never gave up. With great gifts come great responsibility (quote from Spiderman). John Koehler is a unique gifted man who is humbled by seasonal depression. The first story of three elaborates John’s frustration as well as his tenacity for solving his own equation. It is hard not to be inspired by his journey. For those that suffer like John, it offers guidance and wisdom. Author(s): Emily Colson Meet a remarkable young man. Max doesn’t communicate like we do. But he communicates better than we do about the most important things. Max doesn’t think like we do. But his actions reflect deep spiritual truths. With candor and wit, Emily Colson shares about her personal battles and heartbreak when, as a suddenly single mother, she discovers her only child has autism. Emily illuminates the page with imagery—making you laugh, making you cry, inspiring you to face your own challenges. Chuck Colson, in his most personal writing since Born Again, speaks as a father and grandfather. It is a tender side Max brings out of his grandfather, a side some haven’t seen. As Emily recalls her experiences, we discover that Max’s disability does not so much define who he is, but reveals who we are. Dancing with Max is not a fairy tale with a magical ending. It’s a real life story of grace and second chances and fresh starts in spite of life’s hardest problems. And Max? Max will make you fall in love with life all over again, leaving you dancing with joy. Author(s): Paul M Powell From Autistic to Awesome is an inspiring account of the spiritual transformation one father undergoes as he seeks answers and healing for his autistic son. Paul M. Powell chronicles his journey from a would-be conqueror of his son's disability to someone with a deeper knowledge of how God can reveal His love through hardship.From Autistic to Awesome will inspire you to persevere through life's setbacks and to view them in a new way-as a key to discovering God's plan for your walk with Him. Along the way, From Autistic to Awesome discusses numerous real-life topics, such as: autism therapies and interventions, marriage and finances, education and advocacy, parent health, worship and more... Author(s): David Rizzo The Adaptive First Eucharist Kit will enable many people with autism and other special needs to participate fully in their faith, individuals who might not be able to receive the Eucharist. Author(s): Barbara J Newman Autism has evolved from an unfamiliar term to an everyday reality for millions of people. Bookstore shelves are filled with resources that address how Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects children and adults at school, work, and home. But what about the church? What about your church? How can it become a welcoming place for individuals and families affected by ASD? Autism and Your Church offers practical ways to welcome and include individuals with ASD into the full life of your congregation. This resource will enable church leaders to A reproducible resources section includes interview and permission forms, a coordinator s job description, a sample Individual Spiritual Formation Plan, and more. Author(s): Barbara J. Newman Children with special needs are part of God's family. This book gives you practical tips for helping students welcome children who have disabilities into their classes at church or at school. Chapters address specific conditions such as autism, visual and hearing impairments, emotional impairments, learning disabilities, language disorders, ADHD, and much more. Also included are guidelines for churches, sample lesson plans, and devotions for families. Author(s): Mark I. Pinsky Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion is a new publication by noted religion writer Mark I. Pinsky. Pinsky has gathered stories from churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples across the country, "stories of people with disabilities and the congregations where they have found welcome." He has taken special care to include the widest range of disabilities, including non-apparent disabilities like lupus, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, depression, and mental illness. There were 54 million American with disabilities as of 2000, and that number is now being swelled by wounded warriors from the Afghan and Iraq wars and an aging population. he author emphasizes that his purpose is to not to write a resource manual on accessibility and inclusion. Rather, Pinsky seeks to share stories of how people with disabilities have experienced their faith in the context of their disability, and how congregations have gained when they value the gifts that people with disabilities bring along. "This book," notes the author, "is for congregational leaders and others who may have no expertise or personal experience with disability, but who make the congregational decisions about accessibility and inclusion." Author(s): Susan Richardson Integrating children and teens with learning differences into church Author(s): Anne H. Harrell, MD Larry E. White, Katie Adams This is the inspiring true life story of an amazing child with disabilities who changed the world around her in profound ways. Told by her mother and beloved doctor, this story takes us from Cyndy's troubled birth, the incredible medical treatment and care given by a trusted doctor and staff and her entire family, to her heart rending death. Read the terrible story of the family losing (then regaining) their other children after Cyndy's death due to misinformed local authorities. Witness the deep and abiding faith that carried Anne and the family through the highs and lows and finding the blessed assurance of Cyndy, an unforgettable angel of God. Author(s): Jolene Philo Parenting can be difficult and tiring, especially when you have a special needs child with medical, behavioral, or educational issues. In Different Dream Parenting, author Jolene Philo offers guidance and encouragement through biblical insights and her own personal experiences. Find spiritual wisdom, practical resources, and tools that can help you become an extraordinary advocate for your child. Discover how you can move beyond the challenges and experience the joy of being your childs biggest and best supporter. Author(s): Amy Julia Becker An Honest, Hopeful Look at Unexpected Challenges Challenging surprises often lead to unexpected joy. Amy Julia opens eyes and softens hearts as she brings readers into her own story of disappointment turned to blessing. This is a journey of discovering strength through weakness, and the author learns to embrace the face that we are all dependent on God and one another. This books will inspire readers who appreciate beautiful writing coupled with deep insights about life and faith. "Amy Julia Becker has the courage and grace to tell the truth. Whether you are a parent or not, whether the children in your life are 'typical' or not, this story will shake you, change you, and encourage you."--Andy Crouch, author, Culture Making Author(s): Amos Yong A theologian whose life experience includes growing up alongside a brother with Down syndrome, Amos Yong in this book rereads and reinterprets biblical texts about human disability, arguing that the way we read biblical texts, not the Bible itself, is what causes us to marginalize persons with disabilities. Revealing and examining the underlying stigma of disability that exists even in the church, Yong shows how the Bible offers good news to people of all abilities — and he challenges churches to become more inclusive communities of faith. Author(s): Kathy Labosh Endorsed by religious leaders, this groundbreaking book offers a step-by-step lesson plan for family members, educators, and church staff—including scripted narratives, group activities, prayers, scripture readings, classroom setup guidance, lists of additional resources, and more. Each lesson is also accompanied by a Scripture Study for instructors to help them prepare for each class, where the author provides additional ideas and discussion questions. STUDENTS learn about: Creation PARENTS and TEACHERS learn: Autism Ministry This book is certified by the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur to be free of doctrinal or moral error. Author(s): Rud Turnbull Rud Turnbull's book describes the life of his son, Jay Turnbull, from the time he was born, in 1967, until he died, instantly and unexpectedly, in 2009. It describes the journeys their family travelled during the years in which rights for individuals were established and solidified - journeys that involved early intervention; institutionalization and de-institutionalization; public education; behavior modification and drug therapy; and life in a community in which the greatest safety nets were reliable allies, not governmental programs. Turnbull's book offers answers to two questions. First, how is it possible for a man with multiple disabilities to have a dignified life? Second, how is it possible for that man's father to give meaning to and come to peace with his son's death? The book is written in narrative (Jay's life from his birth to the day of his death) and in verse (his father's life from the day of death to the day of peace, two years later). Author(s): Linda Snyder, Audrey Scanlan Rhythms of Grace is a unique, innovative and cutting-edge program resource designed to meet the spiritual needs of children and families living with autism-spectrum disorders. Participant families gather monthly with program leaders and volunteers for sessions that are a hybrid of worship and faith formation. Rhythms of Grace helps children and their families feel at the center of a worship/formation experience that is specific to their needs and circumstances, rather than merely at the margins of even a conventionally inclusive program of worship or faith formation. The whole Rhythms of Grace curriculum consists of a 3-year syllabus of distinct scripture-based session plans. This volume, Year 1, includes complete plans for 12 monthly sessions and 6 feast sessions, as well as the background and support material needed to establish and conduct a successful program. Author(s): Kathleen Deyer Bolduc In the past two or three years, autism has garnered stories in TIME, Newsweek, and USA Today. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures, 1 in 150 American children have autism, and the numbers are growing daily (an increase of 13% over the past ten years). Difficult behaviors, a myriad of specialists, problems with schools, special diets this developmental disability turns a family's world upside-down. What is the role that faith plays in helping families cope? Is it possible to sing alleluia in the midst of a very real adversity? In this series of slice-of-life vignettes, God's grace glimmers through the shadows as Joel, an intellectually challenged teen with autism, teaches those who love him that walking the labyrinth of life requires childlike faith, humility, trust, compassion, forgiveness, and an attitude of openness to all of God s gifts. Author(s): Brett Webb-Mitchell A church has built an accessibility ramp and perhaps refitted its restrooms to accommodate a wheelchair. Now what? This new resource by a noted author of several books on people with disabilities offers a theological and practical approach for congregations, with clear, targeted strategies for full inclusion of all members, recognizing and using the gifts that each member brings to the congregations life together. Author(s): Marianne Leone Jesse Cooper was an honor-roll student who loved to windsurf and write poetry. He also had severe cerebral palsy and was quadriplegic, unable to speak, and wracked by seizures. He died suddenly at age seventeen. Author(s): Chad Judice, Trent Angers Waiting For Eli: A Father's Journey from Fear to Faith is a 176-page hardcover book about a Lafayette, La., couple and their infant son Eli who was born with a dreaded birth defect called spina bifida. It is an inspiring story of faith, hope and the power of prayer. The book takes us on an emotional roller coaster ride, starting with the day the author first learns of his son s medical condition. This moving story has a strong pro-life, pro-love message, and is made even more compelling by the author s descriptions of little miracles along the way. Author(s): Faye Knol Receiving David: The Gift of a Son Who Taught Us How to Live and Love Author(s): Joni Eareckson Tada Children with special needs often don't fit into typical children's church programs, resulting in frustration for parents, children and the churches themselves. And yet it is crucial that all children are given the opportunity to meet Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Joni and Friends meets this vital need by providing churches a comprehensive resource to help them reach out to children with different needs, including autism, cognitive brain disorders and physical disabilities. In this mini-library of 150 articles, you will learn how to recruit and train people, how to meet the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of all children, and how to help kids use their unique gifts to serve the Body of Christ. A DVD and reproducible CD are included. Author(s): Joni Eareckson Tada Author(s): Joe Ferrini, Cindi Ferrini A book by a husband and wife whose course in life changed with the birth of their first child. Unexpected Journey shares the life of a family where daily challenges became a way of life - caring for a child with special needs and parents in their declining years. It is written is small segments so that a caregiver can read when they have short moments of time. Each chapter shares a bit about the authors and their story, the story of people they interviewed, and then a section for the reader to answer questions that will reveal THEIR story. It can be read alone, or used as a group study. The 13 chapters lend itself to a quarter study. Author(s): Hans S. Reinders Receiving the Gift of Friendship: Profound Disability, Theological Anthropology, and Ethics Author(s): John E. Barone A Place for All opens a window into the challenging lives of children with neurological differences, the difficulties faced by the adults who work with them, and the shift in philosophy and methodology required for religious education professionals and volunteers to be able honestly to say, "There is a place for all in our community!" Author(s): Lisa Jamieson This is a book for anyone who has ever wanted to experience more love, hope, and joy. And for those in the midst of crisis, it presents life-changing opportunity. When a family is thrust into a life-altering reality autism, brain injury, cancer, multiple sclerosis, stroke, job loss, financial hardship, marriage breakdown, or other crisis the pain, uncertainty, and exhaustion can seem too much to bear. Sometimes the thorns in our lives even feel like torture. Many of us live in a tug-of-war of emotions and struggle to answer the tough questions of our faith. This book encourages people to come together in Christ-centered community and shows them how to find true nourishment among their thorns. It explores biblical truths to fill suffering souls with faith, hope, and joy discovering the many places where God s glory is revealed. Author(s): Amy Julia Becker Penelope Ayers is a memoir about a beautiful, gracious, lonely New Orleanian who discovers one February morning that she has cancer. Penny's life to this point has included an alcoholic husband, divorce, depression, and raising two boys on her own. And yet this crisis prompts her to reach out for help. Three generations of her fractured, colorful family respond, and in so doing, they all experience grace and healing. Set in pre-Katrina New Orleans, Penelope Ayers unfolds against the backdrop of one of the world's most vibrant cities. This story offers comfort and inspiration to anyone facing a life-threatening illness, and it will also appeal to individuals wrestling with questions for God, and about God, in the midst of difficult situations. Ultimately, it is a family story about the strong and tenuous nature of hope. Author(s): Erik W. Carter Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities: A Guide for Service Providers, Families, and Congregations Author(s): Nancy Mayer-Whittington For the Love of Angela is an inspirational memoir in which Nancy Mayer-Whittington recounts her experience of carrying and delivering her daughter, Angela, who died shortly after birth. The author focuses on how her Catholic faith saved her in these circumstances and how her relationship with Angela has changed and enriched her life. "This inspiring story of a mother's love for a child who could not live long dramatically reveals the feminine gift for self-sacrifice, for giving life no matter what the cost, and for affirming the value of each person, no matter how tiny. Mayer-Whittington's heroically feminine response to life is the true feminism the world so badly needs." Mary Ellen Bork, Catholic writer and speaker. Author(s): Nina Fuller Special Strength for Special Parents is an injection of 31 doses of spiritual therapy for parents who live in two worlds: the one with the rest of the world that doesn't understand. The second world is their universe. It is an all-consuming world of caring for a child who has needs unique to the majority of families in all the world. These parents often feel isolated and depleted, fatigued by the constant demand of having to be strong for others. The physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of these parents are extremely complicated. Special Strength for Special Parents provides spiritual therapy to those who need special care and healing of their own. Dr. H. Norman Wright, licensed Marriage, Family & Child Therapist, Professor and Author, says: "I will personally be using Nina Fuller's Special Strength for Special Parents in my own practice. This timely book addresses spiritual and emotional needs of families like no other. It will bring hope for the hurting and strength to families with unique challenges". Wes Yoder, President, Ambassador Speakers Bureau and Literary Agency states: "Nina Fuller has created a book for parents that is encouraging and life giving. Even though Special Strength for Special Parents is written especially for parents of children with special needs, any parent would be blessed to read the daily doses and reflect on the faithfulness of God." Author(s): Amos Yong While the struggle for disability rights has transformed secular ethics and public policy, traditional Christian teaching has been slow to account for disability in its theological imagination. Amos Yong crafts both a theology of disability and a theology informed by disability. The result is a Christian theology that not only connects with our present social, medical, and scientific understanding of disability but also one that empowers a set of best practices appropriate to our late modern context. Author(s): Cynthia Holder Rich, Martha Ross-Mockaitis A practical manual provides encouraging, vital information about how children with LD and ADHD are "wired" and gives you ideas and strategies for meeting their needs. Includes discussion questions, helpful websites, a bibliography, and much more. Author(s): Stephanie O. Hubach , Joni Eareckson Tada When the church attempts to function without all of its parts, the body of Christ becomes disabled. Same Lake, Different Boat is a transformational work--designed to renew our minds to think biblically about disability in order that our lives, our relationships, and our congregations might wholly reflect Christ. Author(s): John Wessells Sensitive reflections on discovering God in life's challenges Author John Wessells and his wife, Gail, are cofounders of Precious Oil Ministries, an outreach to head-injury patients and their families. Through their ministry---and after losing a young son to cancer---the Wessells have learned to ask very difficult questions about life, love, health, suffering, tragedy, and God. In his work with the comatose, Wessells has found that the voiceless have some crucial, direct, and clarifying things to tell us about our questions. Often during his life on earth, Jesus avoided giving answers and instead offered love. The voiceless ones---the poor, the suffering, infants, prisoners, and the terminally ill---speak for God. Their words to us, like Christ's, are often impractical, inconvenient, and unpredictable. Yet above all, they are a relief. This book is about asking the unanswerable questions and letting them draw you closer to your Lord and Savior. Author(s): Joni Eareckson-Tada Jesus told us to reach out to everyone-and that includes children with special needs and their families. Here are true, inspirational stories from families who share the struggles and successes of parenting children with special needs. Special Needs-Special Ministry is a practical, real-world guide to help you! Learn from the successes and failures of churches with special-needs programs; launch or further develop a special-needs ministry; and gain insight from experts in the field: Pat Verbal (a gifted leader, speaker, teacher, and founder of Ministry to Today's Child), Louise Tucker Jones (award-winning author and inspirational speaker) and more! Author(s): Jim Pierson "Is there a child with a learning disability who wants to be part of your Sunday school class or youth group? Jim Pierson's Exceptional Teaching will relieve your misgivings and allow every child to participate. He explains the characteristics of 77 special needs diagnoses, and identifies challenges, appropriate teaching and discipline methods, and realistic expectations. Includes wonderful true stories of ""exceptional"" lives." Author(s): Kimberly Winston Faith is easy when everything is going our way, but when suffering and an overwhelming sense of loss visit us? Winston tells the stories of several devout believers in faith healing who maintained their faith while awaiting a miracle that didn't come, and attained greater compassion and empathy as the fruit of their misfortunes. Theirs are heartbreaking tales of misplaced faith and the pain caused by the zealousness of false prophets, and many will shed tears of righteous anger at the needless suffering of innocent children, no matter how well intentioned were their faith-healing parents and guardians. Offering no judgments, Winston allows the stories to speak for themselves. She also presents a brief history of faith healing, from biblical times and texts to the televangelizing of Oral Roberts and Jimmy Swaggart, and comments on the Jewish healing movement, which looks to 6,000 years of Jewish tradition for wisdom. Despite its dark subject matter, this slim volume is an inspirational triumph, powerfully appealing to those who have experienced sorrow and tragedy. June Sawyers Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Author(s): Jennifer Rothschild, Beth Moore At the age of fifteen, Jennifer Rothschild confronted two unshakable realities: Blindness is inevitable ... and God is enough. Now this popular author, speaker, and recording artist offers poignant lessons that illuminate a path to freedom and fulfillment. With warmth, humor, and insight,Jennifer shares the guiding principles she walks by -- and shows you how to walk forward by faith into God's marvelous light. Author(s): Christopher De Vinck, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Fred Rogers Christopher De Vinck's moving account of his life with his brother made a deep impression on the hearts and minds of Americans. Due to a tragedy at birth, Oliver de Vinck was born severely handicapped—blind, mute, crippled, helpless. Despite the doctors' bleak prognosis, his loving parents took him home, where they and their children cared for him. He lived for thirty-three years. Author(s): Kathleen Bolduc In this practical handbook, the author described how to welcome and minister to families of children with disabilities. The author discusses theology and disability, the grief porcess some parents experience, and the impact of disabilities on family systems. Author(s): Kathleen Deyer Bolduc Author Kathleen Deyer Bolduc welcomes the reader into the world inhabited by a parent of a child with a disability to experience with her the moments of despair, the joy of resplendent victories, and the redemptive presence of God in the midst of deep personal questioning. The book is at once affirming and dares to speak the truth: When disability strikes parents and families grieve. Her account affirms that God is loving and provides us with the strength to face the darkest hours, bringing us to a place of greater compassion, love and joy. Author(s): Joni Eareckson Tada Step back a moment, focus your eyes of faith, and then come with Joni into a world you’ve heard about from your youth but have never seen: heaven. You just might discover that heaven is closer--and more real--than you’ve ever thought. In this joyful best-seller, Joni Eareckson Tada paints a shining portrait of our heart’s true home. Joni talks about what heaven will be like, what we’ll do, and whom we’ll see. She shows how heaven will be the satisfaction of all that our hearts cry for, something more real than anything this side of eternity. And Joni tells how we can prepare now for the reality of heaven. With hope for today and vision for those who struggle in life, Heaven invites us to a refreshing and faith-filled picture of our glorious destination. Once you’ve caught a glimpse of heaven, you’ll see earth in a whole new light. Author(s): Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Estes It's easy to trust God when things are going our way and the world makes sense. But when suffering strikes--especially seemingly senseless suffering--we are filled with doubt and stunned by events spiraling beyond our control. In the midst of suffering, we often question the very foundation of our faith--our belief in the God who says he loves us. Since our trust and obedience rest on God's character, the questions that life's tragedies force us to face are difficult, even frightening. Who is God? Can he really be trusted? What are his purposes in the face of suffering? If he can stop suffering, why doesn't he? Joni Eareckson Tada, a woman who has lived in a wheelchair for more than thirty years, and Steve Estes, a pastor and one of Joni's closest friends, explore the answers. When God Weeps is not so much a book about suffering as it is about God. It tackles tough questions about heaven and hell, horrors and hardships, and why God allows suffering in this life. Through a panoramic overview of what the Bible says about suffering, the authors make clear who God is, why he permits so much heartache and pain, and how it is we can trust him. With both a practical edge and heartfelt warmth, When God Weeps offers dependence on his love and mercy in spite of our doubts, fears, longings, and questions. It's a message much needed. Despair and discouragement are rampant. At the same time, fewer people are able to balance God's purposes and his mercies. Instead, attempting to avoid tragedy and suffering, many Christians confuse simple formulas for faith. But where does that leave the family who loses a son on a military mission? Or the young mother who isn't healed of cancer? When God Weeps is for people like these . . . and for thousands more who need more -- much more -- than answers. Author(s): Rosemarie S. CookLet All the Little Children Come to Me
Joni and Ken: An Untold Love Story
Beyond Suffering Study Guide
Amplifying Our Witness: Giving Voice to Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities
Shows how churches exclude the mentally disabled in various structural and even theological ways
Stresses the intrinsic value of kids with developmental disabilities
Reconceptualizes evangelism to adolescents with developmental disabilities, emphasizing hospitality and friendship.
Bipolar by Koehler
Dancing with Max: A Mother and Son Who Broke Free
From Autistic to Awesome: A Journey of Spiritual Growth through Life with My Special-Needs Child
The Adaptive First Eucharist Preparation Kit
Autism and Your Church: Nurturing the Spiritual Growth of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- appreciate those with ASD as persons created in God s image
- learn about six common areas of difference in individuals with ASD.
- discover ten strategies for including people with ASD in the life of your church.
- develop an action plan for ongoing ministry with children and adults who have ASD.
Helping Kids Include Kids With Disabilities
Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion
Child by Child: Supporting Children with Learning Differences and Their Families
programs is a growing priority for nearly all congregations, large and
small, yet many feel ill-equipped to “manage” those with special needs
in their classrooms, programs and worship.
This new guidebook for churches is designed to help integrate children
and teens with learning differences—and their families—into the fabric
of everyday church life. A useable on-the-ground resource for church
leaders with specific suggestions, samples, and processes for adapting
curricula, training volunteers, and supporting parents and caregivers, this
guide is grounded in theological principles for the inclusion of people with
disabilities in the life of a congregation. It begins by focusing on human
relationships instead of programs. Expanding the church’s awareness
and understanding of inclusion is done with respect and achieved
by extending the gospel of welcome to all. An extensive annotated
bibliography of support materials is included.
Cyndy’s Blessed Assurance
Different Dream Parenting: A Practical Guide to Raising a Child with Special Needs
Good and Perfect Gift, A: Faith, Expectations, and a Little Girl Named Penny
The Bible, Disability, and the Church: A New Vision of the People of God
The Child with Autism Learns about Faith
Adam & Eve
Temptation
Cain & Abel
Noah
Abraham
Isaac & Rebekah
Jacob
Joseph
Moses
Passover
Class Setup
How Kids Learn
How to Prepare
How to Teach
And more!
The Exceptional Life of Jay Turnbull: Disability and Dignity in America 1967-2009
Rhythms of Grace Year 1: Worship and Faith Formation for Children and Families with Special Needs
Autism & Alleluias
Beyond Accessibility: Toward Full Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Faith Communities
Knowing Jesse: A Mother’s Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss
In fiercely honest, surprisingly funny, and sometimes heartbreaking prose, Jesse’s mother, Marianne Leone, chronicles her transformation by the remarkable life and untimely death of her child. An unforgettable memoir of joy, grief, and triumph, Knowing Jesse unlocks the secret of unconditional love and speaks to all families who strive to do right by their children.
Waiting for Eli: A Father’s Journey from Fear to Faith
Receiving David: The Gift of a Son Who Taught Us How to Live and Love
Special Needs Smart Pages: Advice, Answers and Articles About Teaching Children with Special Needs
A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty
Unexpected Journey: When Special Needs Change Our Course
Receiving the Gift of Friendship: Profound Disability, Theological Anthropology, and Ethics
A Place for All: Ministry for Youth with Special Needs
Finding Glory in the Thorns: Hope & Purpose in Life’s Painful Seasons
Is a medical diagnosis, job loss, financial crisis, or other challenge threatening to change your life or steal your dreams? Do you wonder if your life will ever be normal again? Do you sense that a gift lingers in your crisis? Are you overwhelmed with the need for joy or rest?
Penelope Ayers: A Memoir
Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities: A Guide for Service Providers, Families, and Congregations
For the Love of Angela
Special Strength for Special Parents: 31 Days of Spiritual Therapy for Parents of Children with Special Needs
Theology and Down Syndrome: Reimagining Disability in Late Modernity
Learning Disabilities and the Church: Including All God’s Kids in Your Education and Worship
Same Lake, Different Boat: Coming Alongside People Touched by Disability
Conversations with the Voiceless: Finding God’s Love in Life’s Hardest Questions
Special Needs, Special Ministry
Exceptional Teaching: A Comprehensive Guide for Including Students with Disabilities
Faith Beyond Faith Healing: Finding Hope After Shattered Dreams
Lessons I Learned in the Dark: Steps to Walking by Faith, Not by Sight
The Power of the Powerless: A Brother’s Legacy of Love
A Place Called Acceptance, Ministry with Families of Children with Disabilities
His Name Is Joel: Searching for God in a Son’s Disability
Heaven
When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty
Counseling Families of Children With Disabilities