At Ministry Architects, we’ve worked with over 1,000 churches, and, inevitably, this is THE most frequently asked question. Based on all that we’ve seen and come to understand about what helps support a sustainable ministry, we’ve developed some norms. These numbers are just a way to compare some numbers from your church with the same numbers in other churches. 

Before taking a closer look, here are a few important notes you will want to keep in mind as you consider where your church lands amongst this data:

1. These numbers are an average from the churches we have worked with all across the country. Our work with congregations of all shapes and sizes and in a variety of contexts has helped inform our norms. Whether your church is small or large, set in an urban, suburban, or rural setting, homogeneous or diverse, somewhere in this data is a church that looks like you.
   
   
2. These numbers are not a clear indicator of health or sustainability in your ministry but are hoped to serve as a baseline for comparison and a starting place, when considering investing fresh attention to a ministry. If your church falls outside of these norms and you still have a thriving ministry, that’s to be celebrated! And we would suggest there are variables outside these norms that are contributing to that health.
   
   
3. These numbers enable you to have more conversations about your unique needs and circumstances, and make adjustments accordingly. As you look at these numbers, especially the budget numbers, remember that the cost of living varies widely across the country. For example, if you are in New York City, you may not be able to run a ministry on the same budget that a church in Bryan, Texas can. But by looking at these norms and comparing them to your own church’s numbers, you can learn how you compare to the national average and use that information when discussing the distribution of resources in your specific community.
   
   
4. These numbers have lasted through the pandemic – and are applicable to your church right now. Ministry Architects exists to support healthy systems and innovative change for the future of the church. And in a world that’s ever changing, we know how important it is for content and resources to be relevant and useful right here, right now. Including the useful information you’re about to discover.

Children’s Ministry Norms

Youth Ministry Norms

Church-wide Norms

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If the goal in Family Ministry is to help parents train up children who, as adults, are making disciples on their own, it may feel at times that it’s just wishful thinking and hopeful praying. 

It can definitely seem overwhelming when a parent is cradling a newborn and trying to imagine what that child will be like as a young adult. Whether it’s picturing them on the mission field, leading friends to Christ, or even guiding their own family spiritually one day, uncertainty begins to creep in. Parents soon realize, children don’t just grow into spiritual champions, do they?

No, they do not. In fact, there’s something in the Bible about training them up. But many parents feel they don’t know enough about the Bible to lead spiritually. They begin thinking about how they didn’t see discipleship modeled in their own childhood home and, frankly, don’t want to try because they don’t want to fail.

Family Ministry Leaders, it’s our job to help our parents see that they can, indeed, complete the job God has given them.

The end goal can be difficult to imagine when all a parent can see in the present is their kid constantly getting pennies stuck up their nose. So it’s our job to help. We need to give parents identifiable markers to aim for at each stage of their child’s spiritual life. 

One approach for this good work is the Four Stages of Family Discipleship:

When parents view their job of training up their children in bite-size goals, it becomes a little more clearer, as well as attainable. In fact, it can be very rewarding to look at a chart like this and see, “Oh, I’m already doing this and that. And we’re already on Stage 3 with this goal!”  

Something to take note of in this chart is that it doesn’t start off with the spiritual aspect. This is important because building a strong house in Stages 2-4 requires the foundation of a healthy relationship in Stage 1. You can’t really do the last three stages if you’re not spending time together, having meaningful conversations, and if you don’t have consistent expectations. Some families will feel great that they’re already ahead in the charts, while others will see Stage 1 as a healthy wake-up call.

The Four Stages of Family Discipleship puts the responsibility on the parents, where it belongs, and we, as family ministry leaders, get to support by providing resources and strategies along the way.

For a generation that was mostly dropped off at church and who needs to relearn what discipleship in the home can look like, a model, such as this, can be a gift and a relief. To see a process that’s broken down into manageable parts doesn’t take away from the role of the Holy Spirit, but offers a way for families to experience measurable success and easy wins.

Interested in reading more about family ministry?
Check out Family Ministry Matters!

Kevin Allen studied Christian Theatre at Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal, Missouri and received his Master of Arts in Theology from SWBTS in Fort Worth, Texas. He’s served in churches that have been small to mega and is currently the Pastor to Children and Young Families at First Baptist Church of Stephenville, Texas.  He loves (most) activities with his family like camping, games, and movie nights.  Kevin is available for speaking, coaching, or just plain brain-storming! Email him at KevinFamilyMin@gmail.com to get connected!

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Read each statement and determine how true it is for your church or ministry. Then, add up your points to learn just how full and fulfilled your volunteers are:

100% true 5 points

Mostly true 4 points

Somewhat true 3 points

Mostly untrue 2 points

Not true at all 1 point

1. Our roster of volunteers is 90% full at any given time.
2. We know exactly which volunteer positions need to be filled right now.
3. We follow the same tried and true strategy for recruiting volunteers each year and across all departments.
4. All volunteers are trained and know what their responsibilities are.
5. Our volunteer structure includes leaders and leaders of leaders.
6. Our volunteers are growing in their roles and some stay in the same role for years.
7. Each volunteer has a job description that is updated each year.
8. We have a plan for when a volunteer doesn’t show up.
9. We know that at least 90% of our volunteers are living into their God-given gifts and talents in their volunteering.
10. When a volunteer position opens up, we have a list of people to contact.

Add up your score to see how you’re doing. And remember: no matter where you land, we’d love to hear about it! Sign up for a free coaching call to learn a couple of quick action steps that are guaranteed to get results.

10-15  – You most likely are feeling the pressure of running ministries without adequate volunteer support.

In addition to doing most of the work yourself, you may find yourself scrambling to find help at the last minute. Most likely, you are feeling desperate, discouraged, and exhausted. You are ready for significant change. Many churches have found relief from this stress through our volunteer matching tool, The Volunteer Accelerator. Sign up for a free demo today to see if it can help you, too. 

15-25 – You are experiencing the pressure of week-to-week volunteer recruiting.

You’ve got a couple of volunteers you can count on but you’re also spending several hours each week filling in the gaps. You most likely call on the same faces over and over which might have your volunteers feeling tired and wondering when they can take a break. You need a strategy that gets you out of the cycle of weekly recruiting and back to running a life-giving ministry. We recommend that you consider signing up for our four-week Volunteer Intensive. You will learn and implement a tried-and-true system for getting all the volunteers you need.

25-40 – You’ve got some volunteers you know you can rely on, and many of them are feeling fulfilled in their roles.

Occasionally, you’ve got some last-minute recruiting to do but, for the most part, volunteers are recruited, trained, and deployed into life-giving roles. If you don’t have a clearly defined system for recruiting that includes a list of potential volunteers to call when you have an opening, we recommend you download our volunteer megaboard with instructions to help you find all the volunteers you need.

40-50  – You’re probably feeling pretty confident about your volunteer situation, your teams are full – or close, and your volunteers are fulfilled in their roles.

If this is you, we’d love to meet you and share a couple of actionable steps that will help you continue strengthening the sustainability of your ministry.  Click this link to be connected with a coach who is ready to talk about volunteers.

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Suddenly, you realize … it’s time. There’s no turning back. Everyone is watching. Come on, you can do this! Don’t chicken out. Just get in, buckle up, and pray…

It’s time for the young adults fall launch.

I’ve journeyed in ministry with young adults* for 15 years and I experience the same feelings every year when the calendar hits mid-August. I feel like a wide-eyed teenager standing in line to board a roller coaster. This isn’t your average roller coaster, either. It’s a stand up, faster-than-the-speed-of-light, multi-loop ride that seems to laugh at the laws of physics. Every year it’s exhilarating, overwhelming, and sometimes it upsets my equilibrium (and my stomach).

And every time I think I’ve mastered the ride, I’m proven wrong. I’ve learned it varies from year to year, sometimes from semester to semester. But the one certain thing about reaching young adults is this: it’s uncertain and unpredictable.

That being said, I have learned that there are a few “best practices” when preparing and queuing for the fall roller coaster ride with young adults. 

Disclaimer (imagine this is in fine print): This list is not comprehensive nor do I believe that everything on this list will be useful for reaching young adults in your context. Think of these as a bit of sustenance to help you prepare for the fall launch (sort of like a gloriously greasy amusement park funnel cake). Much like amusement park food, you’re advised to consume this list at your own risk.

1. Don’t you forget about me!

(Shout out to all of the Gen X’ers who got that pop culture reference!) 

First and foremost, stay connected with young adults throughout the summer season. Yes, schedules change over the summer and many students and young adults leave the area. They may even be prone to forgetting about you for several weeks. (Remember that phrase, “out of sight, out of mind?”)

Let them know that you certainly have not forgotten about them! Find ways to stay connected using social media, groupme, and other means. Many young adults are completely “zoomed out” but they often are willing to chat, text, or exchange memes. Host meme contests or incentivize posting pics of themselves wearing your ministry’s t-shirt on a road trip. Challenge them to share images of themselves serving in ministry – wherever they may be this summer. They’re more likely to show up and connect in the fall if you’ve stayed connected over the summer.

2. Not everyone leaves!

Some students and young adults will stay around your area this summer (and you might be able to even meet some new folks who are in the area for the summer). 

Offer a few low-key get-togethers and maximize what the summer season has to offer. Consider hosting a campfire or fire pit hang. Gather on someone’s patio for brunch. Meet up and visit your closest farmers’ market together. Find a slip-and-slide or kiddie pool and have some fun! Ask your young adults how they’d like to stay connected this summer (both in person and via technology). Get your leaders involved in the fun and the planning.

3. Speaking of leaders

Intentionally schedule some quality time with your leaders this summer. You may have a well-established team that functions like a well-oiled machine, or a loosely connected team that resembles the land of misfit toys. Either way, get your leaders together over the summer, if at all possible. Plan some fun, mid-summer connection time then go ahead and plan a leadership retreat about a month later, in mid-August (or early fall). Focus on strengthening relationships and building key leadership muscles.

4. Connect with young adults you haven’t met (yet)

Use your networks and detective skills to find out names and information for young adults who may be coming to your area this fall. Contact these students this summer using direct message, email, or text (if appropriate). Invite them to kick-off events. Offer to meet for coffee when they arrive. Connect them with an older student in your ministry (peer mentoring is an amazing thing!) Let them know that a supportive and vibrant community is waiting to meet them!

5. Clean up your calendar

We get it – it’s highly likely that you’re trying to breathe at the moment and you’re triaging many important matters. However, if possible, try to spend some quality time with your fall calendar. Schedule those regularly occurring events that you can anticipate and automate, and leave space for new ideas. Many campuses require space reservations ahead of time, so if you want to reserve spaces on campus, figure out when and how to do that (and ask about their cancellation policies). 

Our calendars can be amazing truth tellers. They can let us know when we’re over scheduled, they can tell us when we need to pace ourselves, and they’re good at predicting when we’ll be prone to burn out. They also can let us know when we might have space for joyful creativity!

6. Go where the young adults are! 

Lets face it, whether we realize it or not, many of us expect our young adults to come to us, in our spaces and on our terms. We need to change our mindset. The fall season is dripping with opportunities and it’s a rich invitation to enter into spaces where young adults gather in their “natural habitats.”

So, get out of your office and work in local coffee shops. Figure out where your young adults gather and meet them there. Remember that it’s important to be an authentic version of yourself in these spaces. Young adults will sense inauthenticity immediately and it’s typically a turn off.

7. Pivot!! 

Ross, Chandler and Rachel were right: sometimes, you need to pivot! You can plan on one thing when you’re in ministry with young adults and that’s the reality that things often will not go according to plan. The aforementioned suggestions matter (and preparation matters) but remember that circumstances and plans often will change. Trust yourself, trust your leaders, and, most of all, trust the Holy Spirit! Wonderful things can happen when we pivot.

8. Know your local resources

Most of us are well aware of the mental and emotional health challenges facing many of our young adults. Truth be told, this item should have been listed first. I cannot overstate the importance of developing relationships with local therapists and familiarizing yourself with mental health resources in your area. Learn everything you can about journeying with traumatized young adults. Find trainings and attend them (and attend with your leaders, if possible). Prioritize this. You will need these resources and this knowledge.

Here are some helpful resources to get you started:

• National Institute of Mental Health: Find Help
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Find Treatment
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention: People Seeking Help

9. You’re not alone

Ministry with young adults can be really hard. We know that’s quite the understatement. Just as we remind our young people that they are not alone, please remember that you are not alone. Take care of yourself! Your ministry will only be healthy if its leaders are healthy. Reach out to those around you and reach out to us at Ministry Architects as you need support.

Whether you’re looking for coaching, a friendly cohort, or just some free resources, start with a Free 30-minute Coaching Call and get the support you need.

10. I have to add a number ten for reaching young adults

Who creates a list of nine “important things you should know?” Who makes a “top nine list?” No one does that. So, here’s my tenth and final nugget of wisdom: remember to laugh.

This journey of ministry is supposed to be joyful. Laugh at yourself sometimes. Life is too serious to take it too seriously. Also, God is funny. If you need proof, look at the duck-billed platypus. Seriously, take a moment and go look. Ok, my work is done here. You’re welcome.

*The term “young adult” can be used to describe persons ranging from 18-30(ish). For the purposes of this post, I’m going to use this term to describe people who are college-aged and right out of college (age 18 to mid 20-something).

The post 10 Tips for Riding the Roller Coaster of Reaching Young Adults appeared first on Ministry Architects.

In youth ministry, we work with four different norms:

• Attendance
• Staffing
• Budget
• Volunteers

As you look at these numbers and compare them to your church’s numbers, remember that this data represents an average of hundreds of churches from all across the country. There are many factors that influence why your church looks the way it does and why your numbers may vary. Some of the most common variables are cost of living, complexity of programming, number of programs, number of monthly and yearly events, and church culture. 

ATTENDANCE: How We Count

We define ‘youth’ to include all young people who are in middle school through high school. To help you understand how we count the number of engaged youth, consider this example of Made Up Church. The weekly youth attendance of Made Up Church includes the following numbers:

– 20 youth each Sunday in Youth Group
– 35 youth each Wednesday in small groups
– 15 youth each Sunday sit in worship but don’t participate in any other program

At Ministry Architects, we like to count unique faces. That means, if a youth goes to youth group and is in a small group every week – they only count once. Not twice. And if a youth only attends worship, but hasn’t yet attended youth group or small group, they, too, count. So, any youth who participates in the life of the church in some way is included in this number. But we only count them once, no matter how many times they are at the church in a given week.

ATTENDANCE: What “should” our youth attendance be?

When considering “what’s normal,” in terms of how many youth are involved in the life of your church, the average number we have seen is 10% of the worshipping congregation. This means that the best youth ministry statistics say that for every 100 weekly worshippers, you should have around 10 youth participating in the life of the church in some way.

VOLUNTEERS: How many volunteers are involved in the average church’s youth ministry?

This norm has stood the test of time. Over the years, we have consistently seen an average of one adult volunteer for every five youth involved in the church in some way.

STAFFING: How many paid staff are devoted to youth ministry?

Churches typically hire the equivalent of one full-time staff person for every 50 youth involved in the church in some way. Staffing configurations can take on different forms. But we count the average number of staff hours the church is investing in youth ministry.

BUDGET: What’s the average financial investment for a youth ministry?

Budget numbers have increased over the years with churches reporting, on average, that they are investing $1,500 per youth per year. This number includes staff salaries and benefits as well as the entire program budget for the year. So, if you have 50 youth participating in the life of the church in some way, this norm would inform the youth ministry budget be at least $75,000 to support maintaining that level of engagement.

What’s next?

If you’ve seen something you would like to talk more about or if you have questions about moving your church from where you are to where you want to be, we’d love to know! Just send an email to info@ministryarchitects.com and one of our consultants will contact you.

The post Youth Ministry Norms appeared first on Ministry Architects.

In children’s ministry, we work with four different norms:

• Attendance
• Staffing
• Budget
• Volunteers

As you look at these numbers and compare them to your church’s numbers, remember that this data represents an average of hundreds of churches from all across the country. There are many factors that influence why your church looks the way it does and why your numbers may vary. Some of the most common variables are cost of living, complexity of programming, number of programs, number of monthly and yearly events, and church culture.

ATTENDANCE: How We Count

We define ‘child’ to include all young people who are newborns through elementary ages. To help you understand how we count the number of children engaged, consider this example of Made Up Church. The weekly children’s attendance of Made Up Church includes the following numbers:

– 20 children each Sunday in Sunday school
– 35 children each Wednesday in children’s choir practice
– 15 children each Sunday sit in worship with their families but don’t participate in any other program

At Ministry Architects, we like to count unique faces. That means, if a child goes to Sunday school and children’s choir every week – they only count once. Not twice. And if a child only attends worship, but hasn’t yet attended Sunday school or children’s choir, they, too, count. So, any child who participates in the life of the church in some way is included in this number. But we only count them once, no matter how many times they are at the church in a given week.

ATTENDANCE: What “should” our children’s attendance be?

When considering “what’s normal,” the average number we have seen is 15% of the worshipping congregation. Therefore, for every 100 weekly worshippers, the average church has around 15 children participating in the life of the church in some way. In determining these children’s ministry statistics, we have seen percentages as low as 7% and as high as 35%. But in reviewing current numbers with recent clients’ churches, the average still settles around 15%.

VOLUNTEERS: How many volunteers are involved in the average church’s children’s ministry?

We know that every responsible children’s ministry has ratio targets that are different for each age group. However, we found that the best way for us to name a national norm is to look at the overall volunteer ratio for children from birth through elementary grades. Because churches use different rotation models, we standardized this for our children’s ministry statistics by looking at the average number of volunteers serving during any given week. That means that whether volunteers are serving once a month or once a week didn’t impact this number. We were simply looking at volunteer attendance numbers and children’s attendance numbers. On average, churches are seeing one volunteer for every five children attending each week. 

STAFFING: How many paid staff are devoted to children’s ministry?

The current trend we’re seeing is that churches are investing more in their children’s ministry staff than they have, historically. The average ratio of staff to children across the country is the equivalent of one full-time staff member for every 70 children.

BUDGET: What’s the average financial investment for a children’s ministry?

Budget numbers have increased by about 10% as well. Currently, churches are reporting, on average, that they are investing $1,100 per child per year. This number doesn’t include paid nursery workers or babysitters, but it does include staff salaries and benefits as well as the entire program budget for the year. So if you have 50 children participating in the life of the church in some way, this norm would inform the children’s ministry budget be at least $55,000 to support maintaining that level of engagement.

What’s next?

If you’ve seen something you would like to talk more about or if you have questions about moving your church from where you are to where you want to be, we’d love to know! Just send an email to info@ministryarchitects.com and one of our consultants will contact you.

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No, I’m not talking about prom-posals, or college acceptance letters.

But, it’s that same existential dread that sometimes stops me from pursuing volunteer recruitment with all my heart. As spring approaches, and I’m making plans for next year’s programs, I know that I’ll need to start asking folks to join the team and partner with our church’s youth ministry. It’s daunting. That empty recruiting board seems to taunt me.

At Ministry Architects, there are a ton of free resources to help you develop the systems to organize your recruitment. Yet, even when I have a system in place, there is also some hard work that has to be done in my own heart to prepare for and truly tackle recruiting volunteers.

1) Pray.

We love the children and youth in our ministries. We long for other adults in the church to volunteer with the ministry so that they can also see how amazing these young people are. God longs for the same thing! We can pray for God’s provision of the right folks to come alongside and volunteer. Prayer also reminds us that this work we’re going to do – emails, phone calls, meetings – isn’t about us, it’s about trusting that God moves hearts.

2) Remember: It’s not personal…

The hardest part of volunteer recruitment is bracing for the rejection. For every person who says they’d love to help, there are probably 3 more who already said no. My heart skips a beat when a new email pops up from someone I’ve asked to consider volunteering. “Did they say yes or no??”

Even when we logically know that those rejections are about the other person’s time availability, giftedness, or ministry interests, hearing “no” to our emails, calls, and conversations over and over can feel like a personal rejection.

So remember: it’s not you, it’s the Spirit at work in people’s lives that will move them to say yes or no to a call!

3)   … But make it personal.

Individual emails and calls will always go infinitely farther than a blanket statement in a newsletter or a bulletin. I can count on one hand the number of newsletter volunteer requests I’ve responded to. Typically, when I’ve volunteered for something, it’s because an individual person sent me a personalized note, telling me why I am the person needed for a role.

Even when you don’t personally know the individual well, you can always name drop your common acquaintance: “Miss Nancy told me that you’d be a GREAT Sunday school teacher!” It’s even more meaningful when it’s a youth who gave you the recommendation!

4) Stick to it.

Recruiting volunteers is a marathon, and never a sprint. Ask someone who’s run a marathon, and they’ll tell you about the weeks and months of training leading up to the race, and the perseverance it took, even on rainy and snowy days. Volunteer recruitment — not to mention development, training, and support — is never a quick job that’ll be wrapped up in a day. You might send 10 emails today, have 5 phone calls next week, and get 1 yes from that group. (I might be exaggerating a LITTLE bit.) And then you’ll start again to get the next yes.

Through that perseverance, all of the above steps will repeat themselves. As you wait, pray. As you send personalized invitations, don’t take the no’s personally. And then, do it all again.

Finally, trust that God will work in this process! God will bring the right folks to walk alongside your children and youth, even if they’re different people than you first imagined. God will remind you to trust in His provision and His love for His children.

Now, go forth and recruit!  

Some bonus Volunteer Recruitment resources and links!

Building Your Volunteer Team: 30-Day Change

Sample Youth Ministry Volunteer Recruiting Template

Volunteer Recruitment Process and Script

Volunteer Megaboard Template

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★ Reaching Millennials & Reimagining Young Adult Ministry ★

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The question I want to ponder in this blog is: What exactly would it look like to be meaningfully included in a faith community?

I want to start with what it does not look like:

It doesn’t look like people avoiding eye contact. It doesn’t look like being forgotten about or minimized to just the state of my physical body.

Not being meaningfully included is like the scene in Mark 2. Many of you know the story of the paralyzed man who was lowered through a roof to meet Jesus.

Something I didn’t realize until recently is that it wasn’t stairs blocking the man from meeting Jesus and being a part of something world changing. In fact, scripture clearly states it was a crowd blocking him. A crowd of people, unaware and uninterested, blocking this man from a potential that was unimaginable.

For people with disabilities to feel accepted, welcomed and desired it takes a few of those people in that crowd to become a community. When the crowd stops standing in the way and begins working together true transformation happens.

In my experience to be meaningfully included means for others to see my potential when I only see my brokenness. It is to have my name asked and to have my story heard. To be meaningfully included is to be treated like a human.

While for me there are still many instances where stairs are a major obstacle to me being meaningfully included, to me the complacent and disinterested attitudes are the biggest barriers.

It is a rare occasion wherein programs, lessons and buildings are planned with disabilities in mind. Stages are even more rarely designed with the thought that someone with a disability would ever lead or speak on it.

In fact even when I was ministering to students, it was an afterthought to me! I’d plan the lesson, write the illustration and map out the activity just to realize I didn’t even take into consideration my own limitations. How backwards is that? I don’t think that is what Paul meant by being everything to everyone.

But, it’s not all bad, because if there wasn’t hope I probably wouldn’t be typing away on my laptop. I have been meaningfully included. One instance was so powerful it is still shaking up my life even though it occurred over four years ago.

I was working at a church in San Antonio doing full time college ministry. I knew my wheelhouse. College kids were easy. They liked video games, coffee and long talks about Jesus. No problem, I excel at all those things. But there was a Youth Director at this church that became a fast friend. We’d grill meat and watch every sport under the sun. It wasn’t long, maybe a few weeks after my arrival, that he began inviting me to come spend time with him and the middle schoolers.

I was sick to my stomach when he first invited me. I smiled and in my most gracious voice declined. On the inside I was screaming “Dude are you out of your mind? Me, with a bunch of wild middle schoolers, running around being hyper and active and fun? You DO realize I use a scooter right? I don’t play sports, I can’t do this, I can’t do that. This is a disaster waiting to happen.”

The Youth Director then proceeded to invite me every single week for the next month. He promised food and fellowship. Finally after a month of invitations I caved in to his persistence. Nerves a wreck, I showed up and ate hot dogs and talked about Maundy Thursday with ten eighth grade boys.

I thought I would just have to make it through those two hours and then never have to hear his offer again once I explained how I’m not a fit to work with youth.

If y’all could have seen his smug grin when he watched me fall in love with working with those kids. Four years later I’m obviously no longer at that church, but I still get weekly texts from the many high school and middle schoolers. I had no idea that potential was in me.

I had no idea that there was a gifting and strength to my story that could connect to kids that I had grown up unable to connect with.

Side note: Kids, no matter the age, love sitting in rollie chairs and holding onto the back of scooters like a train. Extra side note: Get a parent’s permission and have the kids sign a waiver before you do something like that.

But a faith community saw it in me when I didn’t see it. And in this scenario, once I got inside the house and saw what the crowd was staring at, it changed my world.

What I want to leave you with today is just a few pieces of advice:

1. Invitation is at the heart of faith communities, do not be afraid to invite those with disabilities to serve, and to share their strengths. Which of course means you need to invite them into your life so that you may get to see their potential yourself.
2. This is off topic, but I feel like it needs to be shared. Disability is draining. It consumes energy, health and finances, goodness is it expensive to be disabled. I will be the first to say that I do not want to be seen as a charity case, but those I trust, who know me authentically and intimately and not just as someone to be served, I am grateful to share my struggles and needs with them. It is not easy to support and invest in someone with a disability. But the best things in life are never easy. Get to know people’s needs, but first get to know them.
3. Finally, become a community. Lay down the simplicity of being a crowd. Make your plans with an array of abilities in mind. If you work with youth, you already know not EVERY kid likes dodgeball. If you are preaching, hopefully it’s not news to you that it doesn’t take having a disability or learning difference to lose focus on what is being said. Every obstacle has an accommodation.

Maybe accommodations shouldn’t be an overwhelming word, maybe it shouldn’t be such a dirty word, but an opportunity to let your creativity run wild, to try something new (I know new can be scary). What if by accommodating for a few you give way to something more potent, and more world changing than ever before?

MATT CURCIO’S BIO

Matt Curcio is local to Nashville, TN. A speaker, writer and advocate, Matt founded his nonprofit in 2015, Break The Roof. The mission of Break The Roof is to inspire and encourage congregations and Christian communities to embrace full inclusion of people with disabilities. For more information go to breaktheroof.org

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