Have you ever pondered the vibrant tapestry of talents within your church community, especially those of members with disabilities? We're peeling back the layers of inclusion and service with Tracie Corll, a passionate advocate for integrating individuals with disabilities into meaningful roles in the church. Tracie brings her experiences to light, sharing how every person, regardless of ability, is called to serve and lead with their unique gifts.
In this heartfelt conversation, we tackle the challenges and breakthroughs when creating service opportunities for people with disabilities. Tracie shares touching stories, like that of a woman with intellectual disabilities who found joy and purpose in children's ministry, to illustrate the power of a church that doesn't just welcome but actively engages all members in service. It's a stirring reminder that the body of Christ is at its best when each member's potential is recognized and nurtured, allowing for a community that truly reflects the fullness of God's diverse creation. Join us for an episode that's as enlightening as it is inspiring, where we explore the necessity of inclusion and the beauty of every individual's contribution to our faith communities.
Have you ever pondered the vibrant tapestry of talents within your church community, especially those of members with disabilities? We're peeling back the layers of inclusion and service with Tracie Corll, a passionate advocate for integrating individuals with disabilities into meaningful roles in the church. Tracie brings her experiences to light, sharing how every person, regardless of ability, is called to serve and lead with their unique gifts.
In this heartfelt conversation, we tackle the challenges and breakthroughs when creating service opportunities for people with disabilities. Tracie shares touching stories, like that of a woman with intellectual disabilities who found joy and purpose in children's ministry, to illustrate the power of a church that doesn't just welcome but actively engages all members in service. It's a stirring reminder that the body of Christ is at its best when each member's potential is recognized and nurtured, allowing for a community that truly reflects the fullness of God's diverse creation. Join us for an episode that's as enlightening as it is inspiring, where we explore the necessity of inclusion and the beauty of every individual's contribution to our faith communities.
Speaker 1:
Hi, my name is Tracy Corle and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor and missionary, and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population.
Speaker 2:
However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics biblical foundations, perceptions and world-changing ideas.
Speaker 1:
Hey and welcome to today's episode of Indispensable People. I am super excited to share with you some thoughts, quotes, things that I have come up with, said or posted on social media, and I would love to share a little bit more of those thoughts with you. I really, really wish that we could sit down together and have a conversation and that I could glean from your thoughts, as you hear, these statements that I'm going to share with you today. But first I want to start with one I posted just about two weeks ago and it says if people with disabilities are welcomed into the church, this welcome is incomplete if there are no opportunities for them to serve. Because anything that I've ever shared with you before includes that the goal of disability ministry is so that every person has the opportunity to know him, to grow in him and to serve him with the gifts that he has given. And obviously we're speaking about God and how it all goes together. Right, because we were created in his image excuse me, such a cough I have and we were created for a purpose, and so we can't really have one without the other. And although in any ministry, in any age or stage of life, that purpose is not going to look the same as Joe's or Tom's or Sally's or the person next door. It can look different for each person, but if we don't even have the opportunity, then we are missing a good piece of the puzzle here. So we can be as welcoming, we can make the sensory rooms and we can make sure that we have accessible bathrooms and spaces and all of those things involved, but if we don't have programs that help develop, then give opportunity to serve, we're really missing something.
Speaker 1:
So I live in the state of Ohio and I work under the Assemblies of God in the Ohio Ministry Network, and a few years ago I had the awesome opportunity of leading the chapel for our network leaders, and one of those leaders said to me they worked with young adults and so a big portion of what they do is really help those adults, those young adults, find their giftings and then help them to develop those giftings and to then be able to serve. And so one of the leaders said to me they said so what does that look like for people with disabilities? And sometimes I have to remind myself that for people working with disabilities that have never worked with people with disabilities before, this is really a foreign thought, and that's not wrong, at least there is a pondering of it. And my response to him was Simply that how would you do it with the young adults that you work with regularly? Okay, so, for instance, I love to sing. I am terrible at singing. I don't sound wonderful. Listen, the best times that I can sing are in my car, with the windows wound up or in the shower with the door closed and no one around. I love to sing, but that doesn't mean I sound great, okay. So just because I love to sing does not mean that I should then have a place on the worship team. So maybe I also want to be on the worship team because I like people looking at me, which I absolutely do not or it's because I want to have a microphone in my hand, or any of those reasons, right, which obviously, if I'm in ministry, that's not what God's asking me to do, that's what I am preferring to do and liking to do, and so obviously I don't sound good, so it's not in my giftings. And then add to that my reasoning why I want to do it is not a God reason. So what would you do with anybody in that situation? You would then steer them in a different direction.
Speaker 1:
We live in a world that there is a personality test and a ministry gift test and a everything test for any possible thing that you would want to consider right. So there are lots of ways that you can go about finding those kinds of things. There's a young lady that I've gotten to know that she knows that she has a call in ministry, but she's not really sure what ministry that she's called to, and so what I told her was go out and try them, go to our children's pastor and have a conversation with them and say, hey, can I serve with the kids and tell them listen, I'm looking for my ministry calling. You can go and be a greeter, you can go and serve in youth or whatever that looks like. You may not know your ministry giftings until you give it a try, and it could be the same thing for someone with a disability. Just because they have a disability doesn't mean they don't have purpose to serve. It might. It means, just like everyone else, you have to look for what that means and where it could happen. So I will share an example, and maybe I've shared this example previously, but there was a church that's close to mine and their children's director said hey, I have this lady who has intellectual disabilities and she wants to participate in children's ministry.
Speaker 1:
No-transcript, she uses some words and terms that are just not appropriate to be around the kids. And she said I've done all the things to try to help her and to try to remind her of what's appropriate and what's not appropriate. And it's been an ongoing Challenge for a good couple of months. And she said I just can't have her in there with the kids anymore. I, you know they've been In a situation where she said something and it's offended and it's so, it's, it's just not a good situation. However, she said listen, she Really loves these kids. There's no doubt in my mind that she loves them, and so can you think of a way that she could still be involved? But there's still a layer of protection from the, the things that she may or may not say in front of them.
Speaker 1:
And so we kind of tooled around with a bunch of different ideas, and one of the things that we came up with was a birthday card ministry, and that became her thing. So, obviously, kids love to get mail, okay, they love to be able to open something, especially on their birthdays, and so we came up with a birthday card ministry where she would Write out birthday cards and mail them to the kids and the church happily took on the cost of purchasing cards and also mailing them for her. And so it became this really great ministry where she got to have this joy in connection with the kids in a safe way and Brought so much joy to the kids and let the kids know how much they were cared and loved. So that just became a really great way for her to minister to Something that she really desired in her heart but also in a proper way that works for what she was capable of and made for, and you know that gave protective layers for the kids, as I said. So that's just really one example, just thinking outside the box and going okay, so how does this work? How would that function?
Speaker 1:
I have another individual that attends my church and she has a great big heart for kids, but serving in a child care ministry without someone who understood her situation and her needs would not work, and so mom and dad love the idea of serving with her in a child care room and so once a month they serve together in our toddler room and and that gives her the love and joy that she can share, but also in a situation that, if something should arise, that there is another person there that can jump in and help or Do whatever is needed to make sure that everyone maintains safety. I Will give you another example. As a mom to a son with multiple disabilities, my son falls very much in the gray area where he doesn't necessarily fit with Typical kids or teens his age and he doesn't necessarily fit super well with Atypical kids. So he kind of falls in that strange Place where he can do lots of things, he's capable of lots of things, but they're just some things that are not Good for him to do independently. So he has expressed to me that he loves serving with kids and so we've done a very similar to the last story. He serves alongside of another adult, or that adult knows his situation and can give him instructions and directions on how to best help the kids. But also my son is very good at cleaning, organizing and he loves technology. So at the end of service on Sundays he takes out the trash and brings the carts from each of the childcare rooms down to the check-in desk so that they can be refilled for the next Sunday and in addition to that, he changes out our Roku sticks that we need to put in every week, because we have a shared space with a preschool, and so he can do multiple things on a Sunday morning that are necessary, needed things, but he can do them in a way that is most comfortable for him.
Speaker 1:
So this whole talk has been about serving and not just opening the doors and welcoming someone in, but giving them a place in the body of Christ, because every person is created with a purpose. There's no ifs ands or buts about it. It's not always going to look like what you think it should look like, but there is no minimal job in the body of Christ. God honors the hearts of his people to serve at whatever capacity they can, and sometimes it just takes unlocking a potential that we didn't even realize existed, and so I am going to leave you this week. As you I'm sure can hear, my voice is a little funny, and so I'm not going to drag this out anymore today. But just remember every person has a purpose and they were created by God, and we as the church are not just mean to welcome but to open opportunities to help people develop their gifts and their talents that God has given them so that every person they know, grow and serve.
Speaker 2:
Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers? Have I done everything perfectly? I've absolutely not, but we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in him and serve him with the gifts that he has given them.
