Empowering Volunteers in Disability Ministry

Send us a text

Volunteers serve as the hands and feet of Jesus in disability ministry, creating welcoming environments where people of all abilities can experience faith and community. We explore recruitment strategies, training approaches, and the transformative impact of inclusive service.

• Effective volunteer recruitment begins with clearly communicating the vision and mission
• Don't be afraid to directly ask potential volunteers based on qualities you see in them
• Look beyond church walls to colleges, other churches, and community groups for volunteers
• Comprehensive training builds volunteer confidence and effectiveness
• Include disability awareness, biblical foundations, and emergency preparedness in training
• People with disabilities should serve as volunteers in various ministry roles
• Creating a community atmosphere among volunteers and participants transforms ministry from tasks to relationships
• Personal stories demonstrate how volunteers of all ages experience profound life change

For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the books The Indispensable Kid, Gospel Accessibility, and The Indispensable People.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to
Indispensable People.
I'm a wife, mom, teacher,pastor and missionary, and I
believe that every person shouldhave the opportunity to know
Christ, grow in Him and serveHim with the gifts that he has
given, no matter their ability.
Over 65 million Americans havea disability.
That's 25% of the population.

(00:26):
However, over 80% of them arenot inside the walls of our
church.
Let's dive into those hardtopics biblical foundations,
perceptions and world-changingideas.
Hey, hey, and welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.

(00:51):
Today, we're talking aboutvolunteers, a vital role in a
special needs ministry.
So join us as we delve intosome stories, some strategies
and some successes of those whohave chosen to dedicate to
creating a welcoming andinclusive environment for

(01:11):
individuals with disabilities.
Whether you're a seasonedvolunteer, a church leader or
someone new to the ministry,this episode will help you with
valuable insights and, hopefully, some inspiration.
When we discuss the crucialrole of volunteers in disability

(01:32):
ministries, we need tounderstand that they act as the
hands and feet of Jesus.
We are walking around asvolunteers with hearts like
Jesus' skin on, so let'sdiscover how volunteers can make
powerful impacts, and essentialsteps are needed to build a

(01:54):
strong volunteer team.
First of all, I could tell youstory after story after story
after story of lives that havebeen impacted by volunteers who
have chosen to do this ministry.
I can tell you that there arekids whose lives have been
changed because they have chosento serve.

(02:16):
There are teens, there areadults.
I could tell you about Max, whojoined our respite team with
his family and as he got olderhe then got to come alongside of
an individual and be a buddy,and so he's assigned to be a
buddy with one particular personand that person.

(02:40):
It was their first time and wewere providing Max with some
support and all that kind ofstuff.
But as this particularindividual came into respite
night for his first time, he wasso very nervous and he was
ready to turn around and go home.
And Max looked at him and hewas like hey, dude, you wanna
play some basketball, and thatwas it.

(03:01):
They're best fast friends.
They have done camps together,respites, all kinds of it.
They're best fast friends.
They have done camps together,respites, all kinds of things.
They are great buddies.
And the way that we get to watchMax lead which, by the way, at
our last respite night he walkedin I said hey, max, I have this
drama.
I need you to put it together.

(03:21):
Can you gather up the peopleand the things that we need to
do?
And he took the lead Max is 13.
Okay, max is 13.
The costumes and took ourindividuals with disabilities

(03:50):
and took them backstage, gotthem dressed, brought them out
and they participated in thisinteractive drama.
And a 13-year-old kid did that.
And I know without a shadow of adoubt that God has got a place
for him, a special place ofserving and ministering, and God
will use him.
And I believe that through thisministry and the opportunities

(04:13):
that he is growing in and seeingand building confidence in,
that God is showing him what isto come.
And that's just one.
That's a kid.
That is a great story to buildupon.
I could tell you about adultswho have left our summer getaway
camps and they have just talkedabout how their life has

(04:37):
changed, how watching theindividuals that have every
reason to question why me?
And to complain and to stand inirritation and disgust of why
God would allow them to livethrough the challenges that
they're living through, and howthey stand and worship and

(05:00):
praise with just, unabandonedhearts and or with abandoned
hearts, and they are showingtrue worship, how they dive in,
how they want to learn more, howthey're growing in their faith,
they're praying, how they'reshowing so many things.

(05:20):
I'm telling you it's lifechanging and so many volunteers
don't initially take the step inbecause they're afraid.
But we're going to talk aboutthat.
So we're going to learn how toeffectively share our mission
and vision of disabilityministry within our churches,
because if people don'tunderstand what we're doing or

(05:41):
why we're doing it, then they'renot going to jump on board.
So we want to make sure that wehave clear communication in
that fact and then that beginsthe recruitment steps.
So here's some things that weneed to understand about.
Recruitment can be daunting.
Okay, volunteers in anyministry within the church is
difficult, and we want to focuson effective strategies that

(06:05):
attract and engage volunteerswho are passionate about serving
, especially, especially inministry, whether it's kids,
teens or adults.
So number one thing and I willtell you, my friend Jenna is so
very good at this Don't beafraid to ask.
Jenna will say what do youthink about this person?

(06:25):
And I would say I don't know.
They've never shown anyinterest in this ministry
whatsoever and she's like well,what's it hurt to ask?
And she will just go right atthem and she will say this is
what I see in you and I thinkyou'd be a great addition to our
ministry.
And she just says here's whatwe can do and find ways to speak

(06:47):
into people, find their sweetspots and help them to serve.
So you want to tap into thoselocal resources, the people that
are around there, for instance,outside of the box of our
regular church building.
We have a college that is closeby and that college has a Chi

(07:10):
Alpha group who loves and servesJesus, and so we reach out to
them, especially when we dobigger events, to ask them to
participate with us.
Also, consider in yourrecruitment to host interest
sessions or like job fair kindof volunteer fair kind of things
where you create opportunitiesfor people to learn and connect,

(07:33):
where they can browse around,see what's going on, see what
could be options and connectwith the people who are
participating in that, so that.
So your first step isrecruitment and that starts
again with a clear vision andit's like the unapologetic.
I'm going to ask you, lookoutside the box.
It doesn't even have to beright within your church and if

(07:56):
you're doing bigger events thatare serving the special needs
population in your entirecommunity.
Consider collaborating withother churches, because that is
incredible.
We do that with Night to Shine.
It makes a huge difference.
We could not do that event ifit weren't for the other
churches in our area that pitchin and help and jump on board

(08:17):
with us Again.
Find ways to connect, letpeople know what you're doing,
share about that.
The next thing is you're goingto train, train, train, train,
train.
A well-prepared volunteer is aconfident and an effective one.
A well-prepared volunteer is aconfident and an effective one.
We need to understand theimportance of comprehensive

(08:39):
training and ongoing support toempower volunteers.
And here's the deal If you'rethe leader and you say I'm not
equipped to lead, that, then youreach out to other people,
other ministries.
That is a good portion of whatI do training and equipping and
go outside yourself.
There will always be someoneelse who knows more than you do.

(09:02):
There's someone else who knowsmore than I do, and those are
the people that I reach out to.
So understand that some of yourtraining essentials are going
to include disability awarenessand etiquette, theological,
biblical foundations andpractical skills.
That's going to be incrediblyimportant.

(09:23):
You're also going to want tounderstand how certain
situations may impactindividuals with disabilities
may impact individuals withdisabilities.
So identifying triggers andalso understanding your
volunteers and their triggers sothat you know who they may best
work with.
And another essential that is apart of every single ministry

(09:46):
that has ever existed isemergency preparedness
understanding to equipvolunteers with resources to
handle difficult situations.
Every ministry can have adifficult situation.
Disability ministry, morespecifically, medical
emergencies, things like that,but also anything for anybody

(10:07):
else, like whether that kind ofstuff fire.
You know how is that handledand how do we specifically
handle that within ourdisability ministry.
Also, this is going to bereally important Involve people
with disabilities as volunteers.
Inclusion means everyone has arole to play and this episode

(10:29):
explores the incrediblepotential, the incredible
potential that comes withinvolving people with
disabilities as volunteers,recognizing their God gift
talents, god given talents.
Here's the thing there arepeople in my church that have

(10:52):
disabilities and they volunteerin our child care ministry.
They are greeters.
They do all different kinds ofthings across the church.
I will hold a statewidetraining here in another month
and at that training I will havepeople with disabilities at my
check-in table, at my greeting,doing all different kinds of

(11:12):
things playing, worship, all thekind of parts and pieces
because they have a place and apurpose.
But also within that, my summercamp that my husband and I
coordinate.
At that camp there aremultitudes of levels to serve.
Last year we instituted for thefirst time a serve team and

(11:36):
that serve team was responsiblefor greeting, for doing taking
care of offering, participatingin different activities and
hosting all of those kinds ofthings to make sure that it's
full circle.
It's not one sided, it's fullcircle, it's not one-sided, it's

(11:57):
full circle.
And then another piece in partin this and serving is creating
a welcoming environment, notonly just for those with
disabilities, but also for yourvolunteers.
Right, you want to be open, youwant to hear their concerns,
you want to provide them withthe things that they need so

(12:20):
they can effectively serve as avolunteer, and you want to make
sure that you're fosteringcommunity within it.
Because, let me just tell you,there is really nothing sweeter
than the family that is createdwithin this ministry between the
volunteers and between theindividuals that we serve and

(12:42):
their families.
It is an incredible piece inpart, and I love every bit of it
.
And because the thing is isthat we're not out here just
doing a job?
Right, we are sharing thegospel so that lives can be
changed.
And why do we want?
Because we want to open up thedoors of the body of Christ and

(13:04):
make sure that others can be apart of it and connected.
So if we're part of the body ofChrist, we're in the family of
God, we're living life together.
It's not just a job, it's notsomething tasks that we just
check off the list.
It's for a life change.
So let's continue to explorehow we can transform the church,

(13:29):
create an inclusive andwelcoming environment and make
sure that all of God's people,especially those he considers
indispensable, can be a part ofit.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I've absolutely not, but we aregoing to continue this

(13:49):
conversation so that people ofall abilities can have the
opportunity to know Christ, growin Him and serve Him with the
gifts that he has given them.
For deeper dives into thesetopics and more, check out
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books

(14:09):
the Indispensable Kid and GospelAccessibility and the
Indispensable People.