October 31, 2025 • 13 mins
We explore how churches move from welcome to belonging by planning for physical, social, and spiritual accessibility. Stories, checklists, and simple tools show how intentional hospitality helps people with disabilities and their families feel wanted and ready to grow and serve.
• the inclusion gap and why readiness matters
• a hospitality mindset that signals “you are wanted”
• two smart check‑in questions that open trust
• supporting without pushing for diagnoses
• simple tools: sensory bags, earplugs, ASL
• volunteer practices for calm, choice, and dignity
• building spiritual access through discipleship and roles
• culture shifts with trainings and awareness days
• next steps for congregations of any size
For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the books The Indispensable Kid and Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
Hi, my name is Tracy Coral 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 is
given, no matter their ability.
Over 65 million Americans have adisability.
(00:24):
That's 25% of the population.
However, over 80% of them arenot inside the walls of our
church.
Let's dive into those hardtopics, biblical foundations,
perceptions, and world-changingideas.
(00:48):
Hey, hey, and welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.
Today we're continuing thefacts, questions, and answers.
And we are taking questions fromour training registrations that
we've asked people to say if youhad one question that we could
answer within a training day,what would that be?
(01:12):
And so every year we have atraining in Youngstown, Ohio,
and we offer it for free for anychurches, any volunteers,
leaders of any kind to join usand engage about learning about
people with disabilities fromkids to teens to adults.
And we've actually even added akids training so that we can
(01:35):
really train up our wholecongregation to love people with
disabilities and engage withthem, welcome them, and make
sure that they're offering anaccessible gospel.
And we know that accessibilityisn't just physical.
Yes, we need them to get intoour buildings, but we need to
make sure that it is social.
(01:56):
Do we engage and buildrelationships and friendships?
And also do we believe that theycan grow spiritually?
So are we spirituallyaccessible?
Do we take time to disciple andhelp people to learn and teach
them that they are co-laborerswith us in Christ?
And so here is the next set ofinformation that or question
(02:24):
that was asked on theinformation on the registration
that came through.
And it is how do you interact inserving people with
disabilities?
How do you do that best?
Okay, so that's a that's areally broad question, right?
(02:45):
And we know that people withdisabilities are are so very
different.
You're gonna meet one person whohas autism, and then you're
gonna meet another person withautism, and they're not going to
be alike at all.
And so that will that willimpact right your thought
process and how that you dothis.
(03:06):
And so let me use this example.
I have said this on this podcastbefore, and I am chuckling now
because it's quite funny.
But when people come over to myhouse, I love to do extra
cleaning.
I like to finish off projectsthat maybe I've been working on.
(03:28):
Not that my house has to beperfect, but and not that I'm
like a clean freak or worryingabout what they the what they're
going to think of me.
I want them to know that I havedone all that I can to make them
feel welcome in my home.
We've hosted Bible studies,holidays with friends, family,
(03:48):
all kinds of things at ourhouse.
Birthday parties for the kids,birthday parties for friends,
all different kinds of stuff.
We love having people over atour house.
And again, I love thepreparations of it.
But my children call me like thecrazy cleaning lady.
So if you've ever seen any ofthose videos with the person
(04:09):
running around and they're like,I've cleaned that, don't sit on
there.
We can't, we have to look likeit doesn't, we don't live here.
You know, all those crazythings.
I promise I'm not that crazy.
But I do love a clean house andI do love people to know that
that we've prepared for them,that we want them there.
And I think that is thementality that we have to adopt
(04:32):
as we begin to serve any personin our churches, right?
We need them to know thatthey're wanted, that they're
welcomed, that they're valued.
And then the next step is tointroduce them to a God who
cares, who loves, who createdthem, who's designed them, who
made a plan for them, who diedfor them, and what that looks
(04:56):
like in their life.
And so we can do that in acouple of different ways across
the board.
Here's the thing the word thatI'm gonna use is intentional,
but we have to plan.
We have to be purposeful, wehave to think through some
general things that we can do tohelp make people with
disabilities feel comfortable inour churches.
(05:19):
So that can be as simple ashaving some stops, protections,
open doors.
Let me give you a coupleexamples.
So for kids at my home church,we at the check-in desk will say
a couple of things when we havea new family that comes.
And that's going to be, youknow, obviously we're going to
(05:43):
welcome them, we're going togreet the children and tell them
how excited we are that they'rethere with us because we truly
are.
And then we're going to ask twoquestions.
And the two questions are first,are there any allergies that we
should be aware of?
And are there any special needswe should know about?
(06:04):
And that's the first stop.
Now, is that the stop becausethey can't go forward if they
answer yes to either of thosequestions?
Absolutely not.
It just opens the door for me tosay if they say yes and they
explain a little bit, and Iwould say something like, We
just want to know how to bestserve your child.
We want to make sure that theyhave a great experience with us.
(06:30):
So for example, I think it was acouple of weeks ago, we had a
new family come to the churchand I asked those very
questions.
And there were two brothers, orthere were two brothers and a
sister, I believe.
And the mom I had to, you know,I asked asked those questions
for each child, and the mom saidyes to one of them for special
(06:54):
needs.
And I said, Can you give me alittle bit more information?
And I won't press, I won't push,I won't if a parent doesn't want
to divulge information, some ofthose things we are we work out
and we kind of figure out as wego.
And like I said, I don't highlypressure the parent.
And the mom said he should befine as long as he's with his
(07:17):
brother.
Okay.
I and I've heard that before,and sometimes that's absolutely
true.
But there's a twofold thing withthat.
One, that's a lot of pressure toput on the brother that would
carry the responsibility ofcaring for that individual.
And then second, what if it'snot okay?
(07:38):
Right?
And here's the thing (07:38):
it's not because I need to know
everything and because I'm, youknow, need all the information
privacy-wise, like all of thatkind of stuff.
That's not it.
I don't even need to know adiagnosis.
Sometimes I just need to knowthings like is there something
that upsets them?
What helps them when they feelsad or upset?
(07:59):
What kind of things do theyenjoy?
Do they have a hard time sittingstill or listening?
And are there any things thatwould help them through that?
Those are some really basicthings that doesn't require me
to have a diagnosis or any extrainformation, just some
personality things and somemaybe struggles and some
successes so that I can servethem best.
(08:23):
And that particular child,partway through the service, one
of the volunteers came and said,so-and-so is feeling kind of sad
and I think he needs his mom.
And so the last thing that Iwant to do on the first time a
child is with us is to go gettheir parent.
First of all, I don't know ifthat parent has ever had an
(08:45):
opportunity to hear the gospel,if they have had an opportunity
to respond to a salvation call.
And so I don't want to take thatopportunity from that parent.
That doesn't mean I won't evergo get a parent.
But if I can do anything to helpthat child through those
moments, I will.
And so he was missing his momand he just really wanted to be
(09:06):
with her and he was strugglingemotionally.
And so I asked him to come sitat the check-in desk with me and
hang out.
And I had some busy bags thereand some other things that that
he could engage with.
The security guy was also, oursecurity guy was also in that
area.
And so he kind of chatted,chatted up with him and that
(09:29):
kind of thing.
So there are lots of, there arelots and lots of things that we
can do to engage and helpprepare.
When it comes to teens, a verysimilar check-in happens at
youth group.
And so some of those questionscan be had: introductions with
(09:49):
parents, conversations, gettingto know them, checking in with
students, some simple, somethingsimple that you can have across
the board for any age.
You can have sensory bagsavailable around the building at
your welcome desk, in the spacesthat they will be engaging with
others.
So there are lots ofopportunities and things that
(10:10):
you can do, but we have to beintentional about it.
Will we have the answers to allthings?
No.
But some other examples ofthings that we have at my church
is we have some earplugs, justdisposable earplugs all around
the building at each of theentrances to the sanctuary.
(10:31):
So if someone has some sensorysensitivities to sound, they can
do that.
We also have an ASL interpreter,so sign language interpreter, so
that if someone were to come andwould need that, they they it is
already done.
It is already, they don't haveto wait for that.
So there are just lots of thingsthat we can do to be intentional
(10:54):
on a broad scale.
And then as those individualscome to us and come to our
churches and engage with us andjust choose to stay with us,
then we can get to know them andthen they can help guide us for
the things that they might needor might benefit from.
So this question how do you bestserve people with disabilities
(11:15):
with special needs?
Be intentional, right?
Be intentional.
If you build it, they will come.
For those of you who are my age,know that reference.
Understanding accessibility ismore than physical, it is also
social and spiritual.
So we want to make sure that wehave opportunities for
accessibility and all thosethings.
(11:35):
And we want to not only havethings set up for those with
disabilities, but we also wantto engage and build awareness in
our entire congregation.
You can do that with disabilityawareness days.
You can do trainings in your ownbuilding.
I can come and do a training inyour building, which would be so
(11:57):
much fun.
But there are lots ofopportunities and lots of ways
that you can make sure thatpeople with disabilities can be
served in your church so thatthey have the opportunity to
know Christ's girl and him andserve him with the gifts that he
has given them.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
(12:18):
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I've absolutely not.
But we are going to continuethis conversation so that people
of all abilities can have theopportunity to know Christ, grow
in him, and serve him with thegifts that he has given them.
For deeper dives into thesetopics and more, check out
(12:39):
indispensablepeople.com andvisit Amazon to purchase the
books The Indispensable Kid andGospel Accessibility and the
Indispensable People.
Hi, my name is Tracy Coral 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 is
given, no matter their ability.
Over 65 million Americans have adisability.
(00:24):
That's 25% of the population.
However, over 80% of them arenot inside the walls of our
church.
Let's dive into those hardtopics, biblical foundations,
perceptions, and world-changingideas.
(00:48):
Hey, hey, and welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.
Today we're continuing thefacts, questions, and answers.
And we are taking questions fromour training registrations that
we've asked people to say if youhad one question that we could
answer within a training day,what would that be?
(01:12):
And so every year we have atraining in Youngstown, Ohio,
and we offer it for free for anychurches, any volunteers,
leaders of any kind to join usand engage about learning about
people with disabilities fromkids to teens to adults.
And we've actually even added akids training so that we can
(01:35):
really train up our wholecongregation to love people with
disabilities and engage withthem, welcome them, and make
sure that they're offering anaccessible gospel.
And we know that accessibilityisn't just physical.
Yes, we need them to get intoour buildings, but we need to
make sure that it is social.
(01:56):
Do we engage and buildrelationships and friendships?
And also do we believe that theycan grow spiritually?
So are we spirituallyaccessible?
Do we take time to disciple andhelp people to learn and teach
them that they are co-laborerswith us in Christ?
And so here is the next set ofinformation that or question
(02:24):
that was asked on theinformation on the registration
that came through.
And it is how do you interact inserving people with
disabilities?
How do you do that best?
Okay, so that's a that's areally broad question, right?
(02:45):
And we know that people withdisabilities are are so very
different.
You're gonna meet one person whohas autism, and then you're
gonna meet another person withautism, and they're not going to
be alike at all.
And so that will that willimpact right your thought
process and how that you dothis.
(03:06):
And so let me use this example.
I have said this on this podcastbefore, and I am chuckling now
because it's quite funny.
But when people come over to myhouse, I love to do extra
cleaning.
I like to finish off projectsthat maybe I've been working on.
(03:28):
Not that my house has to beperfect, but and not that I'm
like a clean freak or worryingabout what they the what they're
going to think of me.
I want them to know that I havedone all that I can to make them
feel welcome in my home.
We've hosted Bible studies,holidays with friends, family,
(03:48):
all kinds of things at ourhouse.
Birthday parties for the kids,birthday parties for friends,
all different kinds of stuff.
We love having people over atour house.
And again, I love thepreparations of it.
But my children call me like thecrazy cleaning lady.
So if you've ever seen any ofthose videos with the person
(04:09):
running around and they're like,I've cleaned that, don't sit on
there.
We can't, we have to look likeit doesn't, we don't live here.
You know, all those crazythings.
I promise I'm not that crazy.
But I do love a clean house andI do love people to know that
that we've prepared for them,that we want them there.
And I think that is thementality that we have to adopt
(04:32):
as we begin to serve any personin our churches, right?
We need them to know thatthey're wanted, that they're
welcomed, that they're valued.
And then the next step is tointroduce them to a God who
cares, who loves, who createdthem, who's designed them, who
made a plan for them, who diedfor them, and what that looks
(04:56):
like in their life.
And so we can do that in acouple of different ways across
the board.
Here's the thing the word thatI'm gonna use is intentional,
but we have to plan.
We have to be purposeful, wehave to think through some
general things that we can do tohelp make people with
disabilities feel comfortable inour churches.
(05:19):
So that can be as simple ashaving some stops, protections,
open doors.
Let me give you a coupleexamples.
So for kids at my home church,we at the check-in desk will say
a couple of things when we havea new family that comes.
And that's going to be, youknow, obviously we're going to
(05:43):
welcome them, we're going togreet the children and tell them
how excited we are that they'rethere with us because we truly
are.
And then we're going to ask twoquestions.
And the two questions are first,are there any allergies that we
should be aware of?
And are there any special needswe should know about?
(06:04):
And that's the first stop.
Now, is that the stop becausethey can't go forward if they
answer yes to either of thosequestions?
Absolutely not.
It just opens the door for me tosay if they say yes and they
explain a little bit, and Iwould say something like, We
just want to know how to bestserve your child.
We want to make sure that theyhave a great experience with us.
(06:30):
So for example, I think it was acouple of weeks ago, we had a
new family come to the churchand I asked those very
questions.
And there were two brothers, orthere were two brothers and a
sister, I believe.
And the mom I had to, you know,I asked asked those questions
for each child, and the mom saidyes to one of them for special
(06:54):
needs.
And I said, Can you give me alittle bit more information?
And I won't press, I won't push,I won't if a parent doesn't want
to divulge information, some ofthose things we are we work out
and we kind of figure out as wego.
And like I said, I don't highlypressure the parent.
And the mom said he should befine as long as he's with his
(07:17):
brother.
Okay.
I and I've heard that before,and sometimes that's absolutely
true.
But there's a twofold thing withthat.
One, that's a lot of pressure toput on the brother that would
carry the responsibility ofcaring for that individual.
And then second, what if it'snot okay?
(07:38):
Right?
And here's the thing (07:38):
it's not because I need to know
everything and because I'm, youknow, need all the information
privacy-wise, like all of thatkind of stuff.
That's not it.
I don't even need to know adiagnosis.
Sometimes I just need to knowthings like is there something
that upsets them?
What helps them when they feelsad or upset?
(07:59):
What kind of things do theyenjoy?
Do they have a hard time sittingstill or listening?
And are there any things thatwould help them through that?
Those are some really basicthings that doesn't require me
to have a diagnosis or any extrainformation, just some
personality things and somemaybe struggles and some
successes so that I can servethem best.
(08:23):
And that particular child,partway through the service, one
of the volunteers came and said,so-and-so is feeling kind of sad
and I think he needs his mom.
And so the last thing that Iwant to do on the first time a
child is with us is to go gettheir parent.
First of all, I don't know ifthat parent has ever had an
(08:45):
opportunity to hear the gospel,if they have had an opportunity
to respond to a salvation call.
And so I don't want to take thatopportunity from that parent.
That doesn't mean I won't evergo get a parent.
But if I can do anything to helpthat child through those
moments, I will.
And so he was missing his momand he just really wanted to be
(09:06):
with her and he was strugglingemotionally.
And so I asked him to come sitat the check-in desk with me and
hang out.
And I had some busy bags thereand some other things that that
he could engage with.
The security guy was also, oursecurity guy was also in that
area.
And so he kind of chatted,chatted up with him and that
(09:29):
kind of thing.
So there are lots of, there arelots and lots of things that we
can do to engage and helpprepare.
When it comes to teens, a verysimilar check-in happens at
youth group.
And so some of those questionscan be had: introductions with
(09:49):
parents, conversations, gettingto know them, checking in with
students, some simple, somethingsimple that you can have across
the board for any age.
You can have sensory bagsavailable around the building at
your welcome desk, in the spacesthat they will be engaging with
others.
So there are lots ofopportunities and things that
(10:10):
you can do, but we have to beintentional about it.
Will we have the answers to allthings?
No.
But some other examples ofthings that we have at my church
is we have some earplugs, justdisposable earplugs all around
the building at each of theentrances to the sanctuary.
(10:31):
So if someone has some sensorysensitivities to sound, they can
do that.
We also have an ASL interpreter,so sign language interpreter, so
that if someone were to come andwould need that, they they it is
already done.
It is already, they don't haveto wait for that.
So there are just lots of thingsthat we can do to be intentional
(10:54):
on a broad scale.
And then as those individualscome to us and come to our
churches and engage with us andjust choose to stay with us,
then we can get to know them andthen they can help guide us for
the things that they might needor might benefit from.
So this question how do you bestserve people with disabilities
(11:15):
with special needs?
Be intentional, right?
Be intentional.
If you build it, they will come.
For those of you who are my age,know that reference.
Understanding accessibility ismore than physical, it is also
social and spiritual.
So we want to make sure that wehave opportunities for
accessibility and all thosethings.
(11:35):
And we want to not only havethings set up for those with
disabilities, but we also wantto engage and build awareness in
our entire congregation.
You can do that with disabilityawareness days.
You can do trainings in your ownbuilding.
I can come and do a training inyour building, which would be so
(11:57):
much fun.
But there are lots ofopportunities and lots of ways
that you can make sure thatpeople with disabilities can be
served in your church so thatthey have the opportunity to
know Christ's girl and him andserve him with the gifts that he
has given them.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
(12:18):
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I've absolutely not.
But we are going to continuethis conversation so that people
of all abilities can have theopportunity to know Christ, grow
in him, and serve him with thegifts that he has given them.
For deeper dives into thesetopics and more, check out
(12:39):
indispensablepeople.com andvisit Amazon to purchase the
books The Indispensable Kid andGospel Accessibility and the
Indispensable People.
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