August 1, 2025 • 17 mins
Teen disability ministry is a forgotten area between children's and adult ministries that deserves more attention. Teenagers with disabilities often engage in "masking"—hiding their natural behaviors to fit in—which prevents them from fully being who God created them to be.
• Over 65 million Americans have a disability (25% of population), but over 80% aren't in churches
• Teenagers primarily want to fit in, making disability and diversity challenging in these years
• Masking is a survival mechanism teens use to avoid bullying, stigma, and misunderstandings
• Logical/rigid thinking common in some disabilities creates special challenges with teenage communication
• Creating inclusive environments requires peer support networks and parental collaboration
• Churches should celebrate neurodiversity and validate each person's contributions
• Teens with disabilities need opportunities to discover and use their spiritual gifts
• The message we must convey: "You are loved, valued, have purpose, and belong"
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.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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 welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.
(00:54):
Today we're talking aboutteenagers.
Honestly, it's a topic that Idon't hit really hard or very
often.
Maybe it's from the trauma ofliving with three of them or
because it's really theunforgotten or the forgotten
area of disability ministry.
(01:16):
We talk a lot about servingkids.
We say all the time that donforget they grow up so they turn
into adults and we need toremember that adult ministry is
just as important as kidsministry.
But we kind of leave out thatmiddle area, which really is
(01:41):
very important and is pivotal ina lot of people's lives because
so much changes.
Serving with kids is fun.
It is ever-changing, alwaysgrowing, figuring something new
out almost all the time.
(02:02):
But when serving with kids andfor kids and to kids.
Kids tend to be a lot moremoldable and welcoming and open
and not as standoffish tocertain things, and some of that
(02:23):
starts to kind of wear away asthey become teenagers and adults
, and so the areas get a littlebit trickier and we want to
explore some various aspects ofministry specifically for teens
with disabilities, including wewant to understand different
disabilities.
We want to understand differentdisabilities.
(02:45):
We want to think abouteffective communication
strategies and creatinginclusive and accepting church
culture.
We want to aim to equip churchleaders, volunteers and
congregation members.
And here's the thing does thatsound any different from kids
and adults?
Sound any different from kidsand adults?
(03:07):
No, but the considerations thatwe have to make within them is
kind of the big piece.
So the components, theconsiderations of accommodations
are the same, but there is onemajor area that a lot of
teenagers struggle with becausethey're teenagers, and that is
simply the piece that they justwant to fit.
(03:29):
They don't want to stick out,they want to blend in for the
most part, and diversity inteenager years seems to be the
scary piece because, again, theyjust want to fit in.
And so we want to think aboutdifferent disabilities, like
(03:51):
physical, intellectual, thesensory components, how they
might impact a teenager and thediverse experience that they're
going to have and what stepswould build a ministry that
really supports them andempowers them.
And here's one thing that, asthey're trying to blend, as
(04:14):
they're trying to be justfitting in, there is this major
thing and we've mentioned itpreviously on another podcast
when I talked about a book andthat's masking.
And masking is actuallysomething I think every single
person on this planet does tosome degree.
(04:38):
You do it for different reasonsand sometimes it's because, okay
, I have a very boisterouspersonality.
I do not, but if I did have avery boisterous personality but
I am in a very professionalsituation, that boisterous
personality needs to beharnessed to some degree because
there is a particular reverencethat's needed within the
(05:03):
situation that I'm in, reverencethat's needed within the
situation that I'm in.
So, to some degree, like wehold back and we protect parts
and pieces of us and we don'tlet that all out in different
situations, because that's kindof what's appropriate for you
know, the different situationsthat we're in.
We always have said you know,know like our kids since they
(05:27):
were little we would.
We would say people would tellus oh, you have such great kids.
They have such great behavior.
Um, you know, they alwayslisten, they follow directions,
they clean up after themselves,they do whatever.
And my husband and I would jokeand we'd be like our, our kids,
you, the corals, you you sure,because you know that wasn't
(05:50):
what we always received at homeand other people would say, well
, at least they're good foreverybody else, right, and we
don't have terrible kids.
But you know, they all havepieces and parts, just as I do,
that could use some improvementfrom time to time.
But we often get really greatreports about them outside of
(06:12):
our home, and so we know thatthey know what's appropriate and
in different circumstances, andhome is a place of comfort, and
so they let it all out, as itcan be said.
So anyway, going back to masking, it's the act of suppressing or
hiding one's natural behaviorsto conform to societal
(06:35):
expectations, and, specificallyfor teens with disabilities,
this can mean mimicking thebehaviors of peers without
disabilities to fit in, and sothey are at a developmental
stage where fitting in and beingaccepted by peers is often a
priority.
We've already said howimportant that really is, and
(07:00):
for teens with disabilities,masking can really become a
survival mechanism to avoidbullying, stigmas or
misunderstandings, stigmas ormisunderstandings, and in our
(07:20):
previous podcast I spoke aboutthose with autism and very
logical rigid thinking, and manytimes misunderstanding is a key
in that logical rigid thinking.
It happens when sarcasm is used, when jokes are said and all
that kind of stuff which is veryfrequent and common when
considering teenagers.
(07:42):
And I saw an ad for a show andit was about a young man who was
diagnosed with autism and hewas having conversation with his
parents at the dinner table andhe said to them, as he referred
to them as mother and father,and said mother so and so was
(08:05):
nice to me at school today.
She was nice, but not as niceas you are.
And then he said Father, doesthat mean that she likes me and
that she's my girlfriend?
So he went from, you know, kindof a very quick someone was
kind to him to a very quickassumption, because his rigid
(08:29):
thinking would be if, then ifthis person this, then it must
mean this.
And he said is that what thatmeans?
And he didn't need anexplanation because in this
situation, if he misunderstandsher intentions, then it could
lead to a very embarrassingsituation, a very embarrassing
(08:57):
situation and that becomesreally difficult and very common
and if that were to happen,then the potential of other
students to make fun of him orto create a whole scene which
then would be another layer ofembarrassment and trying to
protect that person and so justreally helping, first of all, to
(09:18):
foster a community within youryouth group of understanding
that everyone thinks differentlyand that's not a bad thing and
that sometimes conversations mayrequire a little bit more
explanation, interaction, greatempathy and compassion towards
(09:40):
one another.
And as you're building thosestudents up to become more like
Christ, those should be naturalthings that you are really
working in and teaching them.
So we wanna create that way ofinclusion, that building of
compassion, so that the need tomask and the need to protect
(10:04):
oneself doesn't become the fullfocus, because if that's, you're
living in a survival modeinstead of thriving mode, and we
don't want to put anyone inthat place.
We want to make sure that weare actively listening, not only
with our ears but with our eyes, for those individuals who may
(10:25):
have different abilities, whohave maybe a struggle with that
logical thinking, with thatrigid thinking, and also maybe
for looking out for thoseintellectual conversations, the
misunderstandings that mightimpact their interactions.
(10:49):
And a great, you know, a buddy,someone who can come alongside
them, help them navigate thethings that are going on, who
will kind of be someone to lookout for them.
I mean, we do that in our youthgroup with new kids who are
just joining in for the firsttime, where we would say to a
(11:12):
trusted youth group member hey,so-and-so is new this time,
would you hang out with them,introduce them to some new
friends?
That kind of stuff, somethinglike that.
To come alongside of thatindividual with a disability to
help them engage and participateand feel welcomed and included,
building that support networkof peer supports.
(11:35):
Also creating that parentalinvolvement so that you're
knowing if they're going homeand saying you know things are
going on, then those parents arecommunicating to you the needs
and the feelings of things thatare going on.
But also so the parents cangive you some insights, some
open information, so that youcan do best to minister and
(12:00):
accommodate within your ministrysetting you really want to
collaborate with them to do thatkind of stuff.
(12:27):
No-transcript.
Within that, we want to alsohelp them to accept who they are
.
If they're consistently hiding,they're hiding who they were
made to be and we can't be fullywho God created us to be until
we accept who we are.
(12:47):
You can do that by celebratingthe differences and highlighting
those neurodiversity.
It's not always, yes, somethings are difficult and
hindrances and cause difficultyin lives and misunderstandings
and things like that.
But there are also great thingsabout who God made them to be
(13:10):
and we want to celebrate that.
We want to help them to connectwith others who they can look
after and see the potential ofgrowth that could come.
We want to affirm and encourage, we want them to know that they
are called just as the next oneto share the gospel, to be
(13:32):
discipled, to grow in Christ, tobe a part of the family of God,
and we want to validate andreally value their contributions
to the ministry as a whole.
They're not just there toreceive, but they're also there
to give and to serve.
(13:53):
So we want to make sure that weare supporting them and
encouraging them along in thatway.
We want to be with them toovercome challenges.
We want to celebrate when theydo.
We want to walk through it withthem as they're going through.
They may be experiencing a lotof change in their life.
(14:15):
As a teenager, they might havelimited resources because
they're a teenager and they arebeing expected to continuously
learn and grow, and that's a lotof pressure on anyone, and so
we want to be a support.
Let them know that you and yourleaders are outlets for them
(14:39):
and that you are available andwant to be there to support them
as well their life, and helpthem to know that God has plans
for them.
And give them outlets, showthem, walk them through
(15:03):
spiritual gifts and help them tounderstand theirs and give them
opportunities to serve, and dothat through the ministry that
you have.
All of these things really cometogether to be a support, and
the real main message is thatyou are loved, you are valued,
god has purpose in your life andyou belong.
(15:25):
You belong as a part of thebody of Christ, as an
indispensable person, as someonethat we cannot be without that.
We would be lacking if we were,and that is the aim at which we
kind of pull back our bows andget our arrows ready to hit
(15:46):
those targets in servingteenagers who don't need to hide
who they are, who don't need tomask um who they are, but they
need to um accept, they need togrow, they need to be discipled
and they need to find theirplace to serve in the body of
(16:06):
christ, and they get to do thatwithin the environment that you
have created, that you have setup for all students to come to a
knowing, saving and lovingrelationship with Jesus Christ.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
(16:27):
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I have absolutely not, but weare going to continue this
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
(16:49):
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books
the Indispensable Kid and GospelAccessibility and the
Indispensable People.
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 welcome to thisepisode of Indispensable People.
(00:54):
Today we're talking aboutteenagers.
Honestly, it's a topic that Idon't hit really hard or very
often.
Maybe it's from the trauma ofliving with three of them or
because it's really theunforgotten or the forgotten
area of disability ministry.
(01:16):
We talk a lot about servingkids.
We say all the time that donforget they grow up so they turn
into adults and we need toremember that adult ministry is
just as important as kidsministry.
But we kind of leave out thatmiddle area, which really is
(01:41):
very important and is pivotal ina lot of people's lives because
so much changes.
Serving with kids is fun.
It is ever-changing, alwaysgrowing, figuring something new
out almost all the time.
(02:02):
But when serving with kids andfor kids and to kids.
Kids tend to be a lot moremoldable and welcoming and open
and not as standoffish tocertain things, and some of that
(02:23):
starts to kind of wear away asthey become teenagers and adults
, and so the areas get a littlebit trickier and we want to
explore some various aspects ofministry specifically for teens
with disabilities, including wewant to understand different
disabilities.
We want to understand differentdisabilities.
(02:45):
We want to think abouteffective communication
strategies and creatinginclusive and accepting church
culture.
We want to aim to equip churchleaders, volunteers and
congregation members.
And here's the thing does thatsound any different from kids
and adults?
Sound any different from kidsand adults?
(03:07):
No, but the considerations thatwe have to make within them is
kind of the big piece.
So the components, theconsiderations of accommodations
are the same, but there is onemajor area that a lot of
teenagers struggle with becausethey're teenagers, and that is
simply the piece that they justwant to fit.
(03:29):
They don't want to stick out,they want to blend in for the
most part, and diversity inteenager years seems to be the
scary piece because, again, theyjust want to fit in.
And so we want to think aboutdifferent disabilities, like
(03:51):
physical, intellectual, thesensory components, how they
might impact a teenager and thediverse experience that they're
going to have and what stepswould build a ministry that
really supports them andempowers them.
And here's one thing that, asthey're trying to blend, as
(04:14):
they're trying to be justfitting in, there is this major
thing and we've mentioned itpreviously on another podcast
when I talked about a book andthat's masking.
And masking is actuallysomething I think every single
person on this planet does tosome degree.
(04:38):
You do it for different reasonsand sometimes it's because, okay
, I have a very boisterouspersonality.
I do not, but if I did have avery boisterous personality but
I am in a very professionalsituation, that boisterous
personality needs to beharnessed to some degree because
there is a particular reverencethat's needed within the
(05:03):
situation that I'm in, reverencethat's needed within the
situation that I'm in.
So, to some degree, like wehold back and we protect parts
and pieces of us and we don'tlet that all out in different
situations, because that's kindof what's appropriate for you
know, the different situationsthat we're in.
We always have said you know,know like our kids since they
(05:27):
were little we would.
We would say people would tellus oh, you have such great kids.
They have such great behavior.
Um, you know, they alwayslisten, they follow directions,
they clean up after themselves,they do whatever.
And my husband and I would jokeand we'd be like our, our kids,
you, the corals, you you sure,because you know that wasn't
(05:50):
what we always received at homeand other people would say, well
, at least they're good foreverybody else, right, and we
don't have terrible kids.
But you know, they all havepieces and parts, just as I do,
that could use some improvementfrom time to time.
But we often get really greatreports about them outside of
(06:12):
our home, and so we know thatthey know what's appropriate and
in different circumstances, andhome is a place of comfort, and
so they let it all out, as itcan be said.
So anyway, going back to masking, it's the act of suppressing or
hiding one's natural behaviorsto conform to societal
(06:35):
expectations, and, specificallyfor teens with disabilities,
this can mean mimicking thebehaviors of peers without
disabilities to fit in, and sothey are at a developmental
stage where fitting in and beingaccepted by peers is often a
priority.
We've already said howimportant that really is, and
(07:00):
for teens with disabilities,masking can really become a
survival mechanism to avoidbullying, stigmas or
misunderstandings, stigmas ormisunderstandings, and in our
(07:20):
previous podcast I spoke aboutthose with autism and very
logical rigid thinking, and manytimes misunderstanding is a key
in that logical rigid thinking.
It happens when sarcasm is used, when jokes are said and all
that kind of stuff which is veryfrequent and common when
considering teenagers.
(07:42):
And I saw an ad for a show andit was about a young man who was
diagnosed with autism and hewas having conversation with his
parents at the dinner table andhe said to them, as he referred
to them as mother and father,and said mother so and so was
(08:05):
nice to me at school today.
She was nice, but not as niceas you are.
And then he said Father, doesthat mean that she likes me and
that she's my girlfriend?
So he went from, you know, kindof a very quick someone was
kind to him to a very quickassumption, because his rigid
(08:29):
thinking would be if, then ifthis person this, then it must
mean this.
And he said is that what thatmeans?
And he didn't need anexplanation because in this
situation, if he misunderstandsher intentions, then it could
lead to a very embarrassingsituation, a very embarrassing
(08:57):
situation and that becomesreally difficult and very common
and if that were to happen,then the potential of other
students to make fun of him orto create a whole scene which
then would be another layer ofembarrassment and trying to
protect that person and so justreally helping, first of all, to
(09:18):
foster a community within youryouth group of understanding
that everyone thinks differentlyand that's not a bad thing and
that sometimes conversations mayrequire a little bit more
explanation, interaction, greatempathy and compassion towards
(09:40):
one another.
And as you're building thosestudents up to become more like
Christ, those should be naturalthings that you are really
working in and teaching them.
So we wanna create that way ofinclusion, that building of
compassion, so that the need tomask and the need to protect
(10:04):
oneself doesn't become the fullfocus, because if that's, you're
living in a survival modeinstead of thriving mode, and we
don't want to put anyone inthat place.
We want to make sure that weare actively listening, not only
with our ears but with our eyes, for those individuals who may
(10:25):
have different abilities, whohave maybe a struggle with that
logical thinking, with thatrigid thinking, and also maybe
for looking out for thoseintellectual conversations, the
misunderstandings that mightimpact their interactions.
(10:49):
And a great, you know, a buddy,someone who can come alongside
them, help them navigate thethings that are going on, who
will kind of be someone to lookout for them.
I mean, we do that in our youthgroup with new kids who are
just joining in for the firsttime, where we would say to a
(11:12):
trusted youth group member hey,so-and-so is new this time,
would you hang out with them,introduce them to some new
friends?
That kind of stuff, somethinglike that.
To come alongside of thatindividual with a disability to
help them engage and participateand feel welcomed and included,
building that support networkof peer supports.
(11:35):
Also creating that parentalinvolvement so that you're
knowing if they're going homeand saying you know things are
going on, then those parents arecommunicating to you the needs
and the feelings of things thatare going on.
But also so the parents cangive you some insights, some
open information, so that youcan do best to minister and
(12:00):
accommodate within your ministrysetting you really want to
collaborate with them to do thatkind of stuff.
(12:27):
No-transcript.
Within that, we want to alsohelp them to accept who they are
.
If they're consistently hiding,they're hiding who they were
made to be and we can't be fullywho God created us to be until
we accept who we are.
(12:47):
You can do that by celebratingthe differences and highlighting
those neurodiversity.
It's not always, yes, somethings are difficult and
hindrances and cause difficultyin lives and misunderstandings
and things like that.
But there are also great thingsabout who God made them to be
(13:10):
and we want to celebrate that.
We want to help them to connectwith others who they can look
after and see the potential ofgrowth that could come.
We want to affirm and encourage, we want them to know that they
are called just as the next oneto share the gospel, to be
(13:32):
discipled, to grow in Christ, tobe a part of the family of God,
and we want to validate andreally value their contributions
to the ministry as a whole.
They're not just there toreceive, but they're also there
to give and to serve.
(13:53):
So we want to make sure that weare supporting them and
encouraging them along in thatway.
We want to be with them toovercome challenges.
We want to celebrate when theydo.
We want to walk through it withthem as they're going through.
They may be experiencing a lotof change in their life.
(14:15):
As a teenager, they might havelimited resources because
they're a teenager and they arebeing expected to continuously
learn and grow, and that's a lotof pressure on anyone, and so
we want to be a support.
Let them know that you and yourleaders are outlets for them
(14:39):
and that you are available andwant to be there to support them
as well their life, and helpthem to know that God has plans
for them.
And give them outlets, showthem, walk them through
(15:03):
spiritual gifts and help them tounderstand theirs and give them
opportunities to serve, and dothat through the ministry that
you have.
All of these things really cometogether to be a support, and
the real main message is thatyou are loved, you are valued,
god has purpose in your life andyou belong.
(15:25):
You belong as a part of thebody of Christ, as an
indispensable person, as someonethat we cannot be without that.
We would be lacking if we were,and that is the aim at which we
kind of pull back our bows andget our arrows ready to hit
(15:46):
those targets in servingteenagers who don't need to hide
who they are, who don't need tomask um who they are, but they
need to um accept, they need togrow, they need to be discipled
and they need to find theirplace to serve in the body of
(16:06):
christ, and they get to do thatwithin the environment that you
have created, that you have setup for all students to come to a
knowing, saving and lovingrelationship with Jesus Christ.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
(16:27):
Have I done everythingperfectly?
I have absolutely not, but weare going to continue this
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
(16:49):
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books
the Indispensable Kid and GospelAccessibility and the
Indispensable People.
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