Nurturing Young Hearts to Include

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This episode emphasizes the importance of teaching children and teens about inclusion and understanding of disabilities. We explore strategies for fostering empathy and compassion within church communities while highlighting the need for a collective effort to create inclusive spaces for all.

• Importance of teaching inclusion to kids and teens 
• Initiatives that promote disability awareness 
• Incorporating the gospel into conversations about abilities 
• Annual training opportunities for communities 
• Engaging kids to understand their peers’ experiences 
• Viewing individuals through the lens of God's love 
• Cultivating advocates against bullying and isolation 
• Building a culture of understanding and empathy 
• The role of faith communities in promoting inclusion 

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 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.

(00:54):
Today we're going to talk aboutkids, teens.
We're actually spending moretime talking about those without
disabilities than those withdisabilities, and about a month
ago, a friend of mine sent me avideo and she had some questions
for me, and the video was of agentleman named Kerry Mago who
is diagnosed with autism.
He is an adult and he travelsand speaks to companies and

(01:18):
organizations about inclusion,about inclusion.
And the video started with astatement where he says ready, a
child with disabilities oftenspends hours being taught how to
interact with others, but whydon't we spend time teaching

(01:40):
those without disabilities howto interact with them?
So my friend sent me thisbecause she wanted to ask what I
, as a missionary and as aminister, a pastor through my
local church.
What do I have to offerfamilies and kids that don't

(02:00):
have disabilities?
How am I educating them?
How am I helping them don'thave disabilities?
How am I educating them?
How am I helping them?
So, for example, thisparticular friend actually
serves as a buddy in our homechurch and she just started, but

(02:21):
she has a son with autism andshe has worked also in the field
and so she has a lot of reallygreat experience, and so she had
mentioned that the last timethat she served as a buddy,
there were two girls who werekind of chatty with each other
and then they kept looking backat the person that she was a
buddy with and she wasn't mad orupset about the fact that they
were kind of curious and askingquestions and that kind of thing

(02:43):
.
But she was wondering how are wefulfilling those questions?
How are we helping those kidsto understand?
And my answer to her wasabsolutely yes, we do do things
for kids who do not havedisabilities and to help them to
understand and include thosewith.
You probably have heard me talkon here saying that some of my

(03:07):
most favorite buddies are teensand kids, because they are more
moldable and they are morewilling and they are more open
and inclusive than an adult whohas already formed, you know,
perceptions and things like that.
And so I explained to her that,yes, we do a disability
awareness thing, and when wespeak at churches and they open

(03:30):
up the door for us to go in andspeak to kids, we absolutely do
some disability awareness stuff,help them to understand and
give them some tools of whatthey can do in their schools and
their homes and their familiesand that kind of thing.
And then I thought, but is itenough?
Are we really doing enough?
And ultimately my answer was no, we're not doing enough.

(03:54):
What can we do more?
And so I'm actually really,really excited to share that
every year we do a statewidetraining in Youngstown Ohio.
We host it at my home church.
Anyone, anyone from anywhere,can come, and it is a free

(04:14):
training that we offer that hasbreakouts and just options for
you to choose, and there's neverthe same exact topics that
we've done in the past.
There's always new or differentspins on things that we've done
in the past.
So even if people have attendedpreviously, they will learn and

(04:36):
grow more as they attend fromyear to year we do a really
great giveaway.
If the people are registered bya certain date, then they have
an opportunity to win a sensoryroom in a box for their church
or wherever the organizationthat they're a part of, or if it

(04:59):
is a family for their child athome, or you know whatever that
they might be able to utilize itfor, and so there's lots of
opportunities for all of thosekinds of things.
And so when she questioned meabout this, I thought what can
we do?
Let's grow that training.

(05:19):
Let's make a specific alignmentfor kids and teens so that they
can be taught in ways that willimpact the generations that
they grow up in.
Let's catch them now, beforethey get to those older ages and
stages and already haveperceptions built,
misunderstandings created, not afirm foundation in their

(05:43):
biblical knowledge about whatpeople, what God says about
people with disabilities.
And in this video that my friendsent to me about this gentleman
named Kerry, he said you know,in those therapies and things
that he had to grow up learningand doing, you know they taught

(06:03):
him how to adapt to the world.
That was not created for him.
But he said but what about?
We build understanding andempathy and inclusion.
And then he went on to say thattrue inclusion is not about
teaching people withdisabilities to conform to the
world that was made without themin mind, but building a world
that values differences andwhere that creates spaces for

(06:28):
everyone to be involved.
And so I'm so excited to offerthat, to create some spaces for
kids to come in to have thisexperience, to learn about those
who are in their classes, thosewho are in their families, in
their schools, on theplaygrounds, in their, at their

(06:49):
baseball games and basketballteams and gymnastics or dance,
or wherever the kids are intheir churches all of those
kinds of spaces.
And let's invade their thinkingby opening their mind to
understanding the value andworth of all people, of all

(07:12):
abilities, and so that they canbe impacted.
And so I want you to thinkabout kids that you've come in
contact with, whether they're inyour church maybe you're a
children's pastor, maybe you'rea lead pastor, maybe you're an
associate pastor, maybe you're ayouth pastor and you're teens
and those kinds of things andthink about the reactions and

(07:36):
the room that they have made ornot made for kids who are
different than them, and thinkabout how their life would be
changed or impacted or opened,and especially the lives that
would be changed of those withdisabilities who would then be
given that open opportunity tothat full inclusion.

(07:59):
And I've shared before thatinclusion is so much more than
accessibility.
Accessibility is so much morethan physical and it's very much
a social accessibility andinclusion and social.
We build upon that and it leadsto the spiritual accessibility
and inclusion, the spiritualaccessibility and inclusion, and

(08:22):
that's what the true body ofChrist comes to be.
So how can you do this?
What does that look like?
How does that impact?
And for me, it's helping thosekids and those teens break apart
scriptures, knowing that eachperson was made in the image of
God, also knowing that it'snothing that that person did or

(08:45):
that that family did.
And we can go to the book ofJohn and we can hear about the
conversations that werehappening and asking you know
why was that person disabled,and is it because of their sin
or their parents' sin?
And the response is aresounding no, that it is so
that the works of God might bedisplayed in them.
So we can also talk about thebiblical mandates of coming

(09:12):
alongside of someone,encouraging each other, lifting
one another up, bearing eachother's burdens, all of those
kinds of things and build astrong sense of who God says
they are, but then also diveinto some disability experiences
.
It is really easy to search andcreate some experiences that

(09:36):
those without disabilities canstep into the shoes of someone
with disabilities and buildcompassion and understanding and
that awareness.
And instead of putting upbarriers of misunderstanding and
lack of understanding, we breakthose barriers down and build
compassion.
And instead of barriers webuild bridges, also breaking the

(10:03):
perceptions and showing thatGod has a plan and a purpose and
that there's value in each andevery life.
All of those parts and piecescome together and my friend said
she sent me the message aswe're kind of going back and
forth and talking about creatingthis culture of education.
She said also this is a part ofbuilding the next generation of

(10:26):
disciples.
Kids with a strong sense ofjustice make great allies for
our buddies.
This is world changing.
This is choosing to think aboutthe realms of even bullying in
schools and teaching our kids tostand up for others and to not

(10:50):
be left alone or be isolatedbecause of their differences,
but then to open the door tounderstanding differences and
welcoming differences.
And it goes back to a previousepisode when we talked about
masking that disability.
The need for masking becomes awhole lot less when the

(11:14):
understanding becomes a wholelot more, when compassion
becomes a whole lot more, whenwe have information available to
us that opens our eyes and ourperceptions so that we can be
inclusive and see the good inthe inclusive.
And not because the world tellsus that we should include, not

(11:36):
because it's the newest wave ofthinking.
It is because it is rooted inscripture, it is rooted in God's
word.
And again, the whole title ofthis, the whole name of this
podcast, is Indispensable People, because when speaking about

(11:57):
the body of Christ and sayinghow each part is necessary, the
scripture says that those thatseem the weakest are actually
indispensable, says that thosethat seem the weakest are
actually indispensable.
Indispensable that means thatwe cannot be without that.
We would be lacking if we wereand if we can help our children

(12:18):
and our teens understand thevalue of each person is not in
their abilities, is not in theway they act, is not in the way
they talk, is not in the waythat they walk.
It is not in any of thosethings, but in the creator that
made them, which is the sameworth and value that each and
every person has that walks onthis earth, and if we can help

(12:38):
them understand that, if we canhelp them build a firm
foundation and we can help themto be inclusive, not because the
world says so, but because Godsays so, what change can be made
?
How can our churches becomemore welcoming and open to those
with disabilities and give thema place in the body of Christ,

(13:00):
because God has already alreadyplaced them and they have a seat
at the table, not because ofwho the world says they are, but
because of who God says theyare.
And listen, I'll boil it down assimple as what I had told a
group of first graders in myfirst grade class years ago,

(13:20):
when there were some picking on,and there was some, you know,
kind of coming down on otherpeople, and I sat them in a
circle on the floor and I askedthem all to go around and tell
me one thing that they didreally, really well, and then I
asked them to tell me one thingthat's a really difficult and
hard for them.
And then we talked about howwe're all different, we all play

(13:43):
a different piece in the bodyof Christ and, in the end, if
you pick on somebody and youmake fun of somebody and you say
something is bad about them oris not good enough about them,
then you tell God he didn't do agood job.
And I don't know about you, butI'm not willing.
And if I see people just fortheir deficits and not for the

(14:04):
things of which God has placedin them first of all, I'm
opening the door.
Here's my deficits, here's mypieces of not being enough and
here's the honest to goodnesstruth.
None of us are enough.
And also scripture tells us thatin our weakness is where he is
strong.

(14:25):
And let's not stifle thatbecause we have fear of the
unknown, misunderstandings,perceptions with no boundaries
or basis.
Let's be sure that the kids andthe teens in our lives have a
firm foundation of understandingwho God is, who he says his
people are, and how we can comealongside of other people and

(14:58):
how we can come alongside ofother people, build true and
real friendships and also seeeach and every person as a
co-laborer in Christ.
And that is a strong body ofChrist, that is an unstoppable
body of Christ that impactseternity and changes people's
lives forever.
Do I know everything aboutdisability ministry?
Do I have all the answers?
Have I done everythingperfectly?

(15:19):
I've absolutely not, but we aregoing 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
indispensablepeoplecom and visitAmazon to purchase the books

(15:43):
the Indispensable Kid and Gospel, accessibility and the
Indispensable People.