The joy of inclusive community at WROK camp

“I love everything about WROK— the joy and the freedom of the campers when they come and they're allowed to just be themselves, with all their quirks and funny bits!”

Primary school teacher Janey Walker has been involved in Youthworks’ WROK (We Rule OK) camp for around 30 years. She returns in the role of camp director, year after year, because of the campers — teenagers and young people living with disability. She says,

“At camp you meet these kids who have some huge health challenges, including mental health. But each of them has the biggest smile on their face and they have a ball. They deal with whatever's going on in life and they have fun.”

WROK runs every year during the first week of the April school holidays at the Youthworks Conference Centre in the Blue Mountains. Campers have a variety of different mild intellectual and physical disabilities. For them, connecting with other people who love Jesus and are also autistic or neurodivergent, is crucial to understanding that they were created this way by God. At WROK the campers have the freedom to be themselves, without worrying that their actions might make others laugh. They also learn to be more independent or try new activities or food, much to the surprise of their parents — as Janey says,

“The campers’ parents come on the last day of camp to watch our talent quest. They see their child do something they didn't know they were capable of, like getting up on a stage in front of everyone, and these parents have tears running down their face after seeing this incredible transformation.”

Lily Robson first led on camp in 2018, when she was an 18-year-old student doing the Year 13 Christian gap year. Lily is autistic and has a heart for serving and advocating for people with disability. She grew up with disabled siblings and has family members working in special education and disability support. At her church in Orange, she runs the ‘Jesus Club’, a ministry to adults with intellectual disabilities.

She continues to lead at WROK each year, now with her young family in tow, because she is passionate about serving in this ministry. She particularly loves the tight-knit community ‘family aspect’ and wants her two children to be comfortable being around people with disability.

“It's important to me that my kids see the gospel being faithfully shared to all people groups that are in our society and our culture, but particularly people that live with disability because they’re not generally as visible in public — they have segregated education and isolated workplaces. And that is not how the body of Christ should operate.”

Lily explains that autism changes the way a person interacts with the world, in particular in communication and social interactions. Some people with autism can become frustrated, upset or isolated due to misunderstanding communication and body language — and this can be the case in their church community, where they may be the only person with a disability.

Lily says,

“Finding a community of like-minded people meant that I was able to acknowledge that just because I'm autistic, I’m not inherently disadvantaged following Jesus. I don’t need to change my understanding of everything to be a Christian.”

How can churches be more inclusive?

To better support and care for their brothers and sisters with disability, church members can firstly learn why it’s important to understand one person’s particular disability so they can then include them in appropriate ways to serve and be part of the church community. This might mean making the traditional sermon teaching time or youth group discussion more accessible by supplying a printout or providing a quiet space where there’s less noise or bright lights. As Lily says,

“Yes, it might seem a little inconvenient to make amendments for this one person, but if that's what it takes for them to hear the gospel and to be in the body of Christ, we should do that.”

You can contact Youthworks’ Accessibility Ministry Advisor Bec Baines to get advice on how to be an inclusive church community.