Your support helps foster inclusivity for kids with disability
Last year, Robertson Anglican church (‘Robbo’) in the NSW Southern Highlands hosted a kids party. Nothing special or out of the ordinary, just some pizza, party decorations and printed invitations. But for many of the invited guests—kids with disability—it was the first party invitation they’d ever received in their life.
Dan Bidwell, Senior Minister at Robbo Church, says:
“Our ‘Ben and friends’ event was inspired by one of our high schoolers who has special needs—he’s too old for our kids program but he’s not comfortable in our youth program. He loves movies, so we decided to invite a bunch of special needs kids to our church property for a pizza party and movie night. They came with their parent or carer, so we had a team of volunteers helping and they chatted with the adults. The kids were so excited to be invited to a party, and to take home a balloon at the end!”
With a heart to share Jesus with every member of their church in appropriate ways, Robbo Church has made intentional decisions to foster inclusivity by ensuring their church gatherings and on-site activities are accessible to everyone.
“You read stories in the Bible of Jesus welcoming all kinds of different people. He never shied away from anyone; there’s nobody he doesn’t love. And that’s the thinking behind our actions; we want to love everybody who walks through our church door as best we can and with the resources we have. God has blessed us with a church community spanning all age groups and all abilities.”
For Dan and the other church members involved in Robbo’s Disability Inclusion Committee, they recognised several families in their church with kids and adults with physical disabilities or who are neurodivergent. The committee made it a priority to consult with these families and include them in decision-making, because they also want their kids to know Jesus and to be part of a loving, thriving community.
“A key question for us is ‘how do we show the world that we love the same people that Jesus loves?’”
Making ministry more accessible
Bec Baines, Youthworks’ Ministry Support Team (MST) Accessibility Ministry Advisor, has been a vital support to the team at Robbo Church as they seek to love all members of their church. Dan says,
“Having Bec available as an advisor enabled us to start a conversation on how to make things more friendly and accessible, and along the way she’s helped us think through some different issues and events, by checking in regularly with us.”
One of the church’s initiatives was to create a cue card that uses pictures to show the program sequence of a church service. This card is available for any visitor who may be neurodivergent and so be anxious about new things and not knowing the routine. Having the sequence explained in simple images helps these people manage expectations and therefore participate actively in the service.
They have also created a space for people with sensory needs, in the foyer adjacent to the main church meeting area, with dimmer lighting and lower volume of the service sound feed. Robbo Church is in the process of reconfiguring their church building, so that by downsizing the staff offices they can create more comfortable and separate spaces for both infants in creche and people with disability.
As Dan says,
“We’re creating opportunities for more people to walk in the door, and we will just keep loving those people in thoughtful ways.”
Read Bec’s article about making your ministry spaces accessible and inclusive to all.
Bec has also written some helpful information on enhancing your church website to make it more accessible and welcoming.