Cultural Engagement

Fostering relationships with diverse individuals, cultures, and ideals that result in acts of evangelism, dialogue, application, and service that are biblical, courageous, and compassionate.

Because I want to be aware of and sensitive

to other cultures and experiences, I will…

Goal:

Become more educated and proactive in ministry

to the families of special needs children.

Strategies:

  1. I will review the children’s ministry curriculum with specific attention to how special needs children will be included.

  2. I will create a special needs classroom for children who struggle to cope in the traditional environment.

Resources:

  1. Meet with Karen to review activities and crafts that will be more effective with special needs kids.

  2. Meet with special needs parents to brainstorm how to better meet their families’ needs.

  3. Read Every Child Welcome by Katie Wetherbee and Jolene Philo.

Measurements:

  1. By the end of December, I will have included accommodations for special needs students in at least eight Sunday morning lessons.

  2. By the end of February, I will have created a welcoming room with appropriate sensory materials for use by special needs students.

Results

  • For my competence in cultural engagement, I am submitting a lesson plan which shows the addition of accommodations for students with special needs and a paper I wrote about an interview with I did with a mother of special needs children, which demonstrates my growth in the area of accommodating the needs of individuals who may have trouble learning in a mainstream environment while also making an effort to include them in the mainstream class wherever possible. I worked with special education specialists as well as parents of special needs children to provide an environment that would feel safe while still making it possible to present biblical teaching and instruction.

  • As I developed and demonstrated cultural engagement, I have learned to think more critically about the messages we send to special needs children and their families as they enter church. As I worked to open the new sensory classroom, I learned what can help to soothe or calm children who may be anxious or overwhelmed. The value of providing resources to allow students to remain in a mainstream classroom whenever possible and providing a space to go to when they feel overwhelmed became apparent through this process. I gained a new understanding of the love shown to families when we take the time to learn from them and adjust our plans or expectations to be more inclusive of their children with different needs.

  • As a result of the experiences documented by these artifacts, I will continue to develop in cultural engagement by taking the time to learn from different people how to minister to them most effectively. I will not assume that because a strategy or method works well for one child, all children need the same thing. I will encourage the church to think about our church's unspoken expectations or rules and the message we send to people when they come to church. I will continue to improve my curriculum to include more activities or accommodations for children with various needs or abilities to be as inclusive in our classrooms as possible.

Artifacts

Lesson with accommodations for the activities provided.

Paper detailing interview with mom of kids who have special needs.