Author of ‘Leading a Special Needs Ministry’ Will Speak at Special Needs Ministry Leadership Conference

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Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321
WACO, Texas (April 12, 2017) – Amy Fenton Lee, author of “Leading a Special Needs Ministry,” will be the keynote speaker at the Special Needs Leadership Conference April 21 and 22.
Lee has written extensively on the subject of special needs inclusion in the church. For three years, through 2014, Lee was the director of Special Needs Initiatives for the reThink Group (Orange). Through this group, Lee created a conference track for special needs ministry leaders, started a modified curriculum for special needs students and produced two new resources to help equip church leaders.
“Special needs ministries are no longer luxuries reserved for large churches. With an exploding number of families walking the special needs journey and a millennial population who cares about social justice issues, it’s virtually impossible for a church to ignore the need for disability inclusion and expect to remain culturally relevant,” Lee said. “We’ll cast a vision for churches of every size, offering ideas for how small churches and large churches can weave the individual with unique needs into the fabric of the faith community. And perhaps most important, we’ll see how a church’s disability ministry may be what enables an entire church body to experience unparalleled spiritual growth.”
The conference will be held from 1 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 21, dinner not included, and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 22, with breakfast and lunch provided. The cost is $50 until the final registration deadline of April 18, and the student rate is $10. All sessions will be at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, 1100 S. Third St.
Some sessions will involve Lee interviewing leaders about volunteers, volunteers facilitating discussions, pastoral care and support needs and information and recommendations to help present the gospel.
Sponsors include: First Woodway Baptist Church – Helping Hands Ministry; and Baylor University – department of communication sciences and disorders, Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, department of educational psychology, School of Education, Institute for Faith and Learning, department of family and consumer sciences and the Center for Ministry Effectiveness.
This event is open to anyone. To register and see a full schedule, visit the First Woodway website.
by Kelsey Dehnel, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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