NASHVILLE (BP) — A centralized list of resources to help churches minister to individuals with special needs is available at sbc.net and will be updated and printed in the 2025 Book of Reports as a service of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Executive Committee (EC).
The EC is publicizing available resources in its commitment to special needs ministry, as articulated during its latest meeting in Nashville. After declining a motion from the 2024 SBC annual meeting to create a task force to study how best to minister to the special needs community, the EC affirmed the importance of ministering to individuals with special needs.
“In declining to create a task force, we’re not saying it’s not an important ministry,” Jeff Iorg, SBC EC president and CEO, said as the EC affirmed the importance of the ministry at the second plenary session Sept. 17. “We’re actually saying we have resources available, and we want to publicize them much more widely.”
The current list at sbc.net/specialneeds includes free and for-purchase materials from Lifeway Christian Resources, including curriculum, videos, training, articles and podcasts; and several articles from the Woman’s Missionary Union addressing a variety of special needs and related concerns.
“I would like to extend an open invitation to entity leaders and state convention leaders to add to this list before its publication next summer at the Southern Baptist Convention,” Iorg said at the meeting, “so that we can show a robust response across the denomination of all the things that we’re doing and are already available and we can tap into to enhance ministry in special needs communities.”
“Special needs ministry is important to Southern Baptists,” Iorg told Baptist Press after the meeting. “Many entities and state convention partners have resources available to serve people with special needs and we want to help churches find those resources.”
The online listing is designed to be updated as information is received, said Jonathan Howe, SBC EC vice president for administration.
“I would hope this would be a dynamic page that we can include information from a variety of sources,” Howe said, “including states and churches as well as the entity resources already listed.”
Lifeway President Ben Mandrell said a question he received during his report at the 2023 SBC annual meeting regarding special needs ministry served as a catalyst for the entity to upgrade its special needs ministry offerings, leading to its first-ever dyslexia-friendly kids Bible released this year.
Lifeway formed an advisory committee of disability ministry specialists and advocates from across the country, which led to its current resources.
“We want to equip every church no matter what size to serve the families in their communities who have children with special needs,” Mandrell said at the 2024 SBC annual meeting.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Diana Chandler is Baptist Press’ senior writer.)
