Teachers and volunteers don’t need to feel overwhelmed by all the possible diversity of needs in the classroom. They can simply get to know each student and do their best to meet their needs.

“We’re a small church but are blessed to have four boys with autism regularly attending. We want to make sure they can understand and apply the Sunday school lesson. Can you help us?” Questions like this one from Larry in West Texas are my favorite to answer as a disability ministry consultant because it shows this church is making discipleship a priority by desiring to meet the needs of these boys.

I grew up with a sister with Down syndrome, and I have a son with profound autism. The churches we have been a part of have all had discipleship options to meet the needs of my sister and son and so many other families impacted by disability. Doing this well starts with how the church sees people with disabilities. Do they see only deficits, or do they understand each person is made in the image of God and has the potential to have a relationship with him and grow in Christlikeness? When we can see the image of God in everyone, we can focus on their good design by our loving Creator.

Jesus helped his disciples make this mindset shift in John 9. When they encountered a man who was born blind, the disciples focused first on his deficits as they asked who was to blame for his disability. But Jesus’s words focused on God’s design and purpose for the man: “Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him'” (John 9:3). Churches can make that shift as well. When preachers, small group teachers, volunteers, youth ministry leaders, and fellow church members see the imago Dei in each person—remembering he or she was designed on purpose for a purpose, they are motivated to disciple him or her to the best of their ability.

But how do we meet the needs of such a diverse group of learners we have been blessed with? And how do we know what they can learn, the challenges they face, and what our expectations should be? Keeping up with all the diversity in the Sunday school classroom or small group, including physical and cognitive disabilities, mental health diagnoses, behavioral diagnoses can feel like a lot. Not to mention the additional challenge of learning disabilities plus developmental stages, learning styles, and motivational behaviors! How can a volunteer teacher who sees the kids for a few hours a week remember everything he or she would need to in order to teach every student? There’s a solution you can use at your church to help focus on the discipleship opportunities intrinsic to each person.

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