To facilitate the discipleship and belonging of people with special needs at Faith Church.
Every human being is an image-bearer of God. (Genesis 1:26, Psalm 139:13-14)
Every human being is sinful and equally in need of Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24)
Every member of God's kingdom possesses indispensable gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:20-27)
For all participants, we ask that you please fill out an Individualized Worship Plan (IWP) to help us better know your child/family-member/participant and make sure their Sunday experience is as awesome as possible.
***SUNDAY MORNING PROGRAMMING WILL RELAUNCH ON OCTOBER 4, 2020.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW UPDATED PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES
Reflectors Worship: Sundays @ 11 am
*does not meet on the 5th Sunday of the month
Contact: Pam VanderMeer
We have multiple rooms that function similar to a special education classroom, but also promote inclusive activities. Volunteers are trained and have had a background check. Typical elements include: modified Bible lessons, crafts, games, singing, and other interactive activities.
***SUNDAY MORNING PROGRAMMING WILL RELAUNCH ON OCTOBER 4, 2020.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW UPDATED PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES
Reflectors Worship: Sundays @ 11 am
*does not meet on the 5th Sunday of the month
Contact: Becky Gouwens
We have two rooms that function similar to a special education classroom, but also promote inclusive activities. Volunteers are trained and have had a background check. Typical elements include: modified Bible lessons, crafts, games, singing, and other interactive activities.
Reflectors Worship: Sundays @ 11 am
*does not meet on the 5th Sunday of the month
Contact: Amy Boshears
COMING SOON!
For all participants, we ask that you please fill out an Individualized Worship Plan (IWP) to help us better know your child/family-member/participant and make sure their Sunday experience is as awesome as possible.
Friendship Club is a group for adults and teens with intellectual disabilities. It's a great time of fellowship, Bible study, prayer, music, and snacks. It meets on select Tuesday evenings during the school year calendar from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
Contact: Amy Boshears
TENTATIVELY PLANNING ON OCTOBER 2020 LAUNCH. STAY TUNED.
Wednesday Evenings (weekly), 6:45pm-8pm, @ Faith Dyer
A group of Reflectors parents and adult participants have been meeting together for this midweek discipleship and community night. Snack at 6:45 pm, small group study at 7:00 pm.
If you'd like to learn more or join this group, contact Pam @
or 219.864.0300 x145.
We love facilitating inclusion within the youth ministries at Faith Church! To find out more about Faith Students, you can visit their page here. If you'd like to learn more about how to get your middle school or high school student plugged into youth group, please contact Vinnie Adams.
Wednesdays | 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm | Faith Highland
Fresh Hope is a support group for individuals with a mental health challenge and their loved ones.
Handbook Training Video
2015 Video Training 1: CPI Crisis Development Model
2015 Video Training 2: Escaping a Grab & Bite
2015 Video Training 3: Escaping Hair Pulls & 2-to-1 Policy
2015 Video Training 4: The 5 Stages of Disability Attitudes
2015 Video Training 5: Leveraging Structure to Promote Engagement
2016 Behavior Training Pt. 1 (2/6/16)
2016 Behavior Training Pt. 2 (2/6/16)
PDF Handout for Behavior Training
2019 Video Training 1: Handbook Refresher
2020 "Behavior Basics" Video from Trinity Christian College
7/30/20 Special Needs Planning Presentation with Gina VanBaren
View list here // If you would like to check out any of these books from the Dyer office, please email
Heshima (Kenya)
Tesoros de Dios (Nicaragua)
Love into Action (Palestine)
God's Children(Haiti)
Equip India
Christian Horizons (Canada)
The 5 Stages of Disability Attitudes (original)
Doug Mazza Testimony at Faith Church (11/11/12)
The Great Banquet Recap (5/1/15)
Participant Intake Form (IWP)
We want to get to know each Reflectors Ministry Participant as best we can, and the information on this forms helps us do that. All information will remain confidential and will only be shared with Reflectors Ministry staff and applicable volunteers. *This is a requirement for all regularly attending participants
Parent Policies
We want to serve you, the parent, as best we can. Below is a link to a few expectations we have; mostly just FYI's and ways to help us serve you well.
Resource & Care Booklet for Parents
We have a PDF resource to provide contact information for local resources. Please feel free to browse through it, and (1) let us know if you are aware of additional resources we can add, as well as (2) reach out if we can be helpful to you in any way.
"My daughter is treated as someone who needs the gospel. She is given structure and there are expectations of her. I love that people are excited to see her when she arrives."
"We love Reflectors because they share our Lord’s love, His unique plan, and His value for all participants and families."
"The best thing about Reflectors is that it allows our entire family to attend a church that we all love together and feel accepted and supported and loved by others. We don't ever have to feel as if people are judging or wonder why we are here. We feel we belong, all of us."
"Reflectors has provided fun, activities and social events specifically designed for my son. He has loved every one of them!"
Are you interested in serving with the Reflectors Ministry? We'd love to have you!
If you have any questions about being part of the team, please feel free to reach out to us (click over the the "Staff" tab to your right to reach one of us). Otherwise, here's the step by step process.
1. If you're interested in serving with our weekend or mid-week programming, please start by filling out the serving application:
2. Once you've completed the application, a staff member will reach out to you to set up a handbook & policy training; meanwhile following up with the references you gave in the application and sending you a digital background check via email (if you're 18 or older).
3. Once those things are done, we'll get you on the schedule and away we go!
IF you don't have interest/capacity to serve on a regular basis, but would like to help out for a special event here or there, please click on the "Events" tab (to the left of this one). You can click on any individual event to find the volunteer sign-up link for that event.
Handbook Training Video Handbook PDF
"I am so thankful to have a church that supports special needs and has this wonderful ministry for me to serve. Our participants don't even know how much they touch my heart and I can only hope that I am doing the same for them."
"The best thing about serving in Reflectors is the opportunity to build multiple relationships. Not only with the families we serve, but with the other volunteers. I have loved getting to know the families on both ends of the participation of this ministry."
"It blows me away how much everyone cares for and supports each other. It's a place where we don't tear each other down, we build each other up. You don't have to fit into an unspoken mold to be accepted here. This is what the church should look like."
"The love and compassion I feel with each participant and the joy they so openly show us is amazing."
Special Needs Ministry Director | Central; Special Needs Teen & Adult Program Coordinator | Dyer
Special Needs Ministry Campus Director | Highland; Special Needs Teen & Adult Care and Resource Coordinator | Central
Special Needs Ministry Campus Director | Cedar Lake
Special Needs Ministry Kids Programming | Dyer; Special Needs Kids Care and Resource Coordinator | Central
Special Needs Behavior Specialist | Central
Special Needs Ministry Campus Director | Dyer
