5 upcoming conferences with solid disability ministry content

By Shannon Dingle

rEcess training from 99balloons.org
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Dates: March 2-3
Personal note: A couple resources I designed will be provided to attendees, and I can tell you that no disability ministry non-profit has impressed me more with their heart, passion, and gospel-centeredness than 99 Balloons. I also love that one part of the event is actually participating in a respite night!
Link for more info

Disability Ministry Expo 2012 (free!)
Location: College Heights Christian Church in Joplin, MO
Date: March 31
Link for more info, including recording from last year's conference

Accessibility Summit
Location: McLean Bible Church in the D.C. area
Dates: April 20-21
Personal note: I attended last year, and this year I'll be presenting a session on Recruiting, Training, and Supporting Volunteers in Disability Ministry
Link for more info

Joni & Friends Through the Roof West Coast Disability Ministry Summit
Location: First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena, California
Dates: May 18-19
Link for more info

D6 conference 2012: [Abide]
Location: Dallas-Frisco Embassy Suites Hotel, Convention Center & Spa
Dates: September 26-28
Personal note: I'll be presenting two pre-conference labs about disability ministry on September 26. The rest of the offerings aren't specific to special needs ministry but the entire conference is about family ministry and generational discipleship, which is at the heart of disability ministry in many ways.
Link for more info
Link for D6 days, which give you a glimpse of the conference online (TODAY, April 17, and July 24)

If you have any others you would recommend, leave a comment with the details!

Category: conferences 4 comments

4 comments:

Rochelle said...: Group's KidMin Conference will include sessions and workshops on children with special needs and disabilities. The conference is site is http://group.com/childrens-ministry/kidmin-conference
and is being held:
September 28-October 1, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois; February 21, 2012 4:59 PM
Shannon Dingle said...: Thanks for that addition, Rochelle!; February 22, 2012 9:25 PM
Shannon Dingle said...: I also just remembered that the Orange Conference has a special needs track headed up by Amy Fenton Lee of The Inclusive Church blog. That event is in Atlanta from April 25 to 27. Here's her post about it: http://theinclusivechurch.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/2012-orange-conference-special-needs-track/

And the Children's Pastors Conference in Orlando each January and San Diego each February also offers an excellent special needs track, so you may want to check for dates for 2013! http://incm.org/cpc/san-diego/

And finally the Children Desiring God conference at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis - held in odd years, so May 2-4, 2013, is the next one - is also rich with special needs ministry offerings! Here's the link for 2013, with registration opening in November 2012: http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/events/conference2013.php; February 22, 2012 9:28 PM
MommaGail said...: Have you heard of PURE ministries? I just heard of them last week. I know they're having a conference in the south (Alabama maybe?) in April.; March 7, 2012 10:08 AM