What's New at AHI: Equipping the Body of Christ
Did you miss one of the previous announcements?
Click the links to read Part 1, and Part 2.
As was mentioned yesterday, Accessible Hope seeks to effect change and impact the 1 billion people with disabilities who need hope and transformation by equipping the global Church – believers who live and walk among this population, often without seeing them. The key resource we use to accomplish this is a training curriculum called the “Theology of Disability.”
Traditionally, this curriculum is taught among a group of pastors, church leaders, or ministry leaders who have requested a training, requiring long travel and days of gatherings, as we wrestle through challenging Biblical concepts together. With the start of the pandemic, gatherings and travel have been prohibitive, requiring us to be creative about how we continue to make this valuable resource available to ministry leaders around the world. Over the rest of this year and into next year, we are going to be recreating the same content into a variety of different formats and delivery methods.
1. A mini online workshop called “Made in God’s Image”
This 3-hour workshop is like a “sampler” of the full Theology of Disability workshop. It can be facilitated on Zoom anywhere in the world, provided there is adequate internet coverage. It can be an introduction to Biblical thinking about disability, or spark an interest in the full training option.
2. A full Theology of Disability (ToD) on Zoom
The full workshop will be restructured into four 3.5-hour modules that can be facilitated on Zoom once a week for a month. This will allow our Global Training Ambassadors (people in various countries who have been through a complete Training of Trainers and mentoring program for the ToD) to facilitate the full workshop anywhere internet is available.
3. WhatsApp Training Series
Many global ministry leaders do not have ready or affordable access to the internet, but WhatsApp is a communication app that is widely used throughout the Majority World. Brief training modules covering the content of the ToD will be developed using audio clips and slide images. These training modules can easily be sent around the world to those who have limited access to technology. And, the content is easily shared, allowing it to reach even farther!
4. A study workbook
The Biblical content from the ToD will be re-crafted into a digitally downloadable workbook that can be used by individuals or small groups for Bible study and discussion around the Biblical themes of disability.
5. Video training modules
We will also develop video modules, walking viewers through the content of the Theology of Disability curriculum. These videos will be able to be streamed or downloaded from the resource page on our website, and will be accompanied by a downloadable discussion guide that will allow groups to study the materials together and wrestle with their own response to those with disability in their community.
In addition to these new training resources, we are launching a new Accessibility Grant Program for churches that have been through the Theology of Disability program and need a boost to create a more accessible environment for people with disabilities in their community. These would be small-scale grants that will be matched by the church for special, one-off projects. This could include building a ramp or disability-accessible bathroom, hosting an event for people with disabilities in their community, doing an outreach project, etc.
All of these adaptations and programs take time and resources. Please pray with us as we re-create this priceless material. If you have technical skills (video production, graphic design and layout, etc.) that would be useful to this endeavor and would like to help, please contact us. To give toward this effort, click the button below.