What church looks like when everyone belongs.
Special Friends is a simple way for any church to welcome children with disabilities. Each child gets a trained buddy, a calm place to reset, and Bible lessons that fit how they learn. Parents get to worship knowing their child is safe and loved.
Free for any church to use.
The heart of it
We need to modify the structure, not modify the kids.
Sue Hey, founder of Special Friends
Where do you want to start?
This site is for two kinds of people.
My child needs more support at church.
What a welcoming church looks like, questions to ask, and how to bring this to your church's leaders.
For parents For church leadersWe want to welcome these families.
Honest answers to common worries, how the model works, free training videos and a step-by-step toolkit.
For churchesHow it started
One little girl, one buddy, and a church that said yes.
Sue Hey is a school occupational therapist who kept hearing the same story from parents: their family had been made to feel unwelcome at church. In 2014 she started Special Friends at Stillwater United Methodist Church in Dayton, Ohio. Other churches have since started their own.
Read Sue's storyWhy this matters
Too many families are left outside the church doors.
special needs families have left at least one church because their child was not included or welcomed.
Church4EveryChildof special needs parents have skipped a religious activity because their child was not welcomed.
Church4EveryChildof church-attending special needs families say their church needs more disability training.
Church4EveryChildof churches are estimated to have no special needs ministry of any kind.
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