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 buddy who stays by their side, 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.
We need to modify the structure, not modify the kids.
Sue Hey, founder of Special Friends
Where do you want to start?
Choose the one that sounds like you.
My child needs more support at church.
What a welcoming church looks like, questions to ask, and a free tool to make a one-page profile of your child.
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 church leadersLooking for a way to serve at your own church? Being a buddy takes about an hour on Sunday morning. See what a buddy does
How it started
How Special Friends began
Sue Hey is a school occupational therapist who kept hearing parents say their family had been made to feel unwelcome at church. In 2014 she started Special Friends at Stillwater Church in Dayton, Ohio. Other churches have since started their own.
Read Sue's storyWhy this matters
Many families with a child with a disability have stopped going to church.
families of children with disabilities have left at least one church because their child was not included or welcomed.
Church4EveryChildof these parents have skipped a church activity because their child was not welcomed.
Church4EveryChildof these families who do attend say their church needs more disability training.
Church4EveryChildof churches are estimated to have no special needs ministry of any kind.
The Banquet Network