Date

12-16-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Michael Grayston

Keywords

inclusion, children’s ministry, training, disabilities

Disciplines

Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

Abstract

The strategic problem aims to address how to train volunteer children’s ministry workers to feel more confident and well-equipped to handle children with diverse needs. Paul wrote in Romans that one should be accepting of all people just as Jesus accepted (Rom. 15:5-7). Humanity is created in the very image of God, the Creator. It is essential to recognize that everyone is created in God’s image and, therefore, deserves to be treated as such (Gen. 1:27). A healthy children’s ministry should ensure that all children are not only welcome within the classroom but also taught in a way that they can understand, process, and internalize. The purpose of this volunteer training is to apply Rose and Meyer’s (1984) theory of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to the curriculum, expanding the children’s ministry volunteers’ understanding and ability to teach, handle, and support children with varying needs and abilities while welcoming and accepting them into their classrooms within NSCBC in Beverly, MA. The project will be a recorded video providing essential information for children’s ministry volunteers to implement in their classrooms, thereby promoting a more inclusive and welcoming environment. This video training will be asynchronous, allowing volunteers to view it at a time that is convenient for them and providing the time they need to process the information. Support will be offered through one-on-one meetings, informal check-ins, and supplementary materials. Assessments will be given before and after the training to more clearly measure growth and confidence in teaching children with varying needs.

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