Ongoing Partnership with New Community Church continues on Jan. 18th

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Dean G. Blevins
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A New Year of Ministry to Autistic Children.

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Dean G. Blevins

A recent release of a podcast interview with Stephanie Barton highlights one of the current themes active in our ministry prototypes in our Nuturing Care KC/Autism initiative: selective mutism, sometimes associated with minimally verbal autism, and the the role of play with autistc children. Barton serves as a consultant to our Lilly Endowment Inc. funded #NTS project. 

Barton’s interview on the podcast Rise and Build Nehemia 2:8, Share, Collaborate, and Teach. Building All God’s Children. The podcast revolved around the theme of neurodivergence and the goal of not changing people as much as empowering people to adapt and flourish as they are. 

Barton’s discussion with host Kendra Morgan around, specifically autism and selective mutism, reflects a recent report from one of our grant funded congregations, Growth Church. Director Demi Lawson-Residor reported the following “God sighting:”

During Growth kids we witnessed an incredible God Sighting. For the month of November Growth kids spent each Sunday learning about biblical thankfulness through praise, worship and prayer. This month the children were introduced to sharing prayers and praise from the past week. Praise is something good that happened in the past week. Prayer is something good that happened in the past week and prayer is something (bad/sad) that happened in the past week.

During class we moved around the class circle to allow each child to share their prayer/praise. One of the children with autism who is primarily non-verbal, sought out fidgets to utilize during the prayer/praise circle. Upon the invitation for him to share his prayer/praise either by picture or words, when asked his praise he said “Jesus” to which he began clapping and confidently smiling.

Reports like Growth Church grounds the idea that we can identify opportunities to empower all neurodiverse children to experience God. In doing so, those children can invite us into their spiritual lives, regardless of their neurodivergent world.

A good way to start a new year.

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Merry Christmas and a New Year of Ministry Initiatives

Posted on December 21, 2024 by Dean G. Blevins

Merry Christmas from Nurturing Care! We pray your final Advent service, Christmas Eve and celebration of the birth of Jesus provides a time of blessing and celebration. In keeping with our KC initiative, we do ask you to be mindful of autistic children in this season, many who often find our celebrations as moments of disequilibrium and confusion. May we all be mindful of neurodiverse children who treasure a consistent schedule during our myriad programs and events. Hopefully we can “adapt” and model hospitality to these children and their parents this season.

We also wanted to update you to our 2024 initiatives in Kansas City, celebrating ministry with neurodiverse children. February 26 Nurturing Care will host our annual Day of Learning at Nazarene Theological Seminary from 9:00 am-1:00 pm. Our guest lecturer, Dr. Amy Jacober, will explore the power and challenge of care in guiding autistic children in meaningful worship and prayer.

Amy Jacober serves as an outspoken advocate, author, and educator with many ministry interests including youth, disability, and increasingly mental health. Dr. Jacober teaches graduate, undergraduate, and professional students to consider context when looking at individuals and systems as well as faith and culture. She excels in connecting core beliefs with practical action, bridging the gap between theory and practice. Jacober’s academic journey includes lecturing in universities, colleges, non-profits both in the US and globally for more than twenty years. An author of articles, chapters, and books, Jacober’s recent writing includes Redefining Perfect: The Interplay Between Theology and Disability (Wipf and Stock, 2017). Amy embodies life as a minister and theologian as well as a wife and mother. She spends time in ministry with youth, people with disabilities, and those seeking to live out their faith for the good of others and the world. When not doing ministry, she spends time cooking, hiking, or playing board games with friends and family.

Register for the Day of Learning at

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nts-nurturing-care-day-of-learning-tickets-1104657142249?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Also, look for our upcoming Preacher’s Conference, September 23-24 hosted by NTS Praxis and Nurturing Care. Titled “All God’s Children,” the conference is dedicated to preaching on the importance of disability ministry in the church, particularly among neurodiverse people who often “mask” their challenges and their strengths. How might preachers engage and motivate congregations to move from inclusion to belonging?

Our Keynote speaker is Dr. Lamar Hardwick. The conference includes four additional national preachers and eight workshops. You can find more information in 2025 by going to the conference website www.nts.edu/preach

Posted in Autism, Children, Clergy, disability, KC Nurturing Care, Nurturing Care | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

KC Autism Ministries Underway and a New Partnership

Posted on November 16, 2024 by Dean G. Blevins

November marked the beginning of a new set of prototypes underway in Kansas City alongside continued efforts by congregations making a difference in autistic children lives through worship and prayer. In addition the month marked a new partnership that we announce at the end of this story

Dr. Dana Preusch, our new coordinator for Nurturing Care, gathered ministers for coffee or online conversation. Each discussion invited people to report a “God sighting” in children’s lives, or a humorous story, or just a story (good or bad) from participants engaged with the ministry.

Stories from the participants reflected both emerging possibilities and ongoing activities of change. To allow the group to continue their congregational efforts without distraction, only first names were mentioned for the sake of this account.

Continue reading →
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Nurturing Care in Northern California

Posted on November 15, 2024 by Dean G. Blevins
Posted in Children, Discipleship, NorCal, Northern California, Nurturing Care, Virtue | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Maker’s Space Updates

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Dean G. Blevins

A brief report by Director Dean G. Blevins on Nurturing Care’s recent and ongoing Maker’s Space initiatives.

https://cpl.vhx.tv/nurturing-care/videos/update-on-fall-24-maker-s-space-event

Posted in Autism, Children, Clergy, Design, Intergenerational, KC Nurturing Care, Nurturing Care | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nurturing Care Maker’s Space Inspires Creative Prototypes for Worship with Autistic Children

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Dean G. Blevins

The Nurturing Care Maker’s Space, organized by Nazarene Theological Seminary (NTS), concluded with vibrant energy as nine congregations presented their prototypes aimed at making worship and prayer experiences more accessible to autistic children. Over the course of two days, the event, hosted by Youthfront, saw participants tackle the question, “How might we create inclusive worship environments for autistic kids?” through a collaborative and imaginative process.

The gathering began day one with a letter board prayer (often used by non and minimally verbal autistic children) and Stephanie Answer’s meditation on Luke 5:17-26, which encouraged participants to consider both the theological and practical aspects of creating inclusive spaces. Sustained with worship led by EB, an autistic music therapist, consultants and facilitators provided steady guidance, fostering a spirit of curiosity and openness.

Under the direction of Dr. Dean Blevins, teams were encouraged to explore “wicked good” problems, identifying both the “why” of the challenges they face and the “how” in terms of building solutions.

As the weekend progressed, congregations worked tirelessly to develop a range of prototypes, each uniquely suited to their context. Ideas ranged from worship playbooks designed to gradually introduce autism-friendly adaptations in services to creating mobile sensory spaces that could be used for both indoor and outdoor community gatherings. One congregation proposed custom worship bags tailored to children’s sensory needs, while another built on their church’s inclusive culture to enhance spiritual engagement for autistic kids.

The event emphasized innovation through experimentation, urging participants to view their prototypes as a starting point for learning and growth. After presentations, each team was tasked with finalizing their proposals and preparing budgets, with five new prototypes and three ongoing initiatives set to emerge from the event. The collaborative spirit and creativity on display reflected the power of asking the simple yet profound question, “How might we?” in addressing the unique needs of young autistic children within faith communities.

As the event closed, participants expressed deep appreciation for the consultants’ encouragement and expertise, and the institutional support that made the Maker’s Space possible. This effort represents a hopeful step toward fostering greater inclusivity in churches, combining theological reflection with practical action to embrace autistic children and their families in worship and prayer.

Posted in Autism, Children, Discipleship, Entrepreneurship, Intergenerational, KC Nurturing Care, Leadership, Nurturing Care, Youthfront | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment