Using Teens as Special Needs Buddies

Joel Wallace, Director of Briarwood Presbyterian Church’s (Birmingham, AL) “Special Connections” Special Needs Ministry, recently sat down with me to share how his church has created a tremendously successful buddy program.  “Two years ago the parents of our participating children with special needs shared their desire to expand our program beyond a single self-contained classroom.  Many parents felt their children were capable of taking part in the typical classrooms and they wanted them to experience more inside the general children’s ministry.  I began thinking about how we could accomplish this and my mind kept coming back to using our youth.”  Wallace and his wife Holly had been active in Briarwood for years.  Their connections across the congregation were strong and as a result they had relationships with a handful of teenagers and their families inside the church.  One particular teen was Brittany White.  Wallace continues, “Holly and I knew that Brittany had a heart for children with special needs as she had worked as a special needs volunteer inside our church’s summer camp.  In addition, we saw that Brittany possessed leadership ability and maturity that could make her a strategic part of our special needs program.”

In the meantime, Wallace laid the foundation for hatching his idea of launching a teen staffed special needs buddy system by gaining mindshare of Briarwood’s youth ministry team.  Shortly after a conversation with Briarwood’s youth minister, Wallace and his wife approached White with the idea of developing and coordinating the teen buddy program for the special needs children’s ministry.  White quickly agreed to serve in such as role and shares “Several years ago I served on a mission trip where I worked alongside a child with autism who also had a cleft pallet.  I felt especially drawn to that child, as I sensed his heart was so pure.  From that experience I developed the passion to help children with special needs.  So when Mr. Wallace asked me to help start a buddy program for Special Connections, it was an easy decision to say ‘yes’.”  Brittany is now a senior at Briarwood Christian High School (Birmingham, AL) and headed for Auburn University this fall where she hopes to serve again in a church’s special needs ministry.  (Auburn/Opelika, Alabama readers, take note!)

I have observed the Special Connections buddy system in action and indeed it is one of the best programs I have run across.  The enthusiasm and appreciation of Brairwood’s parents for the program is phenomenal (I was fortunate enough to see this!).  Many of the pointers below are drawn from Briarwood’s Special Connections buddy system framework.

Set up a formal application process

By developing an application process involving references and interviews for each prospective teen servant, the message is conveyed that participating in the teen buddy program is both an honor and a commitment.  Requiring applicants to write an essay about their own spiritual journey or the desire to work with children with special needs may deter not-so-serious candidates from applying.  In the meantime, by setting up some application parameters, the message is conveyed to the teens that their service is both valued and important.  Briarwood buddies know that they can list their service in the Special Connections ministry on future job and college admissions applications.

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