They came as one – some 420 Pastors, church leaders and lay people – to explore disability inclusion in the church. The Special Needs Ministry Conference 2025 was the first of its kind to be organised by the Board of Family Life under the Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) of The Methodist Church in Singapore, along with Koinonia Inclusion Network and the Methodist School of Music.

(Left to right) Rev Glenn Tan who was the facilitator of the panel discussion, Esther Kwan, Dr Eunice Tan, Dr Dominique Phang, Ps Lily Yong and Rev Canon Chua Siang Guan. All photos courtesy of CAC.

At the panel discussion facilitated by Rev Glenn Tan, Associate Pastor of Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church and the one who spearheaded the conference, participants were given a chance to share their concerns. Answering their queries were:

• Esther Kwan, the newly minted principal of Singapore’s newest special education school, ACS Academy. She is  caregiver to her 38-year-old brother who has special needs;
• Dr Eunice Tan from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) who heads the university’s Special Education programme;
• Dr Dominique Phang, the Vice-chair of the Local Church Executive Committee (LCEC) and founder of the special needs ministry of Sengkang Methodist Church, Ohana Ministry. Dr Dominique has two teen sons who are on the autism spectrum;
• Rev Canon Chua Siang Guan, Vicar of St James Church, who pioneered enABLE ministry for those with special needs;
• Pastor Lily Yong from City Harvest Church who is the Pastor of JAMs (Jesus for All Minds), a service for the intellectually challenged.

Below are the highlights of their sharing.

How do we help parents with children with special needs?

Through support groups and home visitations

PS LILY: Apart from supporting our members who are people with special needs, we have a parents support group as well. Every three months, we will meet all the parents to find out whatever support that they need. 

We also do regular home visitations, which are the backbone of our ministry. That has also helped us to build connections with the parents and to further understand the needs in the family.

Meet the unique needs of the family

DR EUNICE: I think you also need to ask the parents themselves. Every parent has a different way of coping with their stress. Some would like support groups. Some don’t. So maybe do one-on-one counselling.

Dr Eunice shared from her experience providing work opportunities to those with special needs.

ESTHER: The churches can speak to the families and ask, ‘What can we do?’ I think I’ve never been asked that, neither has my family. Sometimes we assume certain things, or we put certain expectations of what we presume to be the best and create something when actually that’s not what they need.

Worship together with them

DR DOMINIQUE: At Sengkang Methodist Church, what has worked for the group that we minister to is just providing that platform for their children to be able to come in and to be in church. That itself is already a support for many of them.

Dr Dominique not only heads the special needs ministry in her church, she is also raising two teenagers on the autism spectrum.

I speak from my experience as a caregiver for a long time. It was very difficult for us to bring our youngest son to church. But in Sengkang, what happened was that after some consultation with the leadership, we decided to make what is commonly called the Joy Room or the Cry Room at the back of the sanctuary, a space for families who have children who behave like my son – who jump around, run around, pace around, or might be considered disruptive to the mainstream group. We can attend service safely there, but we are not hidden away. We are not out of sight, out of mind because the congregation can still see us.

So for my family, we found that that was really something that was very helpful, and that is the sole reason why we can continue to go to Sengkang to participate in the main service even up to today.

Understand their cycles of grief

ESTHER: In the schools, I meet lots of families and caregivers, and one of the biggest things that they struggle with is going through cycles of grief.

Esther Kwan helps to care for her 38-year-old brother with special needs.

So the acceptance of the diagnosis is one part. It could be another time in their journey of life that it triggers again.

For my mum, I started finding out what were her triggers. For instance, when my brother was hospitalised, it triggered a whole slew of emotional responses that is because of past experiences. Also life stages – so when all his peers went to National Service, it was a big thing for her as well.

One thing that is really helpful is people coming alongside our family to journey with the family through life, not just for some portions. I do see it being a very powerful way through which the church can come and partner and journey with families, and show them the love of Christ right in the homes.

Offer support for siblings

ESTHER: Let’s not forget that the ecosystem consists of more than just the parents. There is the siblings. There’s also the extended family that is very intertwined in the entire space, and sometimes the siblings get forgotten. So when we think about families, we might want to think a little broader.

What difference can a truly inclusive church make?

More will be helped

REV CANON CHUA: I think if more and more churches actually step into this arena, you’ll find that these people with special needs will be taken care of.

Rev Canon Chua started a special needs ministry at St James’ Church about four years ago.

As a church, when they say they want to come to St James, my first posture is always just to find out their background. For some – especially if they are within my own diocese – my conversation with the parents is: “If possible, maybe it’s a season that you learn. I really want to return you back into your churches because there are often other families that face the same needs. Why don’t you learn something and if God leads you, you pioneer something like this in your own churches?”

Christ’s love will be seen

ESTHER: It is so natural that everybody embraces everyone for who they are because God calls us to love everyone, if we see them through the eyes of how God sees them.

Actually, disability is a construct that man made to make sense of something that we can’t make sense of. But God doesn’t see us that way. If more churches did it, we will be showing the world how Christ loves. It will be such a powerful testament to the world of who God is and how we can love.

What does inclusion mean if those with special needs are put in a separate Sunday School class?

A needs-based model

DR DOMINIQUE: In Sengkang Methodist Church when we consider how to include a person with disability, we basically have a team that comes together to review the needs of that person. Then based on that assessment and that review, we then decide what will work best for this person and his family.

So just using my son as an example: He’s 17. If you just think about him in age, he should be in the Youth Ministry with the other teenagers his age. But because his cognitive ability is probably about two or three years old, and he relies on others to help him with his day-to-day existence, if we include him in the Youth Ministry, that will not be a meaningful participation for him.

Inclusion in other church activities

DR DOMINIQUE: In considering the approach, we need to think from the person’s perspective what they consider meaningful participation. So that’s why in Sengkang, the idea of inclusion is not just the Ohana pull-out class itself, it is looking at it through a church-wide lens and thinking what would work best.

So even for our pull-out model, we attend service together with the rest of the church family on the weeks when there is no Sunday School, and we still also try to do things together as a big church family.

Inclusion in serving

REV GLENN: One interesting observation of Sengkang is that this church tries to involve individuals with special needs in the worship team as well. So that really gets to the element of inclusion because they can participate meaningfully.

DR DOMINIQUE: For those who are able to serve independently, we review what are their needs and how can they serve and then match them to a ministry that can take them. So it really is quite a labour intensive and resource intensive approach which is why we chose to really focus on the highest support needs first.

What do you do when a person with special needs wants to join a cell group, but the cell group is not ready to support the person?

Prepare the cell group with resources

REV CANON CHUA: I think it is (for us) to prepare the cell group. KIN has some materials that were developed in terms of how small groups can include (those with special needs).

Support the cell group

ESTHER: We must assure the cell group that we will be there to support them, give them the assurance that they are not alone. In engaging the cell group, it might be worthwhile to find out what are their concerns and what are the ways we can put in the support. Perhaps structure it so that the person may only go for certain things or slowly fit in rather than all the time.

REV GLENN: Whether the member has issues and can integrate within a cell group, or can help with some discipleship class, the whole area of matching is important. Assess the match.

What would you say to a church who has heard the call to be inclusive but is hesitant?

Help them find the right resources

DR EUNICE: I would say: “What is it you want to know?” There are a lot of resources out there. It’s just finding the right resources.

Encourage them

PS LILY: I would say: “You’re not alone.” Some of us are put in a situation where we have no choice but to step up. I want to encourage you. Like Peter who will step into that troubled water (Matthew 14:22-33). Sometimes we are so scared that we will drown.

Ps Lily has helmed the special needs ministry at City Harvest Church for nearly three decades.

Many of us, we will never feel fully ready. That is really okay because readiness in the ministry is not to figure out everything swee swee (nicely), like “once I know how to do from A to Z then I will start doing.”

Rather, it is about being willing, being open, being obedient and, of course, being dependent on God to enable you. God always uses our weakness to show His strength. So don’t be afraid to take that little step to step into the troubled water and do something for the Lord.

Remind them it is God’s call

REV CANON CHUA: As a Pastor, I’ll say I didn’t start a special needs ministry as a church growth strategy because then you’ll be sorely disappointed. It was really understanding that this is God’s call – not only for us at St James Church, but for all of us.

Suggest ways for them to involve special needs members

ESTHER: Start small but dream big. It may not even need to be a ministry. Include them in a service. How do I help them to be part of it?

Opportunities for employment or work is important for people with disabilities. There are many, many adults with disabilities who are not engaged meaningfully after school.

Could there be spaces in your churches that can open up for them to come once a week to clean up your church or to fold your bulletins or if you have conferences or something special, like the micro businesses that SUSS does, allow people to come in, get your feet a little bit wet and realise that actually they’re really not that scary.  

Teach them to engage the families

DR DOMINIQUE: I speak as a caregiver rather than a ministry leader because I wear both hats. To many caregivers, they don’t really care whether you are trained or not. What matters to them is that their child is loved and their child is safe, that they have a place to be with that when they are not there, they are missed.

As a ministry leader, I say: “Don’t be afraid to go and talk to the caregivers.” Sometimes, it is out of fear. How should I approach this issue?

Caregivers are okay to answer questions and they’re happy that you ask questions because it means that you’re thinking about them.

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“You matter, you have a place with us”: This ministry hopes to enABLE those with special needs to belong