Part 2: An inteview about Inclusion Fusion ... what it is, why it matters, and how YOU can benefit

Today I'll continue with my two-part interview with Dr. Steve Grcevich about the upcoming Inclusion Fusion web conference. (If you missed the first part yesterday, check it out HERE.) As I mentioned yesterday, the picture on the left shows Katie, Steve, and Chuck Swindoll, Inclusion Fusion's keynote speaker. Today you'll learn more about Steve's work with Key Ministry along with more details about Inclusion Fusion.

Before I dive into the interview, let me share a couple of stories about Steve and his team with you. Within hours of launching the Facebook page for this blog, Steve commented, welcoming me to the online disability ministry scene. Katie and I have had several phone conversations, and we're due for another coffee date via phone soon. And while this last one sounds inconsequential, I had a weird high school-esque moment at lunchtime at the Accessibility Summit in April when I had to decide whether I was going to eat alone or add myself to a group who may or may not want an extra person tagged on...and, before I decided, Rebecca walked over and invited me to sit with her and Harmony. It's the little things that demonstrate that they are more focused on serving Christ and His bride, the church, than they are about making names for themselves.

As such, though, Steve has already made a name for himself as a physician practicing in child and adolescent psychiatry, and as promised, here is the second part of my interview with him:


You were trained as a physician specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry. A handful of the other speakers for Inclusion Fusion aren't originally from ministry backgrounds, while others - like myself - are leaders in local churches. How will that diversity benefit those who attend?

Scripture clearly teaches that all of us who are brothers and sisters in Christ belong to one another and have been given gifts to share with one another for the purpose of advancing God’s Kingdom (Romans 12:4-8). One blessing we’ve experienced with Key Ministry is the way God has brought together a team of staff and committed volunteers who have demonstrated excellence in very diverse career and ministry pursuits. We want to share that blessing by introducing our friends in leadership at local churches (senior pastors, children’s and youth pastors) to our friends in disability ministry with great ideas, as well as (in future years) other friends who may or may not be Christ followers but can teach us how to do a better job of ministering to kids and adults with disabilities.

One of my ideas for Inclusion Fusion in future years is to invite the world’s top researchers in my field (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) to do presentations for church leaders and parents helping them to understand how to better serve kids and families impacted by the conditions they study.

You lead Key Ministry in addition to wearing your MD hat. Why did Key Ministry
start, and what are y'all all about?

Key Ministry was established in 2002 to equip churches to minister to families of kids with “hidden disabilities”…significant emotional, behavioral, developmental or neurologic disorders lacking readily observable physical symptoms.

During the mid 1990s, a number of families from the church we attended (Bay Presbyterian Church in Bay Village, OH) adopted kids from Russia and Bulgaria with very complex emotional and behavioral issues. Libby Peterson (the Children’s Ministry Director at the time and an Inclusion Fusion speaker) recognized the need to help families who were struggling to stay involved at church because of the challenges their kids presented. I learned of Libby’s efforts while serving on the church Board and started asking questions about church involvement to parents of kids served by my practice. I discovered that most families coming to a practice like ours had no ongoing involvement with a local
church, in large part because churches weren’t prepared to meet the needs of their kids while the family took part in worship services or other church activities. Libby’s ministry at Bay Presbyterian grew to include families who hadn’t been part of the church, but discovered the supports offered there.

My participation in research offered me the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the U.S. to teach physicians and other health professionals. I routinely included a mention of Bay Presbyterian’s ministry as part of my standard introduction wherever I went. As the requests for assistance started rolling in, the need for a ministry to support churches serving kids with emotional, behavioral and cognitive disabilities became readily apparent. There are many outstanding ministries serving kids and adults with physical and developmental disabilities. At the time, no one was serving the kids and families we serve.

In helping individual churches to pursue and connect families of kids with hidden disabilities, Key Ministry suggests three general strategies: Serve them, create welcoming environments for the kids, their siblings and their parents, and include them in the activities vital to spiritual development. We do this by providing free training (Inclusion Fusion, our JAM Sessions that provide in-depth training to church leaders and key volunteers), consultation (on-site when possible, otherwise by phone or Skype) resources (our website, blogs and social media products) and support for church-based networks offering free respite care to families of kids with disabilities.

Who should attend Inclusion Fusion, and why should they want to?

Our hope is that any pastor, church leader, volunteer or parent with a passion for seeing families of persons with special needs connect with their larger family in Christ through the ministry of a local church will want to be part of Inclusion Fusion.

Okay, we're sold. How do we sign up?

FREE registration is available at http://www.inclusionfusion.org. 

Many thanks to Steve, for joining me over these last couple of days, and to entire Key Ministry team and PajamaConference.com, for providing this great event. 

While it feels weird to say "see you there" because I won't really see you (though you can see me if you check out either of my sessions!), I do hope you'll join us. You can pick and choose the sessions you'd like to see and watch them at any time during the conference (Nov. 3-5). It's a unique way to get equipped to do the work God has prepared for the church to do!