Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast
216 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 224 ratingsJoni and Friends shares encouraging conversations about finding hope through your hardships, along with practical ways to include people with disabilities in your church and community.
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Episodes
Starting a Buddy Ministry - Candy Nixon and Sib Charles
April 25, 2019 07:13 - 24 minutes - 22.8 MBIf you are looking for how to welcome families impacted by disability in your church, creating a buddy ministry is one of the best ways to begin! A buddy ministry is more than a program, it’s about building relationships. And serving as a buddy to an individual with disability provides friendship, discipleship, and Kingdom-belonging for the whole family. Listen as Crystal chats with disability ministry leaders Candy Nixon and Sib Charles about the impact that a buddy ministry has on special ...
Engaging Volunteers at Your Church – Bret Welshymer and Lauren Garner
April 18, 2019 07:05 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MB“People are people and everybody has a place in the church family. When you get to know somebody, you can help them to be a part of the family. If you never take the time to get to know them, that’s not going to happen.” -Bret Welshymer Everyone who comes through the church doors should feel welcomed and be included. But when a new family at your church includes children or adults with disabilities, how do you gather and train volunteers to meet their unique needs? Today on the podcast, Cr...
Invisible Disabilities: Fibromyalgia - Hallie Sheaffer
April 11, 2019 07:21 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MB“For a lot of people who deal with chronic pain it’s like constantly walking in a state of storm… and for someone who only sees sunshine and clear skies, they can’t even comprehend that it’s storming.” Not all disabilities are visible. While on the outside someone may look as if everything is fine, a disability can sometimes be hiding. And for someone living with an invisible disability such as chronic pain or illness, this challenge may leave them feeling misunderstood or unseen. Today, C...
Finding Courage When There Are No Answers: A Father’s Perspective - Steve Bundy
April 04, 2019 07:03 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBLike most parents, Steve Bundy was not expecting his child to be born with a disability. Following Caleb’s diagnosis of partial chromosome deletion, Steve felt so alone – he didn’t know where to turn or who would understand. On this week’s episode, he shares a father’s perspective on a road that few parents would choose to travel. But, as Steve eventually discovered, it's a road that has a destination. He talks with Crystal about the hardest, most painful, and most joyful years he could have...
How to Plan a Respite Event for Families Impacted by Disability - Gina Spivey and Bret Welshymer
March 28, 2019 07:39 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MB“Respite is for the parents and for the kids. It’s for the whole family to really have an opportunity to just come to a church and know that the church genuinely wants them to be there.” -Gina Spivey, Disability Ministry Leader Families or caregivers who have children with disabilities are often isolated, exhausted, and grieving. It's so invaluable when there is a place for kids to just be themselves, for caregivers to have a break, and for the church to serve well. Listen as Crystal Keati...
An Unexpected Diagnosis: Moving from Fear to Hope - World Down Syndrome Day with Shauna Amick
March 21, 2019 07:53 - 51 minutes - 47 MBWhen Shauna arrived at the doctor’s office for her four-month ultrasound, the question on her mind was what color to paint the nursery. But after an unexpected diagnosis of Down syndrome, she and her husband left with more questions than answers. “I pinched myself. I literally pinched myself. The one and only time I’ve done that in my life. Because it was so surreal. This is not supposed to be happening to me. This is not supposed to be happening to my baby.” Where do we turn when it seems...
Steps You Can Take to Include People with Disabilities in Your Church - Liz Babbitt and Lauren Garner
March 14, 2019 08:39 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBOne of the places where families impacted by disability should feel most welcomed is at church. But when it comes to building an inclusive environment, people and churches often struggle with where to begin. Today on the podcast, Crystal talks with two ministry experts, Liz Babbitt and Lauren Garner, who discuss what it means to really welcome someone with a disability. Listen as they talk through some of the barriers and challenges you may be facing at your church, and the first steps you c...
You Can Help Solve the Global Mobility Crisis Right from Your Community - Wheelchair Collection Month with Elizabeth Kelly
March 07, 2019 09:23 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBMore than 70 million people around the world are in need of a wheelchair, but only 10% have access to one.* During March, Joni and Friends is celebrating Wheelchair Collection Month to bring awareness to this need and help solve the global mobility crisis. Today, Crystal Keating talks with Elizabeth Kelly who oversees wheelchair collection for the Joni and Friends Wheels for the World program. Elizabeth shares how God redeems thousands of broken and discarded wheelchairs every year, turning ...
Mutual Friendship When Disability is Involved - How to move from just ministering to someone to doing life together
February 28, 2019 09:52 - 29 minutes - 27 MBThere’s a difference between ministering to someone who has a disability and really doing life with them. While barriers like staircases and narrow doorways may keep someone with a physical disability from entering a space, there are other barriers that keep them from genuine, deep friendship. How can we take steps to tear down walls that isolate someone from community when they have a disability? How can we build true mutual friendships? Today on the podcast, Crystal Keating is talking abou...
How Disability Impacts Everyone in the Family - Sib Charles and Candy Nixon share practical ways you can provide support
February 21, 2019 10:32 - 29 minutes - 26.7 MBYou don’t really know a person until you’ve heard their story. For so many families impacted by disability, that story includes unique challenges and demands that can be exhausting and relentless. Responsibilities are often 24/7 in order to meet the needs of a child, spouse, or grandparent with a disability. Today on the podcast, Crystal talks with Sib Charles and Candy Nixon, two people who understand first-hand the need for support. How can you come alongside a family impacted by disabilit...
Love, Marriage, and Disability - Real conversation with Kevin and Jamie Stark
February 14, 2019 09:10 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBIn the middle of his successful career in the biotech industry, Kevin Stark unexpectedly became a quadriplegic. A few years later, he met his lovely wife, Jamie, and they fell in love. On this special Valentine’s Day episode of the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast, Kevin and Jamie Stark give honest insight about marriage and the role that disability plays in their relationship. They share what it really means for any couple to say “for better, for worse…in sickness and in health…till death ...
Disability Etiquette with Tracey Motoda and Scott Bankhead (Part 2) - Breaking down visible and invisible barriers
February 07, 2019 11:20 - 26 minutes - 24.6 MBWalking a mile in someone’s shoes is a great way to understand their personal struggles and perspectives. While Tracey Motoda and Scott Bankhead don’t put that much wear on their actual shoes (they are both wheelchair users), we can certainly gain a lot of perspective from their own personal experiences of living and working in a wheelchair. In part 2 of their conversation with Crystal, Tracey and Scott reflect on some of the challenges they have faced because of their physical disabilities....
Disability Etiquette with Tracey Motoda and Scott Bankhead (Part 1) - How to build genuine friendships with people impacted by disability
January 31, 2019 13:25 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBDo you have questions about disability etiquette? You may have heard the “do’s and don’ts” of communication and interaction, but what is someone with a disability really looking for? In part 1 of our Crystal’s conversation about disability etiquette, she talks with her friends Tracey Motoda and Scott Bankhead, both wheelchair users with physical disabilities. They share personal experiences – what has been helpful and what has been hurtful – as well as ways to identify and remove the barrier...
Bonus - Joni Eareckson Tada, Nick Vujicic, and Katherine Wolf on sanctity of life and what determines a person's value
January 29, 2019 17:00 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBHow do you respond to those who believe some lives are just not worth living? In this bonus episode, Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder of Joni and Friends and a 51-year veteran of life in a wheelchair joins Nick Vujicic, Founder of Life Without Limbs, and Katherine Wolf, former model, young mother, and stroke survivor, to talk about the intrinsic value of every life. As sanctity of life is questioned for the elderly, those with catastrophic disabilities, people with psychiatric disorders, and mor...
Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder of Joni and Friends, on 40 years of ministry, cancer, and creative ways the church can include all people regardless of ability
January 24, 2019 17:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBFor our first episode, host Crystal Keating sits down with Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder and CEO of Joni and Friends, to talk about insights Joni's gained from 51 years as a quadriplegic in a wheelchair and 40 years of leading a growing ministry for people with disabilities. Joni also shares how she’s holding on to hope following a second cancer diagnosis and practical ways that encourage her – tangible tips you and your church can also use to encourage someone going through a health or disa...
Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast Teaser
January 23, 2019 13:27 - 3 minutes - 3.24 MBOn the new Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast, we’re answering real questions about disability. Each week, host Crystal Keating is sitting down with a special guest or ministry expert to explore creative and practical ways to embrace and include people with disabilities in our churches and communities. Find resources mentioned on the podcast: www.joniandfriends.org/podcast Crystal Keating has been part of Joni and Friends for 5 years helping Joni Eareckson Tada answer thousands of calls, le...