Every summer, churches throw open their doors for Vacation Bible School. Kids flood in, excitement fills the hallways, and the Gospel is proclaimed. But for many families with children who have special needs, VBS feels like a closed door. The noise, the crowds, the fast-paced activities—it all seems impossible.

Here's a stunning reality: one out of every four homes in your community has a child with special needs (CDC 2025). These families represent the largest unreached people group in North America. They're not across the ocean; they're across the street, driving past your building every Sunday, wondering if there's room for them inside.

The message you send through VBS speaks volumes: either God's family embraces everyone, or it doesn't. What if this summer could be different? The good news is that creating an inclusive VBS doesn't require unlimited budgets or facility renovations—just intentionality, creativity, and hearts willing to make room. Here are 10 practical steps.

Step 1: Cast Vision Through Prayer

Gather your team for prayer before adjusting schedules or ordering supplies. Ask God to expand your vision. Inclusion isn't adding a separate program—it's ensuring your current program works for all children. When your team catches this vision, everything else flows naturally.

Step 2: Start With Your Registration Form

Add this question: "Does your child have an allergy, special need, learning disability, or behavioral diagnosis you'd like to share so we're prepared to help them feel as safe and comfortable as possible?" Grouping these needs together removes stigma. When families answer, follow up. Ask about the supports their child uses at school or home. If a child has dyslexia, inform teachers not to call on them to read aloud. If sensory processing is challenging, offer noise-reducing headphones during worship. You're showing parents you're prepared.

Step 3: Assemble Your Special Needs Advisory Team

Recruit parents of children with disabilities, special education teachers, occupational therapists, and community professionals. Make this a year-round advisory group for all children's programming. Your advisory team becomes your foundation for sustainable, inclusive ministry.

Step 4: Connect With Families Early

Reach out months before VBS begins. Ask specific questions: Tell me something wonderful about your child! What brings your child joy? What helps them reset when overwhelmed? Create an FAQ document explaining accommodations. Connect new families with families from previous years. This gives your team time to gather resources and problem-solve.

Step 5: Launch a Buddy Program

This is your secret weapon. Recruit teenagers, college students, or adults to serve as one-on-one companions. The only requirement? Can they be a friend? Buddies help with transitions, activities, and redirection while celebrating small victories. Involve parents in matching. Host a pre-VBS meet-and-greet to reduce first-day anxiety. Buddies enable children with disabilities to participate alongside peers, not separated.

Step 6: Equip Every Volunteer

Every volunteer needs basic preparation. A 30-minute session covering clear instruction techniques, characteristics of ADHD, autism, and mobility challenges, de-escalation strategies, and why inclusion reflects the Gospel makes everyone confident. Ensure volunteers know where to find accessibility tools.

Step 7: Design Calm-Down Spaces

Create designated quiet zones with dim lighting, comfortable seating, fidget tools, weighted blankets, sunglasses, and noise-canceling headphones. Frame these as success tools, not punishment. Add visual schedules and countdown timers to help children anticipate transitions. You're preventing behavior issues rather than managing them.

Step 8: Rethink Activities for All Abilities

Examine every activity through an accessibility lens. Can wheelchair users participate? Can nonverbal children contribute? Offer seated alternatives for active games. Provide thick-handled markers for limited dexterity. Build flexibility into timing. Vary competition skills. You're not lowering standards—you're widening access.

Step 9: Make Teaching Accessible for All Learners

Ensure everyone can engage during worship and Bible teaching. Incorporate sign language for key song phrases. Provide visual storyboards and picture-based communication systems. Use props, puppets, and dramatic reenactments. Create laminated visual schedules using pictures and words. These supports reduce anxiety while helping all children build independence.

Step 10: Celebrate Every Form of Participation—And Follow Through

Train your team to celebrate all participation. The child who sits quietly but does hand motions for one song? That's a victory. Remember: all behavior is communication. Ask "What is this child trying to tell me?" not "How do I stop this?"

When VBS concludes, contact families for feedback. Many families attend VBS as a trial run. Your follow-up proves your commitment extends beyond one week. Inclusive VBS becomes the bridge connecting families to Christ's body.

Why This Matters

Accessible VBS benefits everyone. Visual schedules help anxious children. Quiet spaces serve introverts. Buddy systems provide mentoring opportunities for teenagers. Inclusive ministry means creating environments where all children encounter Jesus—demonstrating that God's love has no limits.

This summer, your VBS can be where a mother weeps grateful tears because someone said "yes" to her child. Where Gospel words about radical welcome become a tangible reality.

Every child deserves to hear they were created on purpose for a purpose. Every child deserves a church declaring, "We've been waiting for you."

Will your VBS be that church this summer?

One in four families surrounding your building has a child with special needs. They're not overseas—they're next door. The door is open. Now open it wider.

Stephen “Doc” Hunsley, M.D., is the Executive Director and founder of SOAR Special Needs in Lenexa, Kansas. SOAR (Special Opportunities, Abilities, and Relationships) serves over 1200 individuals with special needs through regular respite events and a Special Needs Day Camp. Doc is currently assisting over 600 churches locally, nationally, and globally in starting a Disability Ministry. Doc also organizes the Wonderfully Made Conference held annually every October in Kansas City. Doc is a USAF veteran and a retired pediatrician, while his wife, Kay, continues practicing pediatrics. They are proud parents to three beautiful children: Luke, Mark, and Sarah. The Hunsley’s middle child, Mark, is presently running the halls of heaven. During Mark’s five-year earthly stay, he gave his family the opportunity to learn from and love a child with autism. You can follow SOAR on Facebook or connect with Doc on Twitter: @DocHunsley SOARSpecialNeeds.org.