I’ve heard it at nearly every conference I’ve ever attended. A pastor or children’s ministry director pulls me aside and says, with equal parts longing and defeat: “Doc, we want to do this. We just don’t have the budget.”

Here’s what I tell them every time: Special needs ministry is not primarily a budget problem. It is a vision problem, a training problem, and sometimes a courage problem. But it is almost never just a money problem. 

That doesn’t mean money is irrelevant. It means that the most powerful things in disability ministry — belonging, friendship, welcome, presence — are nearly free. And the tools to get started? They’re already in your hands!

Start With a Friend, not a Line Item
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At SOAR, our entire volunteer model is built around one question: Can you be a friend?
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We don’t require certifications. We don’t ask volunteers to be therapists. We ask: Can you show up? Can you be consistent? Can you see the person, not the diagnosis?

A trained, caring buddy volunteer costs your church nothing but time and intentionality. Pair that volunteer with a child or adult with special needs, and you’ve just launched your disability ministry — no budget required.

You Don’t Need New Curriculum

Here’s something most curriculum publishers won’t tell you: you probably don’t need to buy specialized materials.
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Preschool curriculum is written at about a three-year-old level — which works beautifully for a large percentage of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, regardless of age. Elementary curriculum, written at a second- or third-grade level, is an ideal fit for many children and adults with disabilities.

It isn’t until middle school curriculum that you might consider adapted materials. Until then, pair what you already have with a patient buddy volunteer who can simplify language and use visuals. That’s an adapted lesson — without spending an extra dollar.

Free Training Is Already Out There

Training doesn’t have to cost a fortune. SOAR offers a free 10-part Disability Ministry Training video series on YouTube — your team can watch and be ready to serve without ever leaving home. Some of the most effective training we’ve ever done happened in five minutes before class — a quick briefing on a participant’s needs, communication style, and what helps them when they’re overwhelmed. Real-time, relational, and free.

The Secret Weapon: Happy Meal Toys

I’m serious. About 80% of McDonald’s Happy Meal toys make outstanding fidget tools — they’re small, colorful, click, spin, or bend, and the moment a child is two blocks from the drive-through, they’re forgotten. Families in your congregation have bags of them in closets right now.
Send a simple bulletin announcement: “Have old Happy Meal toys? We’d love them for our disability ministry!” You’ll fill a sensory backpack in a week — completely free.

Garage Sales Are a Ministry Goldmine
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Fidget tools, therapy balls, weighted blankets, mini trampolines, pop-it fidgets — these show up at garage sales constantly, because families outgrow them. What’s sitting in someone’s garage for $2 might be exactly what your sensory room needs.

Here’s the best part: tell the seller what it’s for, and most of the time, they’ll just give it to you. I’ve received hundreds of dollars’ worth of sensory items this way. People want to do something good with their stuff. You’re giving them that opportunity.

Your Most Powerful Fundraising Tool Costs Nothing to Set Up
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Create an Amazon Wish List for your ministry — one for sensory backpack supplies, one for your sensory room. Make it public, share the link in your bulletin and on social media, and watch what happens. Noise-canceling headphones. Weighted lap pads. Pop-it fidgets. Visual timers.
Someone sees your post Tuesday evening, clicks the link, and by Thursday, a weighted blanket is on its way to your church. It costs you nothing but five minutes to build the list.
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Use Events You’re Already Planning
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Your church already has a Fall Festival and Easter Egg Hunt planned and paid for. Open the doors one hour early — quieter, calmer, fewer people — and you’ve just created the most welcoming invitation many families with special needs have ever received. Same event. Same volunteers. Same budget. Radically different impact.

And for your next Vacation Bible School — you don’t need a separate program. Simply add a special needs track with buddy volunteers already in place. You don’t need specialists or a big budget. You just need friends willing to show up.

A Final Word

SOAR didn’t start with resources. It started with a conviction that every person — regardless of ability — deserves a seat at the table. And it grew from there.

Luke 14 doesn’t wait for a fully funded budget before opening the doors. Neither should you.

Go to your congregation. Build your wish list. Hit a garage sale on Saturday morning. Open early at your next Fall Festival. The tools are already in your hands — and the families waiting for your church to show up can’t afford to wait much longer.

Stephen “Doc” Hunsley, M.D., is the Executive Director and Founder of SOAR Special Needs, based in Lenexa, Kansas. SOAR operates the nation’s largest disability day camp, consults with 800+ churches in 26 countries, and mobilizes 1,500+ volunteers annually. To learn more about bringing inclusion ministry training to your church or region, visit SOARspecialneeds.org or contact info@SOARspecialneeds.org.