Disabilities Ministries

Staff

Charlotte Thoms

Disabilities Ministries Coordinator

Email | (585) 329 9295

Our mission

To encourage local congregations to give special attention to individuals with disabilities. We also encourage them to develop programs for witnessing to people with disabilities and make our churches accessible to all.

How we serve

Make recommendations to church boards regarding steps that could be taken to make the church facilities more accessible for people with disabilities
Assist the church in transportation solutions for people with disabilities
Advise other ministries and church leadership regarding possible involvement of members who have disabilities
Serve as a liaison with organizations providing services for people with disabilities such as Christian Record Services and promote Christian Record Services programs in the local church
Provide resource materials for local congregations

Resources

Disabilities Ministries Handbook
Guidelines for Disabilities Ministries Programs
Guide to Conducting a Disabilities Awareness Sabbath
Videos that promote disabilities awareness

Seminars/workshops

Disabilities Ministries has an annual NAD weekend the last weekend in March or the first weekend in April

Contact Us

(585) 329-9295

North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Disabilities Ministries

https://www.naddisabilityministries.org/

Most Popular Stories

Networking in the Disabilities Ministries Community

On May 1-3, 2024, the Disability & the Church Conference hosted by Key Ministry took place in Orlando, Florida. The conference featured speakers and exhibitors from different parts of North America and various denominations and ministries who provided vital information about ways to foster an inclusive worship experience for individuals with and without a disability. They discussed the importance of accessible physical spaces, inclusive language and imagery in worship materials, and trained volunteers to support individuals with disabilities during services. Speakers and attendees also shared inspiring testimonies about their personal or family-related experiences with a disability.

Local Conference Deaf Ministries Help Share Jesus at Connecticut Deaf Expo

About 1,500 people in the Deaf community came from all across the Northeast U.S. and beyond to the Waterbury Arc in Waterbury, Connecticut, on May 20, 2023 to meet friends, visit booths, watch exhibitors, and enjoy being in the Deaf world for a day. Jonathan Salomon and Jessica McGowan Smith from the Southern New England Conference Deaf Everywhere Are Family (DEAF) ministry supported Paul and Tina Kelly at the Three Angels Deaf Ministries (3ADM)/Deaf Bible School booth.

Grant Received by Christian Record Services Will Increase Braille Access Worldwide

Christian Record Services (CRS) has received $597,000 from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to increase its braille production capacity. Funding will enable the ministry to expand production space at its headquarters, purchase additional braille embossing equipment, and hire one staff member to meet the increase in production.

Debra Brill, Longest-Serving Vice President at the North American Division, Retires

Debra C. Brill retired on Oct. 1, 2019, after serving the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America as a vice president for 21 years. Brill served as administrative liaison and chair of NAD committees and on the boards many NAD ministries. Brill, with 33 years of denominational employment, currently holds the record for longest-serving vice president of the NAD, and she is the second women to occupy a vice president position at the division.

Oakwood University President to Take on New Role at the North American Division

On Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, the Oakwood University Board of Trustees announced that Leslie N. Pollard, Ph.D., has accepted a new position with the North America Division. In a statement, Oakwood University shared that Pollard has accepted a new opportunity to join the North American Division (NAD) as assistant to the president for pastoral continuing education and mission, commencing July 1.