Beacon Church Initiative

Creating the cultural shifts necessary for more welcoming, accessible, and vibrant communities where every member of the Body may come experience worship and share their gifts.

At Bridge, we believe that following Jesus is never a solitary journey. In view of this, Spiritual Connections has supported events such as the Sunday Evening Celebrations (SEC), and Roots and Wings Bible Study in order to meet the spiritual and relational needs of our friends with disabilities. 

Central to our efforts will always be the importance of connecting the individual to the body of Christ. But equally important is the empowering of our friends, church communities, and volunteers to equip them for the establishing of meaningful relationships that build one another up. 

How can Spiritual Connections help in this Initiative? 

Educate

  • BCC (Beacon Church Collaborative) Conference is held annually in October and is facilitated by professionals in the field of disability as well as self-advocates.
  • Resource Library Click on our library for quick navigation to helpful resources.

connect icon

Connect

  • Beacon Church Collaborative Zoom meetings held quarterly with groups from participating churches where we can support one another in inclusive ministry for the disabled.
  • Social Events held monthly such as the SEC Monthly Celebrations and other social gatherings. Spiritual Connections will assist in the planning and promotion of these events with our local churches.
  • Assist in the planning of Bridging Hearts Bags Events meant to make important personal connections with those who are challenged with disabilities, as well as their family and caregivers. 

We invite your church community to be a beacon – a light on a hill – that welcomes people of all abilities to come and find safe harbor in the love and grace found in Jesus. 

Beacon Church Collaborative ZOOM Meetings

Our Beacon Church Collaborative is off to a great start this year! Please join us!

This collaborative brings together a network of King County churches consisting of those who are well-seasoned in disability ministry as well as congregations who are newly considering it. We meet once per quarter via Zoom to collaborate about how to improve (or introduce) disability ministry within our churches. It is meant to be a source of information sharing and support between churches. After all, we were never meant to do ministry alone. We need each other!

Please contact Jackiek@bridgemin.org for details and the Zoom link for each meeting.

Archive of previous BCC Zoom meetings – AUDIO VERSION:

  • 2022 1Q – “How to Become a Welcoming Church to People with Disabilities” featuring Speaker Spencer Miller of Joni and Friends
  • 2022 2Q – “Moving from Ignorance to Awareness: Church Education and Culture”
  • 2022 3Q – “Identifying Barriers to Inclusion” featuring self-advocates Crystal Martin and Nate Alden
  • 2023 1Q – “Becoming a Welcoming Church: Let’s Ponder and Plan”
  • 2023 2Q – “Disability and Practical Theology” featuring Educator and Speaker, Dr. David Anderson
  • 2023 3Q – “Diving Deeper: Continuing the Discussion on Practical Theology”
  • 2024 1Q – “Inclusive Faith: Developing Opportunities for Rewarding Experiences Serving Together” featuring Speaker Victoria White of With Ministries

Upcoming Meetings and Events:

No event found!

2023 BCC Conference- Informative and Interactive!

Our second annual Beacon Church Collaborative Conference was held on October 24, and we could not have wished for a more informative and interactive meeting that featured three local speakers and at which eleven churches were represented among the attendees.

We wish to extend the most enthusiastic of THANK YOU’s to Dr. David W. Anderson who spoke on inclusive faith and practical theology, Pastor Ben Acone who spoke on inclusive faith and church leadership and to disability advocate Natalie Higashiyama who spoke on inclusive faith and church culture. We learned a lot and you got us all thinking of ways we can move forward in making our churches welcoming and inclusive places for people living with disabilities to belong, serve, and grow spiritually.

We also wish to thank Holy Spirit Lutheran Church for providing such a lovely venue in which to hold our meeting.

And yes- we are already looking forward to our third annual conference to be held on Thursday and Friday, October 17-18, 2024 at Lakeside Christian Church in Kirkland. More details to follow. We hope you will make plans to attend!

Upcoming Events:

No event found!

Churches Who Partner with Bridge

A faith community intentionally taking steps toward inviting and worshiping with people of all abilities.

We believe that no matter what abilities an individual has, God desires for all of us to worship Him in the context of community.

BELLEVUE

KIRKLAND

NORMANDY PARK

REDMOND

RENTON

SEATTLE

SHORELINE

WOODINVILLE