Our Mission
Our mission is to lovingly share Christ with God's unique children, grow them spiritually, and provide them with opportunities to serve and be served. It is the desire of the Ministry to be a lighthouse of hope, acceptance and belonging for individuals with special needs and their families, so they may experience the love of Jesus and excel to their greatest potential, becoming all God desires them to be.
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Disability Ministry in ActionHighlands' Special Needs Ministry is for those families searching for a place to worship and to grow spiritually within a church body.
- Volunteers provide a safe and loving atmosphere for children with special needs to learn and experience the love of Jesus Christ.
- Volunteers assist students with any extra help needed within Sunday School classrooms.
- A self-contained classroom is available with trained volunteers for direct one to one attention.
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Sunday Morning Program
Highlands' Special Needs Ministry team is available for both the 9:00 and 10:45 service times. The Special Needs room is located on the Northeast side of the Student Ministry building. Bring your child to the Special Needs room, one of our volunteers will get them checked in and you'll be ready to go!
In His Image Parent Core Group:
Please join us in a parent-led core group for parents and caregivers of adults and children with special needs. This group is a Christ centered, safe place to pray, laugh, cry and be involved in a bible study with other parents who are experiencing a similar walk in life. This group meets the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month at 9:00am in Adult Room A. Your children will be cared for in our Sunday School classes.
Respite Night
The number one need for parents of a special need child is respite! Highlands is excited to offer a once a month respite night to our church and community families caring for a special needs child. Respite night is a chance for the parents of a child with special needs to bring all their children (including typical children) to us. We plan fun activities (park, dinner, music, art, movie) for the children to do. Respite night is the first Friday night of the month from 6-10 and costs $10.00 for the first child, $5.00 for each additional child, up to $20.00 per family. Scholarships are available. A pizza dinner is served, you will need to provide any special food/snacks your child needs. Respite night is first come, first served and the number of children allowed varies with the number of volunteers available. Reservations are required and we will take reservations 4 weeks ahead of time and close our reservations a week before the event. You will then be notified to let you know if we have enough volunteers to include your child. For further information please contact Missy Farrington at 602-820-3345
About our Director
Missy Farrington, Director
Missy Farrington has a BAE in Special Education and a MEd. in Early Childhood Special Education. Missy is a certified Special Education teacher with the State of Arizona and taught Special Education for eight years in the Mesa School District. Her experience includes, but is not limited to, teaching children with speech delays, ADD, mental handicaps, autism, medically fragile conditions, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, FAS and drug exposed children. Missy is so excited to combine her love of the Lord and her love of working with people with special needs and their families as the director of the In His Image Ministry at Highlands. Please feel free to contact her with any questions or suggestions that you might have. 602-820-3345 or inhisimage@highlandschurch.org
About our volunteers
Jenna Anderson, Assistant Director
Jenna is a board-certified music therapist who specializes in working with children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Sue Bastian, Assistant Director
Sue has a special needs teaching degree from the University of Delaware, has taught special needs classes in the public school system and is currently the Director of Operations at Quest Alliance, Inc. - a company that provides day programs for special needs adults as well as after school programs and summer camps for kids. Sue is also proficient in sign language.
Other Volunteers
All volunteers working with children in the Special Needs Ministry are either thermselves certified and experienced with special needs children or under the direct supervision of those who are. The Special Needs Ministry team meets bi-weekly as a Core group to discuss the program and how best to help the children who attend so that they might have a heart for Christ!
More Information
If you have any questions or would like more information about the Special Needs Ministry, feel free to contact Missy Farrington at 602-820-3345 or inhisimage@highlandschurch.org
Parent Support
If you would like to connect with other parents of special needs children, please contact Matt and Glori Nuessle at 480-837-5480 or mnuessle@juno.com