Book Review: Leading a Special Needs Ministry

This book by Amy Fenton Lee is reviewed by Rachel Miller Jacobs. She writes about the book, "Lee makes the important point that while churches are generally good at providing help in crises, most congregations struggle with the long-term reality of children with special needs, since caring for them requires cultural and systematic transformation rather than three weeks’ worth of casseroles. Lee divided the book into three parts to address this comprehensive vision, moving from the general to the increasingly more specific: loving the family of a special needs child, especially through the diagnosis; concrete suggestions for including special needs children in congregational life; and an FAQ section and five appendices that provide the building blocks for specific programs and procedures. As the title indicates, this is a very practical book—which is why it is so helpful in both enlarging congregational imaginations and suggesting next steps."