Leadership Takes the First Step
PLMC has long had a vision to be a safe place for the various communities within the church family. Among these, the disability community became an area of focused action in recent years.
Laying the Groundwork - A Collaborative Strategy
With a growing conviction for inclusion, PLMC reached out to KIN (Koinonia Inclusion Network) to explore the next steps.
Through conversations, we worked together to understand the church’s vision, discuss strengths and challenges, and co-develop a strategy that made sense for PLMC’s unique context.
From these discussions, two key initiatives emerged:
● PLMC would form a disability inclusion task force to spearhead efforts within the church.
● KIN (Koinonia Inclusion Network) would support by providing congregation-wide training, equipping interested members to take part in the journey. This phase underscored the value of partnership—PLMC proactively took ownership of its vision and initiatives, and KIN came alongside to help strategise, provide guidance on practical steps forward, and share ministry insights.
Turning Vision into Action
The year saw exciting progress as both partners played active roles:
● Bible Study Resource – PLMC took initiative by purchasing Enabling Communities, KIN's (Koinonia Inclusion Network) Bible Study resource, empowering cell groups to explore disability inclusion at their own pace.
● May: Congregation Training – KIN (Koinonia Inclusion Network) conducted a training workshop for the adult congregation, deepening members’ understanding of disability and reinforcing learnings from the Bible Study
● June: Koinonia Groups Resource – Following the book launch of Koinonia Groups, a practical guide for cell groups, PLMC recognised the need to deepen equipping of the church. They purchased the resource and made it widely available to its cluster/cell leaders and ministry leaders.
● August: Strategy Review & Next Steps – PLMC and KIN (Koinonia Inclusion Network) reconnected to evaluate progress and identify the steps forward. In the following months, the church’s task force was formed, and a survey was rolled out to gather insights from the congregation. A paper, titled Embracing Inclusivity, was produced and shared with church leaders so that they too would commit to the vision to shape an inclusive community at PLMC. The paper was also circulated to the entire congregation on PLMC’s Vision Sunday, on 5 January 2025.
Expanding Inclusion in Children’s Ministry
As PLMC deepened its commitment to inclusion, we've engaged a trainer connected through KIN's (Koinonia Inclusion Network) Community of Practice to equip our Children’s Ministry team.
This ensured that the team received targeted training aligned with their specific ministry needs.
