This workshop invites leaders and ministry practitioners to reimagine worship through the lens of neurodiversity. Integrating theology and research, participants will explore autism and spectrum language, behavior as communication, and practices that help congregations move beyond diagnosis towar...

Hosted by NTS Nurturing Care, this panel discussion engages ministry with neurodiverse children and their families.

Panelists Brad Lee, Ryan Nelson, Kayla Smith, and Dean Blevins offer theological reflection and practical guidance to help congregations nurture belonging, equip caregivers, and gr...

Dr. Melody Escobar, research scientist with the Baylor Center for Disability and Flourishing, focuses on practical and vital ways faith communities can foster true belonging for individuals with autism and their families.

Dr. Melody Escobar, research scientist with the Baylor Center for Disability and Flourishing, examines God's nurturing care for autistic people, particularly children. Escobar draws from Julian of Norwich and mothers' experiences of love as work, transformative, and inclusive.

Dr. Ross A. Oakes Mueller, Psychology Professor at Point Loma Nazarene University, introduced the “heart of compassion” through two video conference sessions. The sessions introduced the virtue of compassion and recent research in moral psychology addressing this important aspect of care. Dr. Oak...

Dr. Ross A. Oakes Mueller, Psychology Professor at Point Loma Nazarene University, introduced the “heart of compassion” through two video conference sessions. The sessions introduced the virtue of compassion and recent research in moral psychology addressing this important aspect of care. Dr. Oak...

Point Loma Nazarene University Emeritus Professor, Dr. G. Michael Leffel, provides a brief introduction to generative care, the primary virtue that guides both PLNU and Nurturing Care’s virtue formation project on the West Coast. You can read more from Dr. Leffel at the following link https://did...

Point Loma Nazarene Professor, Dr. Ross Oakes Mueller provides a brief overview of the PLNU Moral Integration project. The project provides the basic background for Nurturing Care’s West Coast emphasis on virtue formation with children through worship and prayer practices, nurturing generative ca...

Dr. Dean Blevins, Professor of Practical Theology and Christian Discipleship, shares about the changes that have taken place in children's ministry over the last several years, and how we are entering a new period in how we think about children. In addition, Dr. Blevins discusses the work of Nurt...

Dr. Dean Blevins, Professor of Practical Theology and Christian Discipleship, briefly discusses three phases in children's spirituality, and how our thinking is changing.

Dr. Dean Blevins, Nurturing Care Director and Professor of Practical Theology and Christian Discipleship, explains what is meant by the phrase Maker's Space as this relates to the work of Nurturing Care with Children in Worship and Prayer.

Dr. Dean Blevins, Nurturing Care Director and Professor of Practical Theology and Christian Discipleship, shares about the latest Maker's Space event for Nurturing Care with Children in Worship and Prayer, which took place in September 2024.

Stephanie L. Barton, Med CCC-SLP serves as a Speech Language Pathologist helping individuals with Autism and Selective Mutism reach their full potential. She is a practitioner and advocate for providing access to communication utilizing Spelling to Communicate Methodology to those who suffer from...

Stephanie Answer co-founded New Community Church with her husband Daryl. In this clip, Stephanie discusses the ways her son and New Community Church have grown together and integrated an understanding of autism into how they worship.

Watch the full interview with Stephanie Answer here:
https://...

Stephanie Answer serves as a co-minister with her husband Daryl Answer at New Community Church, a gathering of spiritual families providing holistic ministry in the Ivanhoe neighborhood of Kansas City. https://www.newcommunitykc.church/

Stephanie also champions the use of Spelling 2 Communicate...

Speech Pathologist and S2C practitioner Stephanie Barton joins with Stephanie Answer, a parent and ministry team leader at New Community Church, to explain how to best understand both nonspeaking and minimally speaking autistic children. Barton utilizes a new method, Spelling 2 Communicate (S2C),...

Dr. Dean Blevins interviews Kelly Lee, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Camp Encourage, and Kris Mitchell, LMFT, with the Joshua Center for Neurological on What is Autism.

Kelly Lee co-founded Camp Encourage in 2007 due to the community expressing a dire need for a quality overnight camp opp...

Dr. Dean Blevins interviews Kris Mitchell, LMFT, with the Joshua Center for Neurological Disorders and Kelly Lee, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Camp Encourage

Kris Mitchell is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has worked with children since 1992 in various capacities in both ch...

Dr. Dean Blevins interviews Kelly Lee, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Camp Encourage, and Kris Mitchell, LMFT, with the Joshua Center for Neurological on Barriers to Care.

Kelly Lee co-founded Camp Encourage in 2007 due to the community expressing a dire need for a quality overnight camp o...

A conversation with Kris Mitchell and Kelly Lee on how the local church can practically engage children with autism.

Dr. Dean Blevins interviews Kelly Lee.

Kelly Lee co-founded Camp Encourage in 2007 due to the community expressing a dire need for a quality overnight camp opportunity for autistic children and due to their leadership in a similar camp in the Kansas City area.

Kelly received an undergraduate de...