CHURCH Stories
Sengkang Methodist Church
SengkangMethodist Church
2020
God’s Design for the Church
Ohana Ministry, a special needs ministry in Sengkang Methodist Church (SKMC), was started on 2013 by Dominique Phang, a mother of two sons with autism. Back then, God called Dominique to start a separate class for children and youth with different learning needs. It started with one student and within five years, grew to 12 students.
Seeing the increasing needs of the ministry, the partnership between KIN and SKMC started with an engagement to speak to the congregation on God’s Design for the Church based on 1 Corinthians 12.
2021
Inclusion beyond Ohana
Recognising the need for whole church inclusion, Dominique reached out to KIN to explore the next steps for SKMC. Through conversations, we agreed that the broad vision is to help SKMC champion a vision of inclusion of people with disabilities (PWDs) and their families that extends beyond Ohana ministry.
The responsibility of inclusion should not lie on Ohana alone. This tied in especially well with SKMC’s effort to strengthen the cell group ministry. This vision also kick-started a greater collaboration between ministries in SKMC and the Methodist Chinese Annual Conference (CAC) churches.
A series of workshops and sermon targeted 3 different levels of audience, i.e. leadership, cell group and whole church (including attendees from CAC churches). The Whole Church for the Whole Family series was designed to enable (i) leadership alignment, (ii) discipleship and pastoral care in cell groups and (iii) development of inclusive attitudes in the congregation.
2023
Building upon whole church Inclusion
Ohana’s partnership with KIN intensified in 2023. That year saw many engagements for different target audience in the church including the youths.
Strategically, the broad vision for this series builds upon the overall aim toward a church-wide and a CAC-wide vision upholding the inclusion of PWDs. KIN helped to enable SKMC to build capacity for understanding and service toward PWDs through the lens of hospitality, team bonding, sexuality development and behaviour management in PWDs as well as inclusive culture building for the youth ministry.
KIN was engaged in discussions with the youth leaders who wanted to play an active role in shaping the culture of inclusion in the D’Anchor Youth Ministry. KIN’s bible study resource, Enabling Communities: Bible Studies on Including People with Disabilities in Church, was used in a series of workshops to engage the youths in conversations on how to build relationships and include their peers with disabilities in their small groups.
2024
Expanding Inclusion to Sunday Schools
As SKMC deepened its commitment to whole church inclusion, the children with special needs are definitely not forgotten. SKMC proactively engaged KIN to equip the Sunday School teachers and leaders. The seminar focused on developing a broad and aligned understanding of Inclusive
Christian Education and reframing how an Inclusive Sunday School can look like. The event was very well-received and saw an attendance of almost a hundred participants from many churches including SKMC and CAC churches.
2025 & Beyond
Slowly but Surely
Come 31st May 2025, CAC together with SKMC will organize its inaugural Special Needs Ministry Conference (SNMC), held in Bukit Panjang Methodist Church. This conference, which is open to
all churches in Singapore, is purposefully designed to equip and connect individuals, ministry
and church leaders in this journey of inclusion.
A story video of SKMC’s Inclusion Journey will be launched at the SNMC, to inspire and encourage church leaders and conference participants to respond to God’s call towards disability inclusion.
KIN is also deeply grateful for the support of CAC to fund the translation of KIN’s resources Enabling Hearts and Enabling Communities to reach the Mandarin-speaking community. We
look forward to the launch of these resources during Ohana Sunday in October 2025.
Indeed, God makes all things beautiful in His time. From a small seed, Ohana, the journey of disability inclusion, which began over a decade ago in SKMC, has now grown to a tree, offering refuge to all who come (SKMC, CAC and beyond). Yet, the journey is far from over – this tree must continue to grow. The path is now open, and the time is ripe for CAC and the Methodist Church of Singapore to embrace this mission. Habakkuk 2:2-3 – For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
Looking Ahead: A Shared Commitment
Ohana Team Bonding by KIN
SKMC Youth Workshop on EC – Group Discussion
SKMC Transitioning to Inclusive Sunday School Workshop
PLMC is now building upon this momentum with a long-term plan to integrate inclusion into the different aspects in the life of the church, with a training session by KIN slated for early 2026 on an inclusive Sunday School.
As this journey unfolds, one thing remains clear: Disability inclusion is not a one-time initiative, but an ongoing commitment that grows through partnership.
Together, PLMC and KIN continue to learn, lead, and take action, with each bringing unique strengths but moving forward with a shared heart for disability inclusion.