With a call on Ellen’s life and a simple “yes” from her senior pastor, belonging was ushered into a small-town church in Northeast Florida for isolated families like her own living with disability.

Through the radically inclusive love of Jesus Christ, Ellen and her “village” experienced God move in unexpected ways through a budding disability ministry.

When suddenly her family found themselves in crisis, God used that church community to carry her family through the hardest time of their lives.

The experts offered no hope for her son’s future, the school system was at a loss with how to deal with his behaviors, but Jesus offered belonging and hope. Ellen found that the church is designed to be a safe place for families to experience community and healing through Jesus Christ. Today, she is leading the Tim Tebow Foundation’s Shine On ministry to help grow and equip churches to disciple and extend belonging to families living with disability all over the world.

The free resources found on the Shine On platform educate and train church volunteers and staff to continue to grow as disability-inclusive, Christ-honoring communities. Shine On also provides hope-filled Bible plans, devotionals, online community groups, and more specifically for special needs families.