Serenity Symposium

Mike Glenn grew up in Huntsville, Alabama. He graduated from Samford University and the Southern Baptist Seminary. He's pastored churches in South Carolina and recently retired from Brentwood Baptist Church after 32 years as Senior Pastor. He is now the President of the Engage Church Network. 

Presentation - This is Personal:  When your granddaughter is born with a special needs challenge, your world changes quickly. Your world gets smaller in an instant. The future is measured in 24 hour increments. And your world gets bigger. You become part of a community of thousands of families with special needs and special opportunities. Suddenly, you're the fighter for all those who can't fight for themselves. These children are beautiful, hilarious, determined and yes, gifted. Everyone of them is worth fighting for.

Cheryl Corle is the program director of rEcess, a monthly respite ministry  at Concord Community Church in Brentwood, TN that is now operating in its 8^th year.  Cheryl graduated from Belmont University’s nursing program before starting her career as a pediatric nurse at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.  Five years in to her career, she decided she had more to learn and went back to school to become a Family Nurse Practitioner.  Upon graduating with her master’s, she went to the opposite end of the spectrum from pediatrics and worked with the geriatric population for two years.  During this time, she and her husband started to grow their own family.  They now have the most amazing 9-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son.  She transitioned in to being a stay at home when her daughter was 6 months old.  It was during this time, that she and her husband started talking about what a respite ministry at their church would look like.  After much prayer and training from 99 balloons, rEcess was started at Concord Community Church.  The program has grown significantly from it’s beginnings 8 years ago.  And in a truly God-ordained way, although Cheryl does not use her clinical education in a formal setting any longer, God allows her to use her clinical background each month to ensure proper safety, training and a medical presence for rEcess’s participants.  When not volunteering at her kid’s school or at her church, Cheryl enjoys being a soccer mom and camping and traveling with her husband and their 2 children.    

Presentation - But What Can I Do?: Cheryl will share real life experience on how to start and maintain a respite ministry at your church.  She will show small(er) churches that it can still be done successfully even if you feel like you have minimal resources.  You can trust the Lord’s calling and follow that “little nudge” to make a difference.  She will share how the Lord’s hand has been on their church’s respite ministry and how regardless of size, you are still being called to do something.

Torben Jensen serves as the Ministry Relations Manager for Joni and Friends Nashville. He coaches churches of all sizes in Middle and Western Tennessee and helps them become better at including and ministering to families affected by disability. 

Presentation - We will explore how churchess of varying sizes can create respite events that will bless families affected by disability in Tennessee. We will look at how churches develop respite events that are sustainable and will continue to be a blessing for special needs families. 

Carley Ellis is one of the Programming Directors for Embrace Special Needs Ministry at Brentwood Baptist Church. She oversees their monthly respites, Sunday/Wednesday curriculum and care, and VBS/Camp engagement. Over the past 7 years, Carley has grown with the ministry from a volunteer to a coordinator and now a Programming Director. Respite is what brought her in and kept her coming back for more. It is the same for families. Join us in reaching out to families who need a break. Allow them the break they need to get reconnected to one another and Jesus Christ. 

Presentation - When looking at the needs of your congregation and the resources available, what can you do for those impacted by disability? Carley will walk you through examples of respite at each of Brentwood Baptist’s 9 campuses and how that has evolved over the years. You will walk away with tools from Brentwood Baptist’s experience and current activities to best launch or rethink your current offerings. And be reminded of the fundamentals; that as you grow in ideas and fun activities – building the body of Christ is the ultimate commission and is a vital part to every respite opportunity.