Indispensable
A Disability & Ministry in
Asia-Pacific Conference
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Pre-Conference September 17, 2026
Conference September 18-19, 2026
Pre-Conference Options
September 17, 8:30-17:30
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Family Care - Supporting families who have children with disabilities (English)
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Beyond Suffering - Biblical foundations for disability ministry (Thai)
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Biblical Foundations for disability ministry (English)
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Special Education (English)
Conference AGENDA
September 18-19, 8:30-17:30
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3 Keynote Presentations
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20+ Workshops
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Speakers from Asia, Europe, and North America
Disability and the CHURCH
Disability and the FAMILY
Disability and
EDUCATION
Disability and the COMMUNITY
Rooted: God's Vision For the Body of Christ
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Biblical Foundations for Disability Ministry
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Developing a Theology of Suffering and Disability
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Creating Welcoming Churches and Sunday Schools
Sustaining: Caring For Those Who Care
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Supporting Missionary Families
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Glass Children: What about the siblings?
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Dealing With Grief, Stress, and Trauma in a Healthy Way
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Child Safety: When They Can't Speak
Equipping: Strategies and Tools for Every Classroom
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Understanding Parents Who Have Children with Special Needs
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Special Education With Limited Resources
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Special Education Resources
Reaching: Loving Our Neighbors Well
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Loving the Least of These
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Understanding Disability Through a Cultural Framework
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Community Outreach Strategies and Opportunities
General Session SPEAKERS
Santiphap (Tan) Viriyothai
Santiphap (Tan) Viriyothai is a co-director of Stronger Together Thailand and a regional manager for Joni and Friends in Thailand and South East Asia. He is a formal lecturer at McGilvary College of Divinity, Payap University, and an elder at the First Church of Chiang Mai, Thailand. He has been involved with disability ministry and teaching Disability Ministry-related subjects at McGilvary College of Divinity for many years. Through the ministry of Stronger Together Thailand and Joni and Friends, he has a heart to see more churches in Thailand reach out to people affected by disabilities and include them in the church.
Dr. Jeff and Kathi McNair
Jeff and Kathi have served together in various aspects of disability education and ministry for over 45 years, working at universities and classrooms in the US and doing trainings and presentations in many other countries. Jeff has published extensively in areas of church integration and community change and has been a professor of special education for 35 years. Kathi is mostly interested in various teaching strategies for diverse learners in school and church contexts and also in supporting families. Together they have facilitated a large ministry at their own church that includes adults with a variety of disabilities for 33 years.
Jeff and Kathi are the parents of 2 adult children and have 4 adorable grandkids.
Dr. Uwe Maurer
Uwe is the director of Taiwan Sunshine. He is a German MK who was born and raised in Taiwan. Uwe is married to MaDonna and they have three children. Matthea, their second child, has 5p-, a rare chromosomal deletion. Uwe spent twenty years as an international school teacher and principal. After Matthea's diagnosis, Uwe and his family moved back to Taiwan. Shortly afterward, they were part of a team that started Taiwan Sunshine, an organization that works to support and encourage families that have children with disabilities. His focus areas include sports ministry and disability and the intersection of culture and disability.
Workshop presenters
Dr. Pam Gregory
Pam Gregory is a TCK herself, and along with her husband, they have served as missionaries for over 40 years. She is a mother of 3, one of whom has a life-long developmental and intellectual disability. Throughout her years overseas, she has been involved in Bible school teaching and MK education. Pam recently completed a PhD on the care of missionary families who are raising special needs children on the mission field.
Debbie Klongtruadroke Scott
Thai-Italian Christian contemporary artist Debbie has had a heart for worship since a personal encounter with Jesus at a worship concert led her to dedicate her life to following Him. Over the years, she has served as a children’s and youth pastor, worship leader, church planter, and longtime host of the Christian Broadcasting Network’s TV program From Heart to Heart. After pioneering original Thai worship music with her band Footprints in the early 2000s, Debbie continued to model authentic worship through her ministry and music, most recently with Grateful the Gospel Band. Together, they have traveled across Thailand providing worship training and music masterclasses for youth groups and worship teams. While her international album releases have given her opportunities to lead worship across many languages and cultures, Debbie’s greatest passion is creating intimate spaces where people can freely connect with God and worship Him in spirit and in truth.
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Priscilla Leighton
Priscilla Leighton is the founder of Grace & Grow and an Inclusion and Safeguarding Consultant. With over 20 years of experience in inclusive education, leadership, and child safeguarding across international contexts, she partners with schools, churches, and mission organizations to better include children with disabilities and keep all children safe.
Raised as a missionary kid in the Philippines, Priscilla developed an early sensitivity to cultural nuance, transition, and life between worlds. She earned a Master’s degree in Special Education from Azusa Pacific University in California. Prior to consulting Priscilla was s a middle school resource specialist in the Los Angeles area, the Student Services Coordinator at Brent International School, Manila and the Director of Student Support services and Child Safeguarding Lead at Ruamrudee International Schools.
Kristen Lewis
Kristen Lewis is an experienced Employment Inclusion Specialist and educator with a career spanning the United States, Vietnam, and Bolivia. Currently based in Hanoi, Vietnam, she works with Imago Work, where she oversees partner business and job coach development, leads professional training, and collaborates with community partners to enhance vocational opportunities for neurodivergent individuals.
Her professional background is rooted in Special Education and post-secondary transitions. Before her work in Vietnam, she served as an Instructor and Teaching & Learning Coordinator at Shepherds College in Wisconsin, where she developed hands-on curriculum regarding employment for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities(IDD), designed content for the college's online platform, and piloted a teacher residency program. Earlier in her career, she held various roles in Memphis, Tennessee, including piloting classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and teaching self-contained elementary life skills.
Kristen frequently presents on topics such as neurodiversity-affirming teaching, workplace inclusion, and safeguarding. Kristen holds a Masters of Urban Education from Union University and a B.A. in Special and Early Childhood Education from Cedarville University. Outside of her professional work, she is an avid trail runner who has twice completed the St. Jude Marathon and is interested in the intersection of neurotheology, disability, trauma, and neurodiversity.
Michelle
Michelle is a U.S.-certified speech-language pathologist specializing in helping Third Culture Kids (TCKs) with disabilities and their families thrive in cross-cultural contexts. Living and working in Asia for the past two decades, her focus includes multidisciplinary assessment, individualized intervention, parent coaching, advocacy, staff training, and coordinated care with families, educators, and professionals. She works across international schools, homeschooling communities, teletherapy, in-home support, and conducts conference training throughout Asia and Europe.
Michelle takes a holistic, family-centered approach that equips caregivers, strengthens support teams, promotes inclusion, and encourages respite. As a safeguarding trainer and debriefer, she is interested in helping children with disabilities process their cross-cultural experiences. Passionate about TCK education, disability inclusion, and staff wellbeing, Michelle advocates for greater support for TCKs with disabilities, helping globally mobile families flourish with the resources, advocacy, and community they need.
Dr. MaDonna Maurer
MaDonna has an MA in Care and Counseling and works as a short-term counselor with Global Crossroads Consulting. She earned her PhD researching the lived experiences of missionary families who have a child with disabilities. She is a mother to an adult with Cri-du-Chat Syndrome and has lived in Asia as a missionary for over two decades.
Justin Reimer
Justin and Tamara Reimer co-founded Guidelight (formerly The Elisha Foundation) in 2005. Guidelight's mission is to provide biblical hope and practical help to families impacted by disability through two primary focuses: church-based disability training and family retreats. The Reimers are based in Oregon and previously lived and served in Ukraine.
Jasmine Tell
Jasmine Tell is a missionary with New International serving in Chiang Mai, Thailand with Stronger Together Thailand and the RICD Wheelchair Project. She grew up in a family impacted by disability, with multiple siblings with disabilities.
She started working in the field of disability in 2006 and moved to Thailand to serve full-time in disability ministry in 2010. She is a mom of four, passionate about disability, adoption, and missions. Disability became even more a part of her family’s life when they adopted their daughter from Serbia who has Down Syndrome.
Freddie Wagner, MEd, LSC, Educational Diagnostician
An experienced international educator, Freddie has lived and worked in Honduras, Brazil, and South Korea, bringing a global perspective to his work in education and leadership. Alongside his wife of 27 years, they raised their sons in Thailand and Taiwan, experiences that deepened his appreciation for cultural diversity, service, and community. Fluent in Spanish, Freddie has written and published several articles in international media, reflecting his ongoing engagement with education, spirituality, and cross-cultural dialogue.
Freddie is a passionate advocate for the special needs community and the founder of LEAP Educational Resources, a nonprofit organization serving families and students in West Texas. His work is grounded in a commitment to inclusion, compassion, and creating meaningful opportunities for individuals and communities to thrive. Through his educational leadership, spiritual formation, and nonprofit work, Freddie continues to foster connection, understanding, and support across diverse communities.
Lisette Gabre
Lisette is originally from Sweden and has lived in Asia for more than 30 years, where she also raised her three TCKs and continues to live. Lisette serves with Operation Mobilisation (OM) as the Family Care Lead. She brings extensive global and local experience in member care and leadership, with a passionfor seeing holistically healthy families. Her areas of specialty include play-based care for younger children, support forteenagers, and parents. She leads parent support groups, offers family debriefings and care, and facilitates training and workshops both online and face-to-face.
Stephanie Shores, MEd, LPC
Stephanie Shores has spent more than two decades serving cross-culturally and currently serves as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with Oaks Counseling, where she has the privilege of walking with people in their darkest hour, offering a compassionate space to process trauma, navigate stress, and find hope and resilience amid difficult circumstances. In addition to her clinical work, she serves as a professor Clinical Mental Health Counseling at The Townsend Institute at Concordia University Irvine. Her personal experience as an overseas worker and parent of a child with a disability, combined with her work as a counselor and educator, has given her a deep passion for coming alongside families with disabilities and the people who support them.
ศิษยาภิบาลมัทธิว Matthew Chiangnao
ศิษยาภิบาลมัทธิว เชียงเนาว์ปัจจุบันเป็นศิษยาภิบาลคริสตจักรเป็นหนึ่ง และที่ปรึกษาชมรมคริสเตียนมหาวิทยาลัยพะเยา อีกทั้งเป็นผู้ก่อตั้งพันธกิจผู้พิการพะเยาซึ่งมุ่งดูแลและส่งเสริมคุณภาพชีวิตคนพิการผ่านความร่วมมือระหว่างคริสตจักร ภาครัฐ และภาคเอกชนท่านมีความมุ่งมั่นในการเป็นเกลือและแสงสว่างของพระเจ้าในชุมชนสร้างผู้นำรุ่นใหม่ และสร้างความตระหนักถึงคุณค่าและศักดิ์ศรีของทุกชีวิตเพื่อขับเคลื่อนสังคมด้วยความเชื่อและความรักของพระเจ้าPastor Matthew Chiangnao currently serves as the pastor of Pennueng Church andas an advisor to the Christian Club at the University of Phayao. He is also the founder ofPhayao Disability Ministry, which focuses on caring for and improving the quality of life ofpeople with disabilities through collaboration among local churches, government agencies,and the private sector.He is passionate about being the salt and light of God in the community, raising upthe next generation of leaders, and creating awareness of the value and dignity of everyperson. Through faith and God’s love, he seeks to help bring positive transformation tosociety.
อธิชา มาเยอะ (ยุ) Athicha Mayor (Yu)
อธิชา มาเยอะ (ยุ) เป็นคุณแม่เลี้ยงเดี่ยวและคุณแม่ของเด็กพิการซ้อน ผู้เปลี่ยนประสบการณ์และความท้าทายของครอบครัวให้กลายเป็นพลังในการช่วยเหลือและสร้างโอกาสให้ครอบครัวเด็กพิการ ปัจจุบัน ยุทำงานเย็บผ้าและงานทำมือที่บ้านเพื่อสร้างรายได้เลี้ยงครอบครัว พร้อมแบ่งปันและส่งต่องานให้ครอบครัวเด็กพิการได้มีโอกาสสร้างรายได้เช่นกัน เธอเป็นประธานเสียงแห่งโอกาส ประธานชมรมโอกาสครอบครัวเด็กพิการซ้อน และเป็นเทรนเนอร์โดสะโฮ ซึ่งเป็นการเคลื่อนไหวแบบญี่ปุ่น โดยนำความรู้มาช่วยส่งเสริมการเคลื่อนไหวและคุณภาพชีวิตของเด็กพิการและครอบครัวพันธกิจของยุขับเคลื่อนด้วยความเชื่อว่า “แม้ชีวิตจะมีข้อจำกัด แต่ทุกคนควรได้รับโอกาส มีคุณค่า และสามารถเป็นกำลังให้ผู้อื่นได้” เธอจึงมุ่งแบ่งปันเรื่องราวของครอบครัวเด็กพิการ เพื่อส่งต่อความหวัง ความรัก และกำลังใจแก่ผู้ที่กำลังเผชิญความท้าทายในชีวิต
Athicha Mayor (Yu) is a single mother and the mother of a child with multiple disabilities. She has transformed her family’s experiences and challenges into a passion for supporting and creating opportunities for other families of children with disabilities.Yu currently works from home sewing and creating handmade products to support her family, while also sharing and providing work opportunities for other families of children with disabilities. She serves as the Chairperson of Voice of Opportunity and the Chairperson of the Multiple Disabilities Family Opportunity Club. She is also a Dosaho movement trainer, using her knowledge and experience to promote mobility and improve the quality of life of children with disabilities and their families.Yu’s work is grounded in the belief that “Even when life has limitations, everyone deserves opportunities, has value, and can be a source of strength to others.” Through sharing her family’s journey, she hopes to bring hope, love, and encouragement to people who are facing challenges in life.
ศิริพร มะเยอะ (ริต้าร์) Siriporn Mayoe (Rita)
เป็นเจ้าหน้าที่ประสานงานดูแลครอบครัวในจังหวัดเชียงใหม่ ทำงานร่วมกับครอบครัวในพื้นที่มากกว่า 50 ครอบครัว ทั้งคนไทย ไทใหญ่ เมียนมา และผู้ที่ไม่มีสถานะทางทะเบียนริต้าร์มุ่งสร้างความสัมพันธ์กับแต่ละครอบครัวผ่านการเยี่ยมบ้าน การพูดคุย และการทำความรู้จัก เพื่อเข้าใจบริบทและความต้องการของแต่ละครอบครัวอย่างแท้จริง และสามารถให้การสนับสนุนสิ่งของหรือความช่วยเหลือที่ตรงกับความจำเป็นของพวกเขา โดยมีหัวใจสำคัญคือการสำแดงความรักของพระเจ้าผ่านการกระทำและมิตรภาพ
Siriporn Mayoe (Rita) serves as a Family Care Coordinator, Stronger Together Thailand in Chiang Mai, working alongside more than 50 families in the local community, including Thai, Shan, and Myanmar families, as well as people without legal registration status.
วริทธิ์ อนุชิราชีวะ Warit Anuchiracheewa
Warit Anuchiracheewa is the Executive Manager of McKean Senior Center, a Christian organization with a long-standing commitment to serving older adults, people with disabilities, those living with illness, and people experiencing social vulnerability. He has been with McKean for more than a decade and has worked across rehabilitation, healthcare, long-term care, community services, organizational management, and staff development. He also serves as a speaker and guest lecturer on topics related to health, management, and ageing.With an academic background in prosthetics and orthotics, biomedical engineering, and hospital administration, Warit brings together experience in healthcare, organizational leadership, and Christian mission. Beyond McKean, he is actively involved in church and social development work through the Church of Christ in Thailand, as well as regional networks focused on health and community development.A particular area of interest for him is how organizations and communities can move beyond simply “caring for” people to creating environments where everyone has the opportunity to participate, make choices, take on meaningful roles, and have a genuine place in the community.
วริทธิ์ อนุชิราชีวะ เป็นผู้จัดการสถาบันผู้สูงอายุแมคเคน ซึ่งเป็นองค์กรคริสเตียนที่ทำงานด้านการดูแลผู้สูงอายุ ผู้พิการ ผู้เจ็บป่วย และผู้เปราะบางทางสังคมมาอย่างยาวนาน เขาทำงานกับแมคเคนมากว่าสิบปี และมีประสบการณ์ทั้งด้านการฟื้นฟูสมรรถภาพ การดูแลสุขภาพ การดูแลระยะยาว งานบริการในชุมชน การบริหารองค์กร และการพัฒนาบุคลากร รวมถึงมีบทบาทเป็นวิทยากรและอาจารย์พิเศษในประเด็นที่เกี่ยวข้องกับสุขภาพ การบริหาร และการดูแลผู้สูงอายุด้วยพื้นฐานการศึกษาด้านกายอุปกรณ์ วิศวกรรมชีวการแพทย์ และการบริหารโรงพยาบาล ทำให้มีประสบการณ์การทำงานครอบคลุมทั้งมิติด้านสุขภาพ การบริหารองค์กร และพันธกิจคริสเตียน นอกจากนี้ยังมีส่วนร่วมในงานคริสตจักรและงานพัฒนาสังคม ผ่านสภาคริสตจักรในประเทศไทย รวมถึงเครือข่ายด้านสุขภาพและการพัฒนาชุมชนในระดับภูมิภาคประเด็นที่ให้ความสนใจเป็นพิเศษ คือการพัฒนาระบบและชุมชนที่ไม่ได้เพียง “ดูแล” ผู้คน แต่เปิดโอกาสให้ทุกคนได้มีส่วนร่วม มีสิทธิเลือก มีบทบาท และมีที่ยืนในชุมชนอย่างแท้จริง
บพิตร ปิ่นตาดวง Bopit Pintaduang
บพิตร ปิ่นตาดวง เป็นผู้ประสานงานคริสตจักรท้องถิ่นกับ Stronger Together Thailand และศิษยาภิบาลคริสตจักรบ้านดาหลา จังหวัดเชียงราย มีภาระใจในการส่งเสริมให้คริสตจักรเปิดกว้างและต้อนรับผู้พิการอย่างเท่าเทียม เพื่อให้ผู้พิการได้รับการยอมรับ มีคุณค่า และมีส่วนร่วมในการ นมัสการ รับใช้ และดำเนินชีวิตร่วมกับชุมชนแห่งความเชื่อ ในฐานะ ส่วนหนึ่งของพระกายของพระคริสต์
Bopit Pintaduang serves as a local church coordinator with Stronger Together Thailand and as the pastor of Ban Dahla Church in Chiang Rai. He is passionate about encouraging churches to become more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities, so that they are valued, accepted, and given opportunities to participate fully in worship, ministry, and community life as equal members of the body of Christ.
ครูศาสนา Manachai Iamjan
ครูศาสนา มานะชัย เอี่ยมจันทร์ เป็นศิษยาภิบาลคริสตจักรกิตติคุณ อำเภอพาน จังหวัดเชียงราย นอกจากนี้มานะชัยยังมีใบประกาศนียบัตรการให้บริการรถนั่งคนพิการระดับพื้นฐานจาก International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP) ซึ่งได้รับการรับรองโดยองค์การอนามัยโลก (WHO) และมีส่วนร่วมในพันธกิจด้านคนพิการอย่างต่อเนื่อง โดยเฉพาะการให้บริการรถวีลแชร์และอุปกรณ์ช่วยเหลือผู้พิการแก่ชุมชน เพื่อเปิดโอกาสให้ผู้พิการได้รู้จักพระเจ้าและมีส่วนร่วมเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของชุมชนแห่งความเชื่อ
Manachai Iamjan serves as the pastor of Kittikun Church in Phan District, Chiang Rai. He holds a Basic Wheelchair Service Provider Certificate from the International Society of Wheelchair Professionals (ISWP), recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).He is actively involved in disability ministry, particularly providing wheelchairs and assistive devices to communities. Through this ministry, he seeks to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, create opportunities for them to know God, and help them become fully included in the community of faith.
Carla West
CLINICAL COUNSELLOR at the Well International Chiang Mai, Thailand
B.A. Studio Art, Ceramics
M.A Counselling
Licensed Professional Counsellor (USA)
Schedule
Friday 9/18
8:30 Registration
9:00 General Session 1
10:30 Coffee and Connect
11:00 Workshop 1
12:00 Lunch
13:30 General Session 2
14:45 Coffee and Connect
15:15 Workshop 2
16:30 Workshop 3
Thursday 9/17
8:00 Registration
8:45 Welcome
9:00 Session 1
10:15 Coffee and Connect
10:45 Session 2
12:15 Lunch
13:30 Session 3
14:45 Coffee Break
15:15 Session 4
16:45 Roundtable
Saturday 9/19
8:30 Registration
9:00 General Session 3
10:30 Coffee and Connect
11:00 Workshop 4
12:00 Lunch
13:30 Workshop 5
14:45 Coffee and Connect
15:15 Workshop 6
16:30 Closing Session
Location
The Empress Chiang Mai Hotel
199/42 Chang Klan Road,
Chiang Mai Thailand 50100
Tel +66 5325 3199
Fax +66 5327 2467
Conference attendees can contact the hotel directly for room reservations using this form.
Register
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Join us in Chiang Mai for the 2026 Disability and Missions Conference! Please fill out the form to register.
Preconference Cost: US$50 or 1650 Thai Baht
Main Conference:
One Day: US$50 or 1650 Thai Baht
Two Days: US$80 or 2650 Thai Baht
Payment can be made at registration in cash or via paypal.
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. 1 Corinthians 12:22-23a