Building spaces of belonging

Belonging doesn’t just happen. It’s something we have to work at. Accessibility, inclusion, and belonging are not the same thing.

Accessibility happens when we enable people to physically be in our space. We’ve put in a ramp, so now there’s no excuses for them not to join us!

Inclusion is different, inclusion goes further, it says not only can you enter our space, you can take part in what we do, while you are there.

But inclusion still doesn’t go far enough. You see, with inclusion, it doesn’t really matter if you there or not, it just matters that when you are there, you can take part.

But belonging – belonging is so much more. To belong you need to be loved, to belong, you need to be missed. In fact, maybe you only truly belong when you are no longer there, and your community actively come to look for you. So we’re here today, inviting you to invite young people with additional needs to find belonging in your churches.

Take the journey

Invited to Belong resource has been developed in partnership between Urban Saints and Youthscape. Inside the box is a series of envelopes, each of which is a stage in the Invited to Belong journey. It's totally up to you and your team what pace to go at, do it all in a day or over several weeks!

Invited to Belong will raise your awareness of additional needs, the barriers that prevent young people with those needs from belonging, and help you implement changes to build a more inclusive group.