Iglesia Renacer, a Covenant congregation in Algonquin, Illinois, has grown a ministry for children with special needs and their families out of a single family's crisis three years ago. Lead pastor Javier Barron says the ministry now serves several families with trained volunteers. It began when a mother arrived during the pandemic, worn down after being turned away by other churches with her eight-year-old son, who struggles with sensory overload. "I came here because I need help," she told the congregation.
The story sits within the Evangelical Covenant Church's broader commitment to multiethnic and immigrant communities. Iglesia Renacer, now in its third Chicago-area location, has been served by Barron since 2003. The ministry also speaks to a wider challenge facing churches: families of children with disabilities often find that congregations simply do not know how to include their children.
After that first family arrived, Barron and his wife Rosa worked with teachers and volunteers to build a rhythm — helping the boy step into a quiet room when he became overwhelmed, then return to sit with his mother. Sunday school leaders researched approaches to special-needs inclusion and two volunteers were trained, and word spread to other families. For parents like Angelica Jaramillo, whose daughter was diagnosed with ADHD and autism, the ministry changed Sunday mornings. Barron notes that Latino families in particular often feel stigmatized by a diagnosis, and says the church's hardest conversations are about why God allowed it. "I try to be there for them," he said.
Source: Evangelical Covenant Church / Covenant Companion — covchurch.org/2026/09/08/a-little-corner-of-peace/
