This article is part of the 10 Things You Should Know series.
1. It starts with a theology of disability—understanding that every person is made in the image of God and has the potential to have a relationship with him.
Passages throughout Scripture talk about God’s purposeful design for each person, like Exodus 4:11, “Then the Lord said to [Moses], ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?’” and Psalm 139:13–14, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Disability isn’t a mistake in God’s design or a punishment for sin. It is part of God’s plan and purpose for some people. Disability exists because we live in a fallen world, but it can also be a means by which God displays his glory and grace.
2. It has the potential to reach a significant percentage of the population.
Recent US census numbers report that two out of seven families have a member with a disability, ranging from autism to Alzheimer’s. But close to 80 percent of those impacted by disability do not attend church, according to multiple reports. That makes disability families an unchurched and, in many cases, unreached people group. They need the hope of the gospel and a gospel-centered church that welcomes them.
3. It acknowledges both the functional and social aspects of disability.
The functional aspect of disability is the impairment itself. For example, my son with autism is functionally nonverbal. He can speak fewer than one hundred words. The social aspect of disability is the treatment of the disabled person by society. Because James can speak so few words, people don’t speak to him, even to ask a question he might be able to answer. His limited language is a barrier, and so is the assumption by others that he won’t be able to communicate.
In our churches, we can focus on decreasing the social barriers that exist for people with disabilities. Jesus did this in Matthew 21. When he drove the money changers and those selling animals out of the temple courtyard, he took back the space open to Gentiles and those who were unclean (who only had access to that area of the temple). Verse 14 says, “And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.” He eliminated the barriers, and people with disabilities had access to him and to the temple.
Accessible Church
Sandra Peoples
Sharing years of expertise and personal experience as a caregiver, ministry consultant and professor Sandra Peoples shows churches how to remove physical and social barriers to create a welcoming, inclusive space for disability families.
4. It requires vulnerability from the church and the family.
Stephanie Hubach writes in her book, Same Lake, Different Boat, about this “model of belonging.” When a family wants to attend a church that currently isn’t taking steps of accessibility that meet the family member’s needs, their request for accommodations can be made in a way that communicates their desire or need (both of which embrace vulnerability), or in a way that is rights-oriented or demanding (both of which avoid vulnerability). In response, the leadership of the church can respond in a way that welcomes, listens, and adapts (embracing vulnerability), or in a way that ignores, rejects, and self-protects (avoiding vulnerability). Hubach writes, “While both parties are responsible for their actions, the onus is on the church—as the body of Christ—to initiate and pursue welcoming and belonging even if the needs of [the family] are great and their approach is less than desirable.”
David exemplifies this “model of belonging” when he invites Mephibosheth to sit at his table in 2 Samuel 9. David shows vulnerability by realizing there is a member of Jonathan’s family who is suffering, reaching out to find him, and restoring to Mephibosheth what had belonged to Saul and Jonathan. Mephibosheth, who became lame in both feet when his nurse had fled their home, showed vulnerability by approaching David, unsure of why the king had summoned him. Their vulnerability led to flourishing for both, and that can be true of our churches and the families we welcome as well.
5. It applies to churches of every size.
When our son was diagnosed with autism at age three, we attended a small church in Pennsylvania. The members God placed in that church had the knowledge and experience needed to accommodate James and the other families with kids with disabilities who came. We talked to each family, asked what their needs were, and met those needs to the best of our abilities. Churches of every size can take similar steps of accessibility. You don’t have to feel overwhelmed by all the people who could visit your church with a variety of diagnoses. You just start with the ones who God brings into your fellowship and learn and grow from there.
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6. It meets a variety of needs.
Disability ministry serves anyone who needs adjustments to the environment or to the curriculum in order to hear, understand, and respond to the gospel. That means we give a kid who has sensory processing disorder and is covering his ears a pair of noise-reducing headphones, we have Bibles in the dyslexia font for teenagers, and we offer a class with curriculum that meets the needs of adults with intellectual disabilities. No matter the diagnosis (or even the lack of a diagnosis yet), churches can meet needs by asking questions and offering accommodations.
7. It often starts in children’s ministry.
Children’s ministry leaders are most likely to reach out for help when they have a kid they realize isn’t fitting into the current routines and rhythms of their class. What these ministry leaders learn is that for many kids, some simple adjustments can be a huge help. For example, kids with autism often experience anxiety when they don’t know what’s next. A visual schedule could be posted in the room so everyone can see what to expect during their time together. Specialized volunteers, who are often called buddies, can be trained to offer additional support, both with social situations and academic work. When a children’s ministry leader or volunteer tells the pastor, “We have this one kid. . . ” that’s a sign that support is needed.
Disability exists because we live in a fallen world, but it can also be a means by which God displays his glory and grace.
8. It shouldn’t stop with children’s ministry.
Kids with disabilities become teens with disabilities and then adults with disabilities. It’s important that our churches provide opportunities for discipleship and fellowship at each age and stage. As Joni Eareckson Tada writes, “As much as possible, a handicapped person should have the opportunity to get involved with able-bodied people, to share, to worship with them. Sitting side-by-side in pews, their voices can unite in praise.” We want the same for teens and adults with disabilities as we want from all of our teens and adults: that they would grow in Christlikeness, have opportunities for friendship and fellowship, and build up the church with their gifts.
9. True disability ministry is a whole-family ministry.
Churches with disability ministries can work to strengthen the marriages of the caregivers (who may never be empty nesters) and meet the needs of the siblings who sometimes get overlooked. Offer a respite night where parents can drop off their kids for a date night, start a support group for typical siblings, and meet practical needs, like dropping off a meal when they return home after a hospital stay. Look out for opportunities to meet the needs of every family member.
10. Disability ministry isn’t a place.
It’s a promise of belonging and discipleship for each person. Some may think of disability ministry as a room where people with disabilities hang out while their family members are being discipled and included. But it is so much more. Paul even says our churches are incomplete without every member present, and that “the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Cor. 12:22). Learning more about disability ministry will ensure that your church is an accessible church for people with disabilities and their families.
Sandra Peoples is the author of Accessible Church: A Gospel-Centered Vision for Including People with Disabilities and Their Families.
Sandra Peoples (MDiv) is the disability ministry consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and an adjunct professor for the John W. Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty University, teaching classes in disability ministry. Sandra is currently a PhD student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She and her family live outside Houston, Texas. You can connect with her at sandrapeoples.com.
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