Five Ways to Empower People with Disabilities in Your Church
“Disability ministry is not disability ministry until the disabled are ministering.” In this well-known quote, Joni Eareckson Tada highlights...
7
Jan
10
Nov
“I Hate Sundays”: Why Disabled Families Are Absent from Church and What We Can Do to Start Welcoming them Back
Sometimes, I hate Sundays. A pastor making this statement requires some explanation: I’m an Army Chaplain, a pastor for 17 years, having served at churches...
14
Jun
Marge’s Care
Marge had the heart of a child. She may have been forty years old, but she loved friendships with six- to ten-year-old kids. Marge had an intellectual...
29
May
God Has Entrusted Greg and His Wife with Beautiful Souls
I’m the father of three sons on the autism spectrum. They range in age from 25-30, and two are nonverbal. My sons are loving, funny and smart in their own...
8
Apr
Living and Serving with a Disability: Joni and Friends Staff Member Tracey Motoda’s Story
For Tracey, who lives with a disability, working at Joni and Friends is more than a job—it’s an opportunity to share the Gospel! We asked...
20
Mar
God Moves in Powerful Ways at Halftime Respite
All families need rest to thrive. But for families living with disability, opportunities for rest can be scarce. Karen and Chad have two...
29
Feb
Some of the Most Unreached People in the World
“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?” That’s Shylock from The Merchant of Venice, Act III...
3
Nov
Effective Disability Ministry is Not a Thing We Do, But a Way of Doing Things
On the surface, there’s a simple answer: someone is unable to do something. But when you probe a little deeper, it gets murky. For example, a middle-aged...
13
Oct
Advice for Ministry Leaders on Listening Well to People with Disabilities
Communication is a two-way street. But communication, ironically, requires more of the listener than the speaker. Poor speaking can be overcome by good...
22
Sep
Why People with Disabilities Are Siloed in the Church and How to Change That
One of the first things we learn in Scripture about humanity is that it is not good for us to be alone. We were fundamentally created for relationship...