Editor's Note
This is the second in a three-part series of articles from the Lausanne Disabilities Concerns Issue Network.
See Part 1: The Gospel for Every Person: Including Those with Disabilities.
This article includes stories that were recorded in the Storytelling Booths at the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Incheon, South Korea, in September 2024. These booths served as a sacred space for global participants to share testimonies, prayer requests, and offer ministry insights from their unique contexts. We are honoured to pass these along as glimpses of how God is moving among people with disabilities.
Introduction
People with disabilities are underrepresented in the global church. The State of the Great Commission Report mentions that although people with disabilities make up 10–24% of the population, the percentage of this group in North American and Australian churches is much lower.1 The causes of this underrepresentation might vary for different regions of the world.
People with disabilities are underrepresented in the global church.
In this article, we hear stories of three different contexts where the church is supported in welcoming people with disabilities, discipling them, and engaging them in church life and ministry. Each context has its own challenges, and the three women ministering therefore each have a unique ministry focus.
Hindering Beliefs of Disability in the Church
Loice Maluki | Kenya
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In many parts of the world, we find harmful beliefs about disability. We might be surprised that this is not only the case in secular societies but also affects the church. It is not uncommon that Christians or churches hold secular views of disability. This is, of course, hard for believers with disabilities, as even within the church, they may be faced with stigma and discrimination.
Loice Maluki is well aware of the misconceptions surrounding the causes of disability in Kenya. She says,
“Some of the church leaders or some of the people believe disability is caused by witchcraft or demon possession. And sometimes people believe disability is caused by curses.”
Because of those negative beliefs about disability, families of children with disabilities in her context might decide to hide them. Such negative views might also result in denying children with disabilities the right to education, medical services, and other kinds of support.
Loice had a desire to improve the lives of children with disabilities and to see them welcomed in the local church. She started working with Kuhenza for the Children to address harmful beliefs about disability that lead to stigma and exclusion. An opportunity came up for Loice to train the leaders and members of her own church. After a while, her church started reaching out to families of children with disabilities and welcoming them to church. They didn’t leave it there, but also discipled these new believers and provided opportunities for them to actively engage in church ministries. Some of them have become part of the praise and worship team, others are language interpreters, and others serve in the church’s ushering department.
The Heartbeat of the Church?
Jackie Kimani | Zimbabwe
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Besides harmful beliefs about disability, churches might also be teaching theologies that affect people with disabilities in unhelpful ways. Jackie Kimani from Zimbabwe shares that it is hard for people with disabilities in her context to access the church because of attitudinal and theological barriers.
“Some of those barriers in my own context in Zimbabwe would be things like (…) people in prosperity gospel churches believing that you must be healed so that you might be a ‘whole Christian.’ Or that if you have enough faith, God would heal you. Or that you have disabilities because of what you’ve done.”
As Jackie points out, ill-informed theologies about healing or what it means to be a Christian can be very hurtful for people with disabilities. She shares Jesus’ teaching in John 9 that disability is not caused by someone’s sins or their parents’ wrongdoing, but that the glory of God might be seen and shown.
ill-informed theologies about healing or what it means to be a Christian can be very hurtful for people with disabilities
Jackie started her journey into disability ministry through two friendships with classmates at university; one is blind, and the other is deaf. As a young believer, she “just thought that this is something that Christians do.” Over time, however, Jackie started realising that the church often struggles with inviting people with disabilities, bringing them into the church, loving them, caring for them, empowering them, growing them, co-labouring with them, and sending them out into the world. But then she also learned about ministries that seek to holistically reach out to people with disabilities. She is now working for one of these ministries, namely Accessible Hope International.
It’s Jackie’s prayer that people with disabilities—as “the largest unreached group”—will be reached with the gospel and incorporated into the church. She clarifies,
“This God who cares for them, who sees them, and whether they get healed or not, He is a God who has made them for a reason and for a purpose. They’re made in his image, and they’re made to thus shine his glory across the earth, and using whatever gifts and whatever opportunities God has for them.”
Discipleship for People with Disabilities
Ashley Belknap | United States
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Another person who equips churches in disability inclusion is Ashley Belknap. Ashley is based in the US and leads a ministry called Engaging Disability with the Gospel.2 An important part of her ministry focuses on discipleship for people with disabilities and seeing them move from “just being present” to full participation in the church and growth in Christ. Ashley says,
“I have the pleasure of coming alongside churches to coach them on how to disciple and involve people with disabilities. We start with who is in your church, who is already there, maybe present but not growing in the relationship with the Lord or in relationships with others. And we begin to teach you the strategies to help make that spiritual growth piece and that relational growth piece happen, which of course is what church body life is all about.”
Discipleship of people with disabilities can be easily overlooked by churches. The church may think that it’s doing a good job of welcoming people with disabilities into its midst. However, that does not necessarily mean that these believers with disabilities are growing in their faith. Ashley provides training, coaching and resources for churches that help them in this space. An example is Bible teaching that is presented in a way that is accessible to everyone in the church, including people with intellectual disabilities. But it might also be about providing opportunities for people with disabilities to be part of church life and actively engage in ministry.
Conclusion
As we can see, disability inclusion in churches can be done in various ways. Depending on the local context, the challenges that a church faces vary. And therefore, disability ministries may have a different focus in each context. What is your context like? Do you see harmful beliefs about disability? Or unhelpful theologies? Are people with disabilities present in your congregation but not really growing in their faith? Loice, Jackie, and Ashley all serve the church through raising awareness of people with disabilities and encouraging churches to welcome them and provide them with opportunities to be actively involved in church life and ministry. People with disabilities belong in the church, just like anyone else. How can your local church engage? To finish, let’s listen to how Loice and Jackie would like to challenge you.
- “And now it is a call to the whole church. It is a call to the church to realize that we cannot move forward in mission without including people with disabilities.” (Loice)
- “If you are a church leader, I hope this is an encouragement for you to include people with disabilities into the body, to reach them with the gospel, and to invite them to work alongside you so that God might be seen and God might be glorified.” (Jackie)
Endnotes
- https://lausanne.org/report/just/opportunities-for-people-with-disabilities
- Ashley says: “So, if your church is wanting to grow in this area, reach out. We would love to help coach your church. If you’re in a geographical region that has an abundance of people impacted by disability or just a few, we would love to help. Strategies are not hard and it really is about learning to love well.”