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 Corinthians 12:22).

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.

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.”

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