Where Churches and Disability Meet

One of the greatest passions in my life is to see the church embrace adults and children with disabilities—not out of pity or out of service but out of a genuine understanding, acceptance and celebration of their life.

This church, this body of Christ—with all of its broken pieces along with its many gifts and talents—is beautiful. But it can also be so ignorant that it pushes away the most vulnerable.

When I recently wrote about the church forgetting us—families impacted by disability—I knew it was a real need. The church needs to see us, embrace us, include us. The last few days, many of my readers shared their stories, their experiences, their heartbreak, their disappointment. I have prayed for each one of them. I’ve seen their pain. I’ve felt it.

But they also shared the beautiful side of the church and how it come alongside them to embrace, encourage and love their children and families.

And church leaders responded too. They admitted they don’t know where to start or that they didn’t realize it was a need. Before I became a special needs mom, I was also unaware of the need, but let me encourage you if that’s you: Now that you know, you can do something about it! If you wonder what you can do, my husband and I want to help you find your starting point.

As we continue to have these conversations, let’s remember to extend grace and forgiveness. We all need it. And as we work together, we can help the church recognize and embrace disability. What a beautiful body of Christ we can be!

The 80 Percent

Some of my readers asked about the 80 percent statistic of families and adults impacted with disability that do not regularly attend church. This statistic came from Joni and Friends. A few years back, I had a series of phone conversations dreaming with them how to bring disability awareness to our Christian denomination. I wrote down a lot of information, and the 80 percent came from their statistics (I was shocked to hear it). I searched their website to link it here, but they do not have the statistics posted. They do, however, provide those if requested, and I have requested their disability information and statistic resource.

Someone mentioned that this statistic is also found in the Center for World Missions in California. I was unable to find that on their website as well.

But here is another way to look at this: 20 percent of the population has a disability (and this is a true statistic; you can find it in government sites). So at the average church, are 20 percent of members people/children with disabilities? No? Where are they? They are certainly not sitting in church!

Awareness

Like all things, change begins with awareness.

“Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, ‘Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?’

“Jesus said, ‘You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do'” (John 9:1-3, MSG).

Disability Is Not a Result of Sin

Even back in Jesus’ day there was an inaccurate perception that disability was a result of sin. But what did Jesus say? “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins, this happened so the power of God could be seen in him” (John 9:3, NLT).

People With Disabilities Don’t Need Healing

Is God in the healing business? Absolutely! And He oftentimes does choose to heal. I believe that wholeheartedly.

But there is a fine line between sickness and disability. They are not the same. For example, my daughter is not sick with Down syndrome; she is actually a pretty healthy girl. Down syndrome is part of her genetic makeup, much the same as the color of her eyes, hair and skin.

I know in the John 9:1-3 story, Jesus goes on to heal the blind man. What I don’t understand is why we have decided that God wants to heal everyone with a disability while we journey in this life. The only time God actually promises complete healing is in heaven. While Jesus walked among us, He gave us a little taste of what that will be like; perhaps we decided by those examples that this is the way God chooses to always work.

And God’s power is not dependent on our faith. Let’s be thankful for that!

God Has a Purpose for Disability

Jesus said it: Look for what God can do. God wants to show us His power. We just need to be willing to see it.

I wonder sometimes if our view of God is so small that we fail to recognize how and where He is working. Perhaps we have forgotten that He can see the full picture of our lives, from beginning to end, and we struggle to accept that His greatest blessings often come through our hardships and challenges.

We are part of one body, the body of Christ. And I can assure you, people with disabilities are important members of the body. We need them as much as they need us. We all need each other.