Expanded Inclusion Resource Book Released

August 4, 2021

CRCNA and RCA Disability Concerns have a new offering for churches who want to be more hospitable toward people with disabilities and foster more inclusive ministry. Everybody Belongs, Serving Together is a handbook with insights, tips, and testimonies—stories from people with lived experience of disabilities—designed to help churches embrace people with disabilities as partners in ministry.

The book is intended as a tool for growth, both for churches and for individuals, whether a person has a disability, wants to advocate on behalf of others, or both. Readers will learn what might be done to improve their church’s accessibility, reflect on what the Bible says about inclusive ministry, and hear from people with disabilities about what an inclusive church means to them.

“I’m especially excited that this new edition centers the voices of people who have disabilities and provides their perspectives on church and ministry,” says Mark Stephenson, director of CRCNA Disability Concerns.

Everybody Belongs, Serving Together is an expanded third edition of the former Inclusion Handbook, a popular resource in the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), the Reformed Church in America (RCA), and beyond.

“I am delighted with the range and depth of additional materials that have been added to an already significant resource,” says Terry DeYoung, coordinator for RCA Disability Concerns. “In fact, the second edition of the Inclusion Handbook was so well received that we went through two reprintings. Besides the new content [in this new edition], we benefited from two additional partners — Christian Horizons and Elim Christian Services—who brought new perspectives.”

With this expanded and updated edition also comes an increase in available formats: print, website, audiobook, and ebook.

“We are offering the resources in multiple formats so that it is as accessible as possible,” says Stephenson. “The print edition is so convenient that we encourage churches to order multiple copies for discussion among their accessibility teams.”

The print version of Everybody Belongs, Serving Together can be purchased online through Faith Alive Christian Resources or through the RCA Store.

The addition of the online version—available on Faithward.org—is especially exciting, says DeYoung, highlighting the interactive features that are incorporated in some of the articles and resources, including a five-minute church accessibility audit.

“I think we’ve only scratched the surface of how this new resource can benefit the church’s ministry with all people, not just people with disabilities,” he says.

The web version is also meant to be easily navigable, both for people who intentionally click into Everybody Belongs, Serving Together and for those who might land on a page from an internet search. This feature broadens the potential reach of the resource beyond the denominations and provides greater accessibility.

Explore the new online version at Faithward.org, or access Everybody Belongs, Serving Together in one of the other formats:

Becky Getz, Reformed Church in America