Helping People of All Abilities Flourish in Ministry

More than 100 people from across West Michigan and beyond took part in a community conversation earlier this summer in which they discussed and offered suggestions on how churches can grow in being inclusive and open to the gifts of people with disabilities.

Hosted by the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship and convened by the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities, the gathering was titled “Flourishing Together: A Community Conversation on Disability and the Church,” and it took place at Calvin Theological Seminary, said Erik Carter, the Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities at Baylor University in Waco, Tex.

Sitting in small groups at scattered tables, participants spent 90 minutes talking about ways in which their churches welcomed or could do a better job of enfolding persons with disabilities into the life of their congregations, said Carter. 

“For this event,” he said, “we wanted to explore practical ways of addressing barriers that keep people with and without disabilities from participating together—fully and meaningfully—in the life of the local church.”

During the evening conversation, as participants spoke, people wrote down dozens of reflections and suggestions about how churches could become more aware of and respond to the needs of persons with disabilities.

“I was blown away by the number of people who came and shared their ideas openly about how churches can do better in the area of inclusion,” said Carter. “We asked them to be creative and generative in their comments, and they were.”

Participants came from a range of denominations and included people with different types of disabilities. They posed questions, told stories, shared concerns, and proposed solutions.

“In the end,” said Carter, “they emphasized the urgent need to remove barriers and create spaces where everyone can fully participate in every aspect of church life and faith formation. The event was hopeful and engaging, serving as an invitation for all of us to step fully into the work of creating something new together.”

The conversation took place during a week-long seminar that brought in a handful of church leaders and disabilities advocates from around North America to “explore innovative and faithful ways that churches can embrace people with intellectual/developmental disabilities and their families, both on and between Sundays,” said Carter.

Together, he added, they considered how worship, religious education, small groups, service, leadership, and fellowship “can be designed to support the full participation and meaningful contributions of every member of the body.”

“We worked together to design and refine ministry pathways that welcome and weave children and adults with developmental disabilities into all aspects of the life of the church,” said Carter.

The Community Conversation, a highlight of the weeklong seminar, represented 15 different denominations, and the participants included pastors and worship leaders; children, youth, and adult ministry leaders; disability ministry leaders; people with disabilities; and more.

Eric Willinger, who attends Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., helped to open the gathering by sharing about his own involvement in and love for the church as someone with a developmental disability.

“I love Calvary Church,” he said. “I need Jesus, and Jesus needs me. My favorite part of church is singing and praising his name. 

“The church has a dinner every Wednesday night where I meet friends, and sometimes I help by clearing tables and cleaning them. Then I . . . learn, sing, and worship Jesus. I love church so much. It makes me happy.” 

Also among those taking part in the conversation was Nicole Davis, a representative from Brookside CRC in Grand Rapids.

“It was my deep desire to fellowship and learn from others who had a similar passion to serve individuals and families with disabilities,” she said. “I had the opportunity to explore new ideas of reaching those who are currently in our congregation and those who could potentially be a part of our congregation.” 

The conversation event focused on three main questions. The first question asked, “What could we do to welcome and include people with disabilities and their families well on Sundays?”

Some of the responses follow:

• Make sure your buildings and spaces are accessible.
• Ensure that people using wheelchairs can sit throughout the sanctuary, not only in the back.
• Encourage pastors to meet and spend time with families impacted by disability.
• Find more ways for people with disabilities to serve in and through the church.
• Offer sign-language interpretation.
• Incorporate the artwork of members with disabilities into the service or building.
• Meet with individual families to find out their unique needs.
• Offer large-print bulletins.
• Survey the church members to discover their needs.
• Offer multiple spaces to worship, freedom to move about.
• Visit other congregations who do this work well to learn from them.

The second question asked, “What could we do to come alongside people with disabilities and their families between Sundays?” Responses included the following:

• Provide financial support so that families can hire respite providers.
• Identify people who can provide transportation to appointments or events.
• Help families navigate social service programs and Medicare.
• Bring coffee, snacks, and your presence to families whose children are hospitalized.
• Be willing to visit and support families.
• Offer weekday events that parents can participate in with their children.
• Form a team of people who can provide support to adults with developmental disabilities.
• Foster social connections among children by creating neighborhood friend groups.

The final question was “How could we work together to make this a vision in more area churches?” And here are some of the suggestions:

• Bring together groups of churches to discuss how we can all be more accessible and inclusive.
• Partner with local colleges and universities to find volunteers.
• Develop partnerships with faith-based disability organizations in the community.
• Partner with local nonprofits to provide educational opportunities to churches.
• Forge connections among churches that have shared ministry interests.
• Host Bible studies for adults with developmental disabilities in a variety of homes.
• Host Zoom gatherings to connect people who feel isolated and lonely.
• Identify disability professionals who can meet with and provide training to churches.

Participants came up with more than 1,000 responses and suggestions during the table sessions. “It was a great use of time,” said Lindsay Wieland Capel, a disability consultant for Thrive ministries. “Most of the ideas are very doable and offer practical ways that participants can take back and ask their churches to consider.”

Kate Strater, an assistant professor of education at Calvin University who joined with Erik Carter to help organize the event, said she found the gathering to be full of creative ideas and energy to help foster change in congregations.

“We learned from each other—what it means to be with one another, to know one another, and to flourish together,” she said.

“Articulating a shared vision for inclusion among so many different members of our community was both powerful and encouraging.” ​

The full report listing the responses from the event will soon be available here.