Orlando and Du Quoin | While messengers to the SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando were hearing recommendations for ministry to disabled people, leaders at First Baptist Church of Du Quoin were working on next Sunday’s lesson for special needs children.
“If you took all the people on our planet with disabilities and added them together, you would have the third largest country in the world, just behind India and China,” Tom Stolle told messengers. The executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware headed up a task force to study the need. And there’s great need.
The Disability Ministry Task Force presented its report and recommendations June 10 at the annual meeting. The SBC Executive Committee acted on a motion made last year to study the accessibility and availability of resources for individuals and families impacted by disability and how the convention can better serve them. Stolle, the father of an adult son with special needs, said he had been waiting 10 years to examine this issue.
In the report he cited a 2020 study by Lifeway Research which reported “that 99% of evangelical pastors believe individuals with disabilities would feel welcome in their churches. However, many people with disabilities and their families have expressed surprise and skepticism at this finding.”
Stolle shared common barriers parents and caregivers of children and individuals with disabilities may face when going to church. He noted that many people who don’t have that daily struggle won’t understand what he’s talking about.
“In my family and in the family of others, that do have children or vulnerable adults impacted by disabilities we feel some of these things,” Stolle explained. “Parents have seen their children experience rejection and marginalization over and over again. Parents may feel like their child will have a meltdown. Parents are, most often, disconnected socially when they’re in this situation. And parents may assume that the church does not understand their situation and may fear the worst.”
Recent census data shows two-in-seven U.S. families include a member with a disability, but this isn’t reflected across churches. It’s estimated that only 15-20% of evangelical churches in the U.S. have a disability ministry.
“What would it look like if Southern Baptist churches, state conventions, and national entities took steps that essential state ‘we see you, we hear you, we love you, Jesus love you, and there’s a place for you here at our church,’” declared Stole. “It’s a game changer.”
In Illinois, Access Jesus
First Baptist Church of Du Quoin is in the game and taking steps to include those with disabilities.
Christie Wagner started Access Jesus for kids 4-12 years old after three of her grandchildren were diagnosed with autism. “They aged out of nursery and there wasn’t a spot for them,” Wagner said.
The response has been positive for the community of less than 6,000. Two new families have started attending since the ministry launched in February.
“A lot of the people who have children with special needs don’t feel like they belong anywhere, especially in a church,” Wagner explained. “We wanted to give families that sense of belonging and the opportunity to attend church together.”
She explained that some parents with special needs children would have to tag-team to attend church. One parent would attend for one week while the other stayed home with the child, then the next week they’d switch roles.
The ministry is called Access Jesus because the main goal is to bring the gospel to their level. Kids enjoy hearing a Bible story through the curriculum “Awe & Wonder,” which is designed specifically for children with intellectual and development disabilities. In two years, the children will have gone through the entire Bible.
They enjoy worship. There’s also plenty of time for hands-on sensory fun with water, kinetic sand, Play-Doh, and painting. Kids also have the option to go to the sensory room if they get overwhelmed.
Wagner said the church is ‘putting their toe in the water’ and hopes to do more in the future. “It’s an unreached people group; we’re not reaching them adequately.”
She challenges other churches, reminding them the size of the church doesn’t matter and neither does expertise. All that’s needed is love and patience. “The gospel is for everyone,” she said. “Jesus loves people with disability; he didn’t put an asterisk on who could come to him.”
Next steps here, everywhere
By raised ballots, messengers appeared unanimously to approve two recommendations by the Disability Ministry Task Force. In addition to curriculum and resources, the second motion added a Disability Ministry Sunday to the SBC calendar on the second Sunday in July starting in 2027. Messengers also approved a resolution encouraging development of special ministries.
“What would it look like,” Stolle asked, “if Southern Baptist churches, state conventions, and national entities embrace this simple truth, any comprehensive evangelism strategy that does not include individuals and families effected by disabilities is not a comprehensive strategy, it’s a partial strategy.”
The report includes extensive actions to be taken on all levels in SBC life.
“We have an opportunity to emphatically say to the world in this moment that the Southern Baptist Convention believes that people with disabilities are created in the image of God, and we’re coming together in a variety of ways to make this abundantly clear.”
–Kayla Houchin, with additional reporting from Baptist Press
Watch, “Southern Baptist Ministry to Those with Disabilities.”