Disability Concerns helps churches to flourish by including people with disabilities in every aspect of congregational life. In healthy churches, everybody belongs and everybody serves.
What’s New
Handbook for Disability Advocates. Recently we completed a handbook for inclusion of people with disabilities in congregational life. Many congregations want to welcome and enfold people with disabilities, but don’t know how. This free handbook, available on our website for download, helps churches build a framework for inclusion and offers specific ideas for including people living with a variety of impairments such as autism, hearing loss, and dementia. Though it is written for church advocates, any church leader will find the ideas in the handbook helpful.
A Compassionate Journey: Coming Alongside People with Disabilities or Chronic Illnesses by John Cook. Most congregations do well at caring for people with short-term (one month or less) crises, but have trouble knowing how to help people who don’t “get better.” This book enables church leaders and members to care more effectively for individuals with long-term needs.
Contact info:
Website: www.crcna.org/disability
Rev. Mark Stephenson, director
888.463.0272
E-mail:disabilityconcerns@crcna.org
Quick Facts
- More than 550 disability advocates help Christian Reformed churches across the continent.
- We offer free bulk subscriptions to our newsletter, Breaking Barriers, which resources congregations for ministry with people with disabilities. Also available in Spanish on our website.
- About 17 percent of people in the U.S. and Canada live with one or more disabilities.
- If this statistic holds true in your church, 17 people in every 100 live with a disabling condition.
- Our website features many resources for worship and for developing inclusive ministries.
