What if I said the following… “If you are bald, redheaded, or left handed you are not welcome in the Church.” I imagine there would be an absolute uproar! You cannot single people out based upon what they look like or based upon their attributes. That isn’t fair. That isn’t politically correct. That is a […]
I’ll be the first to admit that I struggled in certain subjects in school. I was horrible at typing. Yes, I am old enough that I actually had to take a course in typing. I distinctly remember getting yelled at by my teacher. I will never forget Mr. Oyster. Partly because he took my keyboard […]
Why did we write My Friends, My Teachers? Why did we feel it was so important that we put it in book format? Why not just blog these stories? Why a book? All good questions! It would have been much easier to churn out six separate blogs and float them out into the digital stratosphere. […]
I recently heard that Faith United Methodist Church in North Canton, OH was holding a “Messy Church” service. I was instantly drawn to it because of the name even though I didn’t know what all was involved. Messiness, or real life, seems to be intentionally programmed out of most church services. Churches want to remove […]
As a child of the 90s one of my favorite cartoons was G.I. Joe. Every episode ended with a short PSA teaching kids an important life lesson. After each PSA the kids would always respond enthusiastically, “Now we know!” And the G.I. Joe speaking to them would respond, “And knowing is half the battle!” That […]
On the front page of our website, on conference displays, and on the front of our business cards you will consistently find the following three words: Finding, Belonging, Together. If you are reading this page you are probably curious as to what these words are all about. These three words represent the Vision of Ability […]
After reading the last four blogs in this series, you may be able to identify what approach your church or ministry currently embraces. You may even have a better idea of what some of your deficits are. But when you want to make a philosophical shift in your approach to disability ministry, the big question […]
When my son was three, I clearly remember how excited he was to leave his highchair and sit in an adult-sized chair at the dinner table. Sure, he had to use a booster seat, but he was proud to have graduated to a “big chair” like his parents. My daughter, Zoe, however, was not quite […]
Before my sixteenth birthday, I vividly remember sitting behind the wheel of my family’s Ford Taurus. We were in the McDonald’s parking lot just a few blocks from our home. At this point, I had received no formal instructions on how to drive, but my father wanted to give me a taste of what it […]
Growing up at First Christian Church in Canton, Ohio, there was a culture of competition fueled by our Bible Bowl program. This program was a Bible-based academic challenge, and it was a big part of my life through my teen years until I decided to leave the program to focus on high school sports. After […]
Because Jesus' table is accessible for everyone...
We desire to see the Church make room for all people affected by disability. To fully participate. To fully partner. To fully lead.
We exist to equip and empower the 25% of the population with a disability, their families, and their churches to become who God has created them to be.
