EMQ » Oct – Dec 2024 » Volume 60 Issue 4
United in Love
Summary: People with disabilities comprise the largest unreached people group in the world, today. We are also often missed as participants in God’s global mission. As a 22-year-old with Cerebral Palsy, I want people to see me for who I truly am: a daughter of God, who is loved, forgiven, important, and useful in the kingdom of God.
By Jenna Sanderson with Chantelle Sanderson
I am a 22-year-old extrovert with Cerebral Palsy and a pastor’s kid who enjoys the limited independence I get from my power wheelchair. I am always happy to drive over to meet new people. I am not afraid to start a conversation, but I know it is not easy for people to understand me. My speech is soft and can be difficult for people to hear clearly, but I have so many thoughts I love to share.
People ask me all the time if I have a device I can use to make communication easier, but I really like using my voice. It is still faster for me to speak than to organize my arm muscles to use a device for every word in a face-to-face conversation. Disability may be my reality, but I don’t want it to be my identity. I am more than a list of impairments. I want people to see me for who I truly am: a daughter of God Most High who is loved, forgiven, important, and useful in God’s kingdom.
I feel fortunate to have had positive experiences participating in church, but I am very aware that many people with disabilities and their families have not. My experience as a person with disabilities is only one story in a vast spectrum of disabled people. There are individuals of all ages and people groups whose disabilities span from physical and intellectual ones to mental health issues and combinations. Disabilities can be hidden or visible. They can be long or short-term. Individuals can be verbal or non-verbal. Some will need total care, some intermittent care while others function completely independently.
The World Health Organization currently estimates that 1.3 billion people globally – 16% of the world’s population – live with one or more significant disabilities.[i] Sadly, people with disabilities are one of the largest unreached people groups in the world today. For many, church is not easily physically accessible. For others, there is a lack of grace and openness to accommodating individual and family needs. Sometimes hidden disabilities are the most difficult to navigate.
