EMQ Volume 60 Issue 4

By Heather Pubols | More than a billion people worldwide have disabilities, and most have never heard the gospel. However, mission agencies often overlook this community in their mobilization and ministry strategies.

By Hilda Bih Muluh | People with disabilities experience a range of barriers to inclusion in the church. And those who are invited in are often still blocked from sharing their gifts with others and participating in Jesus’s mandate to share the gospel with all peoples and nations.

By Kim Kargbo | At least 16% of the world’s population has a disability, and only 5­–10% of them have heard the gospel. This makes people with disabilities the world’s largest unreached people group.

By Andrew K. Opie | What happens when disability comes into the picture? It often results in some being left out of gospel work due to not measuring up as sufficient.

By Dave Deuel | After the birth of the church, the first mission begins in Jerusalem with the healing of a man with a disability at the temple gates. This should not be surprising because people with disabilities appear throughout the Scripture narrative and especially in Jesus’s earthly ministry.

By Jenna Sanderson with Chantelle Sanderson | 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 Matthijs Terpstra and Andrew Miller | Deaf people in developing nations around the world face formidable challenges. Deaf Ministries International (DMI) has found that education, training, and the love of Christ can help Deaf people overcome barriers, live productive and meaningful lives, and give back to their communities.

By “Amos” Ming Raj Gurung | Every person, with or without a disability, matters in the kingdom of God. God has a special focus on those who are weak and disabled. This was demonstrated in Jesus’s ministry as he served people with disabilities and brought them honor when society had rejected them.

By Jackie Nyamutumbu Kimani | The theology of the prosperity gospel in African churches often mirrors animistic beliefs especially as it relates to people with disabilities. It undermines God’s sovereignty and excludes disabled individuals from ministry.

By Mitch Tani and Mary Esther Penner | A vision for recycling wheelchairs gave birth to a ministry in Japan that provides wheelchairs to people in several countries who desperately need them. The ministry has brought God’s transforming hope not only to wheelchair recipients, but also to volunteers working to refurbish the chairs.

By Erna Möller and Muna Abu Ghazaleh | Evangelism, discipleship, and church planting among persons with disabilities worldwide is hampered by challenges. Our research and experiences in South Africa and the MENA region offer insights and solutions to overcome these barriers and reach this community searching for a place of belonging.

By Christi Trimbur | Kinship unity develops when diverse members graft together to form one entity. When those groups choose to humbly reach out to each other in acceptance, true partnership or koinonia naturally follows.

By John Devalve | My wife and I lived in a remote predominantly Muslim region of West Africa with few believers for more than a decade. Not long after we arrived, I faced a new challenge: contextualizing a rite of passage ceremony for a new community of Christ followers.

By Joseph Tell | As a missionary in Thailand, I’ve witnessed the transformative power of disability ministry. In a context where Christianity’s message often falls flat, disability outreach can revitalize churches, change community perceptions, and communicate the gospel in ways that overcome cultural barriers.

By Chris Masiscoming* | As a Christian working in disability ministry, I’ve discovered profound connections between Psalm 82, Jesus’s mission, and our call to justice. This psalm reveals how God is reclaiming his inheritance – including people with disabilities – from rebellious spiritual authorities.