Indispensable People
Making the Gospel Accessible to people of ALL abilities so that they may know Christ, grow in Him, and serve Him with the gifts He has given them.
Indispensable People
The Church is the Barrier, Not the Disability
Tracy Corll tackles the challenging reality that over 80% of Americans with disabilities are not inside church walls. She explores intellectual disabilities, their impact on daily life, and how churches can break down barriers to become truly inclusive communities where everyone can know, grow in, and serve Christ.
• Understanding intellectual disabilities as below-average intelligence that impacts life skills before age 18
• Discussing how intellectual disabilities can affect learning, communication, problem-solving, and coping abilities
• Exploring accessibility beyond physical accommodations to include sensory considerations
• Emphasizing that attitudinal barriers in the church often present the biggest obstacles to inclusion
• Promoting relationship-building to overcome fears and misconceptions about people with disabilities
• Encouraging multi-sensory approaches to worship, Bible study, and church activities
• Creating meaningful ministry opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to serve with their gifts
• Reclaiming the biblical narrative that all people are created in God's image with divine purpose
For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensable-people.com and visit Amazon to purchase the books The Indispensable Kid, Gospel Accessibility, and The Indispensable People.
Hi, my name is Tracy Correll and welcome to Indispensable People. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, pastor and missionary, and I believe that every person should have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given, no matter their ability. Over 65 million Americans have a disability. That's 25% of the population. However, over 80% of them are not inside the walls of our church. Let's dive into those hard topics biblical foundations, perceptions and world-changing ideas.
Speaker 1:Hey, hey, and welcome to this episode of Indispensable People. We're talking about intellectual disabilities and barriers that can be broken. So how do we do that? What is it and where do we go with this? Well, first we have to consider what is an intellectual disability.
Speaker 1:An intellectual disability is considered below average intelligence and it impacts a set of life skills that are presented before age 18. Intellectual function can be measured with a test and some symptoms may include now, this is silly, saying symptoms sounds really funny when it is considered an intellectual disability, because you know it's not fever, feeling sluggish, rash, anything like that. It is literally directly connected to life skills that can be impacted that include certain conceptual, social and practical skills, so you can experience some different behavioral things, such as hyperactivity, impulsivity or restlessness, difficulty thinking or understanding processing information may also be impacted. So how does an intellectual disability impact someone's life? It may affect a person's ability to learn new information, communicate, cope effectively, solve problems on their own problems on their own. It can create stress and vulnerability for not only the person with the intellectual disability but those who are caring for that person. Some diagnoses that are directly connected to an intellectual disability is cerebral palsy, down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, fragile X syndrome and autism. There are some difficulties. Some people that have an autism diagnosis struggle with that and they prefer to fall into the neurodivergence kind of thinking. However, many individuals with autism do have intellectual disabilities.
Speaker 1:So how can the church break down these barriers, be welcoming and inclusive to those with intellectual disabilities? We're going to dive into those challenges and the opportunities that exist within the challenges of someone who experiences an intellectual disability. How can the church work together to break down those barriers? Well, first and foremost, we always talk about accessibility. Accessibility is not just physical, which some individuals with a physical disability have an intellectual disability, but not all people with a physical disability have an intellectual disability, and not all people with a physical disability have an intellectual disability, and not all people with an intellectual disability have a physical disability. It doesn't always go hand in hand. So physical accessibility needs to be considered, but it's not necessarily the top priority in this group. However, if you're considering someone with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, it is likely that their physical is impacted, so we do have to make sure that we consider that.
Speaker 1:In addition to that, we want to consider how we're going to adapt our worship surfaces. It's crucial to consider sensory needs physical needs, although not every person with an intellectual disability has sensory needs, so we need to understand that this isn't a blanket statement. These all don't apply. It is very individual. However, someone who would struggle with dealing with problem solving or processing information it is likely that when too many sensory things are coming at them, that their body may have difficulty regulating that. So it would be good to consider providing sensory bags that would help with reducing noise levels, if needed, by having noise canceling headphones or assistive devices, headphones, fidget tools anything that might provide a comfortable experience. Also, we can create an incredible building. We can have all the tools necessary to create an adaptive worship service, but if our attitudes are not right, then we will always struggle to serve individuals with disabilities of any kind and they're going to feel as though they do not belong, nor should they be, in our churches. So we want to make sure that we're promoting understanding through our staff, our volunteers, our entire congregation. We want to make sure that we are accommodating to individuals with intellectual disabilities and using education. Through training can dispel myths, reduce stigma and create a more welcoming atmosphere.
Speaker 1:And here's the thing Church is not about. I say this often if you know and love Jesus and you are there to serve him, church is so much less about you than it is about the people that are coming in. And the people that are coming in whatever, whatever circumstances they are coming into, whatever they are dealing with in their life, right, our job is to help them to know Jesus, and we can do that in so many different kinds of ways. And people with disabilities are just. They're another category of people that we learn about, get to understand and then be able to find ways to share the gospel with them, because that is our whole purpose, that is the sole purpose of the church to share the gospel.
Speaker 1:And if we are stopping because there are barriers or because there are difficulties, then we've really missed the mark. So how do we get past those attitudinal issues? By building relationships. That is gonna be key. And relationships impact everything, because so many times that we've talked about this fear of the unknown that stops us from getting to know people with disabilities, and that fear of the unknown really puts that barrier of seeing who they are in Christ, how they were created in his image, how he has plans and purposes for them, because all we see is the disability. We don't see the human.
Speaker 1:And breaking the barrier is building relationships, challenging those negative stereotypes that the world has told us that someone with a disability is less than, or that they can't enjoy life, or that they can't serve a purpose and that they'll only be a burden on society, because those are not truths from God's word. Those are lies that have been seeded through the value that the world puts on people. We don't have the same value system as a follower of Christ, and thank goodness that we don't. And I just want to point out right here and right now how much we're talking about breaking down barriers. And when you think about breaking down barriers with people with intellectual disabilities, it sounds as if their, our understanding, our education, our relationship building. We're the main barrier. We can change what we do and how we think, and that is going to bust past the barriers that people with intellectual disabilities are dealing with, because we're the barrier. So let's fix us, let's get us in a place of understanding, of compassion, of co-laboring, coming together to make sure that the gospel is shared and that people have the opportunity to know Christ, to grow in him and to serve him. That is going to be the thing.
Speaker 1:How can we do that? When we get past us, when we get past our barriers, what can we do? Listen, multi-sensory approaches, finding ways to use visuals, music, tactile, all of those kinds of ways for Bible studies and sermons and events can help connect, and that is. We've talked about that over and over and over on here, because that is how the brain learns, that's how your brain learns, that's how my brain learns, that's how my neighbor next door, their brain learns through multisensory experiences, connections, repetitiveness, multi-sensory experiences, connections, repetitiveness.
Speaker 1:The other thing that we can do is we can provide support, one-on-one support, through buddies, extra volunteers in the spaces who can help that individual be able to experience the event, the service, whatever is going on in the church, in fullness, not in parts because it's what convenient and what works for us, but in fullness we can help them to not only be on the receiving end of ministry but we can also make sure that they are engaging in ministry, encouraging individuals with intellectual disabilities to take on ministry roles so that their contributions can enrich the church community and provide them with meaningful and opportunities to serve, not fluff. I'm not saying let's give them fluff, let's not have them do things just so we can say that they're doing things, but so that they have an opportunity to serve God with the gifts that he has given them, because he has, if they have breath in their lungs, they have a place and a plan, because the God of the universe said I need them, I want them. He didn't have to choose any of us, but he did. And if he chose in his sovereign, then he has purpose in it. That exists within ourselves. We want to open up learning opportunities and serving opportunities, and then we want to take some extra theological considerations.
Speaker 1:Now I'm going to back this up, because this really should have been our foundation, and scripture is always the foundation, but we want to make sure that we don't forget. We want to reclaim the narrative, challenging the notion that disability is a curse or a burden. Don't get me wrong, because we've talked about balance. There are challenges, there are difficulties that people are facing, but also understanding that there are unique perspectives and abilities and choices that God made to put these people here because they have something that someone else won't have. We want to affirm the divine image within them. We want to emphasize that all people, including those with intellectual disabilities, are created in the image of God. They are valued and they are loved, not because of what they can do, but because of who created them. We want to embrace diversity and understanding that God made us all different for a reason and he has purpose in that.
Speaker 1:By addressing these things, churches can truly become inclusive spaces where individuals with intellectual disabilities feel welcomed, supported and empowered to participate fully in the life of a faith community. So let's continue to work together and break down barriers and build a church where everyone belongs, not because that's what the world says today, but because God has a plan and God has a purpose. Let's break down those barriers and remember those barriers. Start with you and then we can break the barriers in others. Do I know everything about disability ministry? Do I have all the answers. Have I done everything perfectly? I've absolutely not, but we are going to continue this conversation so that people of all abilities can have the opportunity to know Christ, grow in Him and serve Him with the gifts that he has given them. For deeper dives into these topics and more, check out indispensablepeoplecom and visit Amazon to purchase the books the Indispensable Kid and Gospel Accessibility and the Indispensable People.
