Are we considering everyone?

“If people with disabilities make up 10% of the population and the Church is made up of redeemed people from all walks of life, why don't we see 10% of our brothers and sisters with disabilities in churches?

This question, asked at a workshop during the 2nd Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) Bioethics Conference, opened my eyes to a reality that I had previously been unaware of.

I then learned about the excellent work that the Mefi group has been doing for decades, primarily in the Catalan city of Tarrasa but also in other cities. Their guide to inclusive churches should be required reading in seminaries and pastor training programmes.

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I later learned about the work of PROEL (the Spanish Linguistics Promoter) in translating the Bible into sign language in collaboration with ministries that work with deaf people.

During the 500th anniversary celebrations of the Reformation, there were LSE translators at the meetings. The Nueva Luz (New Light) ministry, founded by Antonio Padilla, created an audio Christian magazine even before the Spanish Nacional Organization of the Bling (ONCE), and continues to help blind people in Spain and other countries to this day.

The organisation ‘Joni and Friends’, founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, has helped people with reduced mobility around the world, both physically and spiritually.

More recently, the Bible Society has presented the Gospel of Luke in Easy Reading, for which they have relied on collaborators with cognitive disabilities, among others.

In Evangelical Focus, the articles by Mark Arnold on The Additional Needs Blogfather offer insights worthy of a second reading and reflection.

The European Disability Network (EDN) works for inclusion at continental level from an evangelical perspective.

Books such as Brenda Darke's A Shared Journey and testimonies such as The Same Emily are highly recommended for stepping out of our comfort zones and learning about the realities of other people's lives that can inspire and help us.

Why do I remember all this? It is Christmas season, and while the world rushes into unbridled consumption, we Christians must remember that the King of Kings became poor and needy out of love for us (2 Cor. 8:9).

Now is a good time to think of others and practise pure and undefiled religion by visiting those in need (James 1:27).

Spanish journalist and author, César Vidal often recalls that, in the past, youth groups regularly visited elderly people who were unable to attend church due to illness or disability.

Today, some groups organise visits to nursing homes or private residences to sing Christmas carols, bringing encouragement and hope.

Interestingly, December is also the month that sees the celebration of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Spanish Constitution Day and Universal Human Rights Day.

The Christmas season and those three days have something in common. It's a great opportunity to ask ourselves: Are we considering everyone?

In Japan, a church consulted its neighbours about remodelling its building. One man requested a design change because the original blocked his view of the landscape, and so they did.

As a result, that neighbour began attending church and eventually accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour.

Sometimes, loving gestures such as building a ramp and an accessible building; providing visual and auditory enhancements for services; avoiding loud lights and noise; adapting a room for mothers with babies; respecting rest and bathroom breaks; and incorporating nursing and care services for dependent family members at retreats, are ways of saying, “You are important to God and to us”.

By doing this, we will find that those we thought needed our help have great abilities and much to offer us, and that we have serious limitations in more than one area too.

Ultimately, there aren't different kinds of believers; rather, we are all one in Christ Jesus. He says that whatever you did for one of His little ones, “you did for me”.