A Church's Calling to Become Disability Inclusive Year-Round

One of the things we love to say is that we want to roll out that red carpet every Sunday as they come, and they're celebrated as kings and queens while they're here," Sara Chauncey, Westside Baptist Church.

Individuals living with disability make up one of the largest minority groups in the world, but it is estimated that only 10% of churches today are actively reaching and discipling those impacted by special needs.

We believe that when properly equipped, local churches can be the greatest catalyst for change in dramatically helping to end the social, physical, and spiritual isolation that often impacts the 1.3 billion people and their families worldwide living with disability.

Westside Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida, exemplifies the calling to care for individuals and families living with disability. After hosting Night to Shine for the first time in 2022, they saw first-hand the need in their community of a people group who were disproportionately unchurched and underserved.