For Liz Jeffrey, the new Lifeway Research study on disability inclusion in U.S. Protestant churches hits a sore spot.
Photo by Nathan Anderson / Unsplash
While the churches in the study gave themselves high marks, the Portland mother of a son with Down syndrome wonders if pastors know what families like hers go through.
“They don’t see what we families deal with Monday through Saturday,” Jeffrey said.
Among Lifeway survey participants, 98% of pastors believe a person with a physical, sensory, cognitive or intellectual impairment would feel welcomed and included at their church. Churchgoers expressed similar confidence: 98% said people with physical disabilities would feel welcome, while 96% said the same for cognitive or developmental disabilities.
Jeffrey admits her family was never turned away from a church but says she heard “horror stories” from other families who were asked not to come back. She attributes her family’s ability to stay — during her son Paul’s difficult early childhood — to the work she put into directly supervising and caring for him at all times, which left little room for her own participation in church life. No one ever offered to help.
“Nobody intentionally saw what I was doing and said, ‘Liz, would you like me to be Paul’s helper in the classroom while you go to church service without having to have him with you?'” she said.
Disability ministries critique churches
The Jeffrey family’s experience comes as no surprise to those who specialize in ministry to people with disabilities.
In response to the Lifeway study, disability advocates offered mixed views of how faithfully and effectively the church has heeded Christ’s call to “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” (Luke 14:13) to the Lord’s table.
“I would have to disagree [that the disabled would feel included at most churches] based on my own experience,” said Ryan Wolfe, president and executive director of Ability Ministry, which offers resources and consulting for disability-focused ministry. “I have heard countless stories of people with disabilities, and their loved ones, being turned away from churches.”
While such individuals may technically be permitted to attend, Wolfe argued that their experiences on Sunday morning can still create the impression they are not wanted.
“How this happens most often is in children’s ministry when a child has autism, behaviors or complex needs. Churches, staff and volunteers that get overwhelmed or aren’t sure how to include will literally tell families they aren’t equipped to help their children and that they’d be better off at a different church that is better equipped, typically larger churches,” Wolfe said.
Advocate Shawn Thornton offered a cautiously more positive assessment.
“I believe most churches genuinely want people with disabilities to feel welcome,” Thornton said. “I affirm the goodwill reflected in the Lifeway survey, but I would hesitate to conclude that most churches are fully inclusive.”
Thornton is president and chief ministry officer of Joni and Friends. The ministry’s founder, Joni Eareckson Tada, helped draft the Americans with Disabilities Act while serving on the National Council on Disability under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Religious entities are exempt from the act’s requirement of reasonable accommodations for the disabled.
Exemptions or not, Thornton noted that inclusion requires more than just a warm greeting. Facility access issues should be addressed, and barriers to full participation in worship and events should be removed. Otherwise, the experience can become so difficult that families stop attending. As evidence, he cited research presented at Baylor University’s 2026 Disability and the Church Conference by Dr. Eric Carter and Dr. Jason Le Shana.
“The research presents a statistic that should stop every pastor in their tracks: 47% of parents left at least one church because their child with a disability was not welcome there,” Thornton wrote in a May paper about the conference. “It is a pattern of exclusion, often unintentional but no less real in its consequences.”
Wolfe offered a specific example of an accommodation church visitors seldom find: a universal-sized changing table. According to Wolfe, 95% of churches do not have one, which can make corporate worship inaccessible to families of older children who still require extra care in the restroom.
Declining confidence
Compared with an identical Lifeway study done in 2019, the percentage of pastors who agreed people with disabilities would feel welcome in their congregations was nearly identical. However, those who selected “strongly agree” declined from 81% to 73%.
Both Wolfe and Thornton suggested the decline may reflect a growing awareness of the need to make adjustments for people with disabilities, rather than a loss of desire to do so. One example cited was the skyrocketing rate of autism diagnoses, which has captured churches’ attention. Again citing the Baylor University study, Thornton noted that pastors overwhelmingly favor including people with disabilities.
“[The Baylor study] found no pastoral profile defined by opposition to including people with disabilities. Most pastors do not need to be convinced that people with disabilities matter. They need to be equipped, encouraged and supported,” Thornton said.
The Lifeway study also found that, compared with 2019, fewer pastors “strongly agree” that “local churches should make necessary modifications to their church facilities to make them accessible to people with physical disabilities, even when it is not required by law.”
Thornton attributed such hesitancy to concerns about cost, insurance, leased facilities and competing ministry needs. He also noted that churches are facing increased demands for accommodations.
“Many churches are hearing more requests. That may reflect increases in diagnoses, but it also reflects greater awareness, a richer vocabulary, reduced stigma, and a growing willingness among families to explain what meaningful participation might look like,” Thornton said.
Jeff McNair, a member of the Evangelical Free Church of America’s disability committee, offered a more blunt diagnosis: fear of change.
“Our biggest problem is that we don’t want to love our neighbors if that implies that we need to change what we do,” McNair said. “Should we love our neighbors with disabilities or hold to our traditions and the social skill expectations they demand? We hold to our traditions and eschew those who cannot meet them.”
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How can churches do better?
More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults has a disability, according to a 2022 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With such a high likelihood that churches will encounter people with physical or neurological impairments, the question of how churches can become more welcoming and inclusive is far from a niche issue.
For Thornton, the process of improvement begins with an open ear.
“Begin with people, not programs. Invite people with disabilities and their families to describe their experiences, needs, gifts and hopes,” Thornton said, adding there is no one-size-fits-all solution. “A church becomes disability-inclusive through a sustained culture of hospitality, flexibility, friendship and biblical conviction.”
For McNair, the first step toward becoming a more welcoming church is to develop a heart for the disabled and recognize their value. Congregants with impairments should be seen not just as beneficiaries but also as brothers and sisters who can contribute. The second step is learning how to serve them. McNair believes churches err when they relegate disability care to a segregated ministry while failing to integrate people with impairments into mainstream church life.
Another pitfall is trying to do too much too fast.
“Don’t try to do everything all at once. Start small. Build on successes. Don’t over-promise,” Wolfe said. “The biggest thing that I could say to a church that is struggling is the fact that it doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive or frightening.”
McNair echoed the advice that inclusive ministry doesn’t always have to mean depleting the church bank account.
“Unless you are hiring a full-time pastor, there aren’t a lot of monetary costs. I think most ministries are orchestrated by volunteers,” McNair said. “There has been a move to create ‘sensory rooms,’ which can be quite expensive. However, I believe the verdict is out on how helpful these are.”
Sensory rooms are spaces designed to reduce stressful stimulation and allow free movement for children with autism and other neurodivergent conditions. They often include soft lighting, noise reduction, soft seating and tactile fidget tools.
Becoming more inclusive also means lessening the burden on the family. Resources, programs and willing volunteers need to be in place so that overworked parents and other caregivers are able to enjoy services and events. Liz Jeffrey said that when Paul was little, it never occurred to her to seek help in supervising him, but today she believes it is important for church staff and volunteers to step in and offer parents a break.
Moving in the right direction
Despite concerns, advocates expressed hopefulness that churches are making progress on ministering to people with disabilities. Thornton celebrated the strides made over the past five decades.
“When Joni and Friends was founded in 1979, disability was often misunderstood, hidden, or treated primarily as an object of charity. Today, there is greater awareness, improved physical access, stronger ministry models, more training and growing recognition that people with disabilities are not merely recipients of ministry. They are gifted participants in ministry!” Thornton said.
“There are definitely more resources available and people are somewhat more aware,” McNair agreed. “We see conferences, publications, trainings, etc. occurring all the time, so hopefully there are positive changes being evidenced in local churches.”
As for the Jeffreys, they have moved to a church where their now-grown son has opportunities to participate. Paul helps with the children’s classrooms, and every other Sunday he and his parents help serve the pre-service dinner. Paul leads the prayer before the meal — a task he enjoys but almost lost after an attendee complained he spoke too slowly. Liz resolved the situation by suggesting Paul write his prayers in advance, but the incident deepened long-held feelings of exclusion.
The Jeffreys’ church, which Liz said averages around 1,300 worshipers each Sunday, has a monthly ministry for people with disabilities, but the family has requested a weekly assembly similar to one Paul attends at another Portland church. Paul said sitting through the regular services is challenging because he does not understand the sermons.
Despite a speech impediment, Paul did not hesitate to speak on his own behalf, articulating Christian conviction and a desire to be included. He cited 1 Corinthians 12:22: “Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” For families dealing with disabilities and feelings of rejection, this verse is a reminder that all people matter.
Despite a speech impediment, Paul did not hesitate to speak on his own behalf, articulating Christian conviction and a desire to be included. He cited 1 Corinthians 12:22, “Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” For families dealing with disabilities and feelings of rejection, this verse is a reminder that all people matter.
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