a bookshelf that takes up the entire wall, made of light brown wood, filled with books of different colors

Disability and the Church

The books in this list provide a variety of resources to congregations on the topic of disability in worship and ministry. Included here are books about Christian practices, ideas for inclusive worship, and even a dyslexia-friendly Bible translation. There are also books that talk about youth ministry and missions and evangelism.

cover of disability and the church with a folding wheelchair whose shadow is the shape of a church

Lamar Hardwick, Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion (InterVarsity Press, 2021)

This book is a practical and theological reconsideration of the church’s responsibilities to the disabled community by a pastor with autism. Too often disabled persons are pushed away from the church or made to feel unwelcome in any number of ways.

Sarah Jean Barton, Becoming the Baptized Body: Disability and the Practice of Christian Community (Baylor University Press, 2022)

This book explores how baptismal theologies and practices shape Christian imagination, identity, and community. It privileges perspectives informed by disability experience through theological qualitative research.

book cover of becoming the baptized body with an image of water and people in white robes and with red halos around their heads in the water

Bill Gaventa, Preaching Disability: A Resource for Pastors (Eerdmans, 2026)

This groundbreaking guide helps clergy move beyond harmful stereotypes—disability as punishment for sin, disability as inspiration—toward preaching that honors the full humanity and spiritual depth of people with disabilities.

David Taylor, A Body of Praise: Understanding the Role of Our Physical Bodies in Worship (Baker Academic Press, 2023)

This book draws on the wisdom of the Bible, church history, and theology to demonstrate that there is something for our physical bodies to do that decisively forms Christlikeness in us within the context of corporate worship. What we do with our postures, gestures, and movements in worship matters.

book cover of a body of praise with multicolored renderings of an xrayed body
book cover of cripping youth ministry with an image of Jesus in a red and blue robe siting in a wheelchair made with chariot wheels

Justin Forbes and Erin Raffety, eds., Cripping Youth Ministry: An Intersectional Vision for Working with Disabled Youth (Eerdmans Publishing, 2026)

This book showcases the ministry and leadership of disabled youth through original prayers, youth perspectives, and practical exercises. Readers encounter how disabled youth navigate faith, resist injustice, and proclaim the gospel in revolutionary ways.

Hazel Bradley and Jim Cargin, Creative Ideas for Worship with All Abilities (Morehouse Publishing, 2021)

Drawing on the vast experience of the L’Arche community that fully includes and centers those with intellectual disabilities, this practical guide offers ideas for imaginative worship to engage people with all abilities.

book cover of creative ideas for worship with all abilities, a yellow background with multicolored outlines of people including one in a wheelchair
book cover of centering disability in worship with a white background and orange, green and yellow strips making stars

Rebecca F. Spurrier and Bekah Maren Anderson, Centering Disability in Worship: Liturgy and Prayer for the Whole Church (IVP Academic, Forthcoming in February 2027)

This is a devotional resource by and for Christians with disabilities, as well as for non-disabled Christians who desire to learn more about experiences of disability. It includes prayers, liturgies, readings, and song lyrics written or informed by people with disabilities, as well as resources for Communion, baptism, and seasons of the Christian year.

Mike Severe and Laura Widstrom, Ministry with Youth on the Margins: Serving Teens with Trauma, Disabilities, and Mental Health Issues (Baker, 2026)

This book offers a theological framework and practical guidance for serving students on the margins, including those affected by significant life challenges such as foster care, chronic health issues, a death in the family, or divorce.

book cover of ministry with youth on the margins, an abstract drawing of waves and clouds, a person standing on top of a ladder and a silhouette of a face

Dyslexia-Friendly New Testament, Crystal Edition (ESV) (Cambridge University Press, 2026)

This Bible is printed in a dyslexia-friendly typeface and uses design principles to provide an easier reading experience, including shorter paragraphs, weighed letters, a single column format, large type size and cream-colored pages.

Benjamin T. Conner, Disabling Mission, Enabling Witness: Exploring Missiology Through the Lens of Disability Studies (IVP Academic, 2018)

This book is about imagining how the church can fully incorporate persons with disabilities into its mission and witness. In this vision, people with disabilities contribute to the church’s pluriform witness, and the congregation embodies a robust hermeneutic of the gospel.

book cover of disabling mission, enabling witness. white with a blue triangle at the bottom with a yellow and white dove and angel faces and wings surrounding the dove
book cover of disability and evangelism with an image of the sun, a tree and a blue church window

Rochelle Scheuermann, Disability and Evangelism: The Good News of the Fullness of God’s Kingdom (IVP Academic, 2026)

This book creates a vision for including people with disabilities in all aspects of evangelism, from how we understand and tell the gospel story, to how we evangelize to and with people with disabilities. This groundbreaking book invites us to reshape our evangelism theology and practice so that people with disabilities are central in all we think, say, and do.

Bethany McKinney Fox, Disability and the Way of Jesus: Holistic Healing in the Gospels and in the Church (InterVarsity Press, 2019)

This book considers how the stories of Jesus’ healings can guide us toward mutual thriving by examining how Jesus’ original audience would have understood his works of healing and how we can relate to these texts now. Fox considers perspectives from medical doctors, disability scholars, and pastors to more fully understand what Jesus does as he heals and how he points the way for relationships with people with disabilities.

book cover of disability and the way of jesus with a photo of an empty church foyer lit with a stained glass window with vaulted ceilings and a single old-fashioned wheelchair sitting in the left of the frame
book cover of everyone belongs, serving together with drawings of circles in a variety of colors overlapping one another

Terry De Young and Mark Stephenson, eds., Everybody Belongs: Serving Together (Brethren Press, 2022)

This resource provides practical advice for developing relationships and encouraging everyone in your congregation to use their gifts for God’s glory, and it’s vital for church leaders and people advocating for greater engagement of people with disabilities in congregational life.

Dean Preheim-Bartel, Aldred Neufeldt, Paul Leichty, and Christine Guth, Supportive Care in the Congregation (Herald Press, 2011)

This book presents a way for congregations to support individuals with significant disabilities and their families by creating circles of care. This vision is rooted in the Anabaptist value of mutual care. This updated edition offers a wealth of resources to those who take up the invitation to build supportive, caring, inclusive communities of faith.

book cover of supportive care in the congregation with a photo of a woman in a power wheelchair smiling at another woman who is pouring tea into her cup
book cover of circles of love with a watercolor image of people wearing different colored robes walking together up a hill

Dean Preheim-Bartel, Timothy Burkholder, Linda Christophel and Christine Guth, Circles of Love: Stories of Congregations Caring for People with Disabilities and Their Families  (Herald Press, 2015)

In Circles of Love, meet people who have received support from caring people in Anabaptist congregations—support that has changed the course of their lives. These are not stories of valor or victory, but rather of ordinary people whose lives have been transformed by circles of love.

Duane Ruth-Heffelbower, After We’re Gone: A Christian Perspective on Estate and Life Planning for Families that Include a Dependent Member with a Disability (Brethren Press, 2016)

Caring for an adult who is dependent due to a significant disability is a major responsibility. Making provisions for that person’s physical, emotional, and financial well-being after the death of the caregiver can be complex and confusing. After We’re Gone introduces options and resources for the Christian family and faith community as they interact with the legal system to make provisions for the ongoing care of loved ones with disabilities.

book cover of after we're gone with a photo of two people walking away from the camera down a gravel road lined with trees
book cover of from longing to belonging with abstract drawings on interconnected people in bright colors

Shelly Christensen, From Longing to Belonging: A Practical Guide to Including People with Disabilities and Mental Health Conditions in Your Faith Community (Inclusive Innovations, 2021)

The one place everyone should feel like they belong is their house of worship and other faith-based community organizations. This book is based on Shelly Christensen’s experiences as a leader in the growing field of faith-based inclusion of people with disabilities and mental health conditions.