Christian Blind Mission (CBM) Australia, a Christian international development organization, has launched new online video resources to help Australian churches create a more welcoming environment for people with disabilities, mental health challenges, and neurodivergence.
Research shows that one in five Australians has a disability—5.5 million people in the country, according to 2022 data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. For CBM Australia, this represents a challenge for churches, as potentially 20% of the population could struggle to feel included if they visited a church service on a typical Sunday.
Research commissioned by CBM Australia through the National Church Life Survey found that while many churches provide accessible toilets, ramps, hearing loops, and other aids, "far fewer Australian churches are looking at their programs and training their members to actively build a community where people with disabilities can fully participate and feel they truly belong," according to a press statement sent to Christian Daily International.
Education is key, CBM Australia stated, noting that it has run a free "Luke 14" program on disability inclusion for 15 years, with a network of volunteers hosting in-person workshops in church buildings.
The new resources expand access to this training by providing the same material online through a video series on disability inclusion. This allows churches in remote locations to easily access the free training. CBM’s Luke 14 training is available at cbm.org.au/luke14.
"The new program makes it possible for anyone to learn more about how to better understand, support, and welcome people with disabilities, mental health conditions, or neurodivergences like ADHD or autism," the CBM Australia statement read.
Dr. Louise Gosbell, a disability researcher and theologian with lived experience of disability, collaborated with CBM on the new resources. An academic with multiple publications on disability theology, Gosbell has been a volunteer coordinator with CBM Australia’s Luke 14 program for the past 10 years and serves as a co-presenter of the training videos.
Gosbell said people with disabilities often find themselves on the margins of local church life, unable to fully participate.
"While many Australians think disability is uncommon, the reality is that this isn’t the case. Almost one in five Australians live with some kind of disability," she said.
"Sometimes, as churches, we are not aware of the things we do or don’t do that can make it harder for people with disabilities, mental health conditions, or neurodivergences to participate.
"Some of the ways we do things in churches—the way we run our programs, the way we communicate with people—can create barriers that make it harder for people with disabilities to be active and participating members."
Gosbell noted that while churches may provide aids such as wheelchair ramps and accessible toilets, this does not necessarily mean that people with disabilities can fully access all church programs.
"We want our churches to be places of belonging for people with disabilities," she said.
She believes some Australian families no longer attend church because they feel their child with a disability or neurodivergence will not be welcomed.
"It’s not uncommon for families to end up tag-teaming church, with one parent staying home each week with the child with a disability while the other parent attends church with the rest of the family. They swap each weekend, and the family never gets to attend church all together," she said.
Daniel Giles, recipient of an Order of Australia Medal, an autistic advocate, and a contributor to CBM’s new disability inclusion training on neurodivergence, reinforced the importance of inclusion.
"The key message you can take in supporting autistic people is to remember we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, and we’re not just people to be served, but we’re a gift to the church and God’s Kingdom, and we have a call to contribute to God’s Kingdom also," Giles said.
CBM Australia has worked for more than 110 years supporting people with disabilities in some of the world’s poorest places. The organization aims to break the cycle of disability and poverty and identified the need for Australian churches to improve education on disability inclusion.
Christian Media & Arts Australia (CMAT) is supporting CBM Australia’s initiative with the new training videos. In a news update, CMAT highlighted the importance of the issue for both churches and people with disabilities, stating, "Only 3% of Australian churches report having made program-related provisions for people with disabilities, whilst just 28% of Australian churches report providing any staff or volunteer training on disability inclusion."
CMAT also cited additional statistics emphasizing the need for greater inclusion. More than half of Australian churchgoers have a connection to someone with a disability, and 40% of these churchgoers have a mental health condition that their church is unaware of. In general, one in five Australians aged 16 to 85 experiences mental health issues.
