With Ministries Quarterly Update
Flourish – Spring 2026
A Letter From Rebecca
As the Executive Director of With Ministries, I have the privilege of holding others’ stories. Stories of change. Stories of wounding. Stories of belonging. Stories of hope. Stories of resilience. And, gratefully, we are hearing more and more stories of with-ness.
Because I do not live with a disability, I lean in and listen carefully so I can continue learning from families and individuals experiencing disability. Recently, one word has surfaced again and again in these conversations—one that gives me pause.
Allow.
As parents share their church stories, they tell me how grateful they are that their child is “allowed” at church. One mom shared, “I am just so relieved he is allowed to be in the service with me.” Another grandmother shared, “It is so great she is allowed to be in the children’s ministry.”
The word allow implies that someone is granted permission to do something or be somewhere. I don’t know about you, but I have never felt the need to ask permission to be present at church. And yet, too often, families experiencing disability are unsure if their presence is wanted, tolerated, or simply allowed.
Because of the work of With Ministries, I hope to hear a new word from families’ mouths.
Embrace.
To be embraced means to be received willingly and enthusiastically—a beautiful and more accurate picture of how the church should receive people of all abilities.
With Ministries calls the church to move from allowance to embrace, from exclusion to inclusion, and to create opportunities for people with and without disabilities to learn, worship, and grow together.
Your partnership with us is making a real difference in congregations across the country. Because of the work we do together, we pray the word embrace will increasingly describe the church experiences of families and individuals experiencing disability.
We thank God for your generosity and prayers!
Rebecca Wall
Executive Director
Worship As One
Accessibility Summit for Leaders
In February, we hosted our second Worship As One: Accessibility Summit for Leaders. There is something beautiful happening around tables and in pews at our Worship As One.
Collectively, we repented and prayed together. We asked honest questions. We held the tension of how churches historically have intentionally or unintentionally wounded families with a lack of a genuine welcome. We listened, laughed, and felt less alone. We worshiped and honored every groan, noise, clap, and voice – on pitch or not. We tasted a bit of God’s Kingdom here on earth.
I pray you are encouraged by these testimonies of change from churches across our country. The summit was not an ending. It was a beginning for each and every person in attendance.
7 STATES REPRESENTED
74 REGISTRANTS
3 PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN
38 CHURCHES REPRESENTED
12 SELF ADVOCATES
110 WORSHIP ATTENDEES
What resonated with you the most?
- Our church needs to move from a space of acceptance to a space of intentional inclusion.
- The absence of support leads to exclusion.
- The worship service where we worshiped as one complete body was incredibly moving and impactful. Some people danced, some people stimmed, some people sang, some people were quiet, some played instruments, some even painted–but we were together.
- All the stories shared by people with disabilities were a great encouragement and joy to me.
- The way this whole summit was facilitated with not only conviction, but joy and gladness and excitement and anticipation.
- That we all just want to belong.
- The overall presence in the room. It was so encouraging to see a room filled with leaders saying inclusion is a priority.
What is your church’s next right step?
- We are asking for a meeting with our church leadership.
- We are announcing our inclusion efforts at our churchwide vision night in March.
- We will share from the stage about our intentionality toward inclusion and belonging.
- We need to move our heart posture from “ministry to” to ” ministry with and ministry by.”
- We need to acknowledge and repent that our church has excluded an entire community impacted by disabilities.
- Our pastoral team reached out to members of the body to start conversations around building an accessibility team.
- We will go into the community and reach out to families and individuals with disabilities and invite them to our church.
Conversations that Matter
With Ministries recently shared about our redemptive and necessary work on several public platforms. If you haven’t heard these conversations yet, we invite you to listen. We’d be grateful if you shared them with friends, church leaders, and others who care about this work—and please join us in praying that the vision of with-ness continues to spark change across the country.
Take the Next Step Podcast
Why “Special Needs” Ministry Isn’t Enough with Rebecca Wall and Amy Julia Becker
Redemptive Imagination with Rebecca Wall
A Little Extra Love Podcast:
From Welcoming to Withness: The Church Families Need with Rebecca Wall and Rachael Vermeulen
We’re currently praying for more people to join us as monthly supporters of With Ministries.
Recurring gifts provide the stability that allows this work to continue and grow. If you believe in the vision of with-ness, we invite you to consider partnering with us through a monthly gift.
Together, we can continue sparking meaningful change in communities across the country.
