Organizations: Baylor University Center for Developmental Disabilities and Kingdom Workers
Background/Context:
According to the World Health Organization, 1 in 6 people (1.3 billion people) have a significant disability. For persons with disabilities and their family members, spiritual beliefs provide stabilization for their family life, meaning for the experience of disability, and assistance with coping. However, research has shown that people with disabilities are less likely to attend religious services than those without disabilities. Jesus Cares Ministries was established more than 30 years ago by a group of parents with the vision of serving their children with disabilities while making gospel-based resources accessible to other families in similar situations. It is currently coordinated by Kingdom Workers, a global, Christian nonprofit that mobilizes believers to meet the physical and spiritual needs of communities around the world.
Research Questions:
How are Jesus Cares Ministry programs implemented in the United States including core features and complexities?
What is the perceived impact on individuals, families, and other church members and locations where Jesus Cares Ministry has been implemented?
Study Aims:
Inform churches how to effectively implement the Jesus Cares Ministry and understand the positive and negative impacts of the program on congregations.
Impact:
Church leaders will have more detailed background and evidence to make decisions about how their congregation can best support people with disabilities within their community and expand opportunities to share the gospel.
Open Positions:
2 Virtual Research Assistants
- Manage ethics review application process
- Data management/Transcriptions
- Data Collection (interviews/focus groups)
Timeline: January 2025 – December 2025
2 Responses
August 2024 Update: Our research team has been conducting interviews with Jesus Cares programs across the US to better understand the characteristics and impacts of programs in different stages of implementation and activity level. Interviews will continue until we have reached our full sample of about 30 unique programs. Many thanks to all who have generously supported this project thus far.
November 2024 Update: Interviews are now complete and analysis has begun. We anticipate having a written summary of project findings in early 2025, which will be used to inform and enhance future programming. We are grateful to the Baylor University team for their leadership and excellent work on this study and to the Kingdom Workers staff, volunteers, and participating congregations for sharing their experiences. Thank you for your prayers and support for this project!