About Me
Welcome to Disability Concerns. My name is Mark Stephenson. I’m here to help you find the best ways for your church to become an accessible, warm, hospitable, and loving place for people with disabilities. At Disability Concerns we like to say, “Everybody belongs. Everybody serves.”
After receiving an M.Div. degree, I served as pastor of two Christian Reformed churches for a total of 17 years, and I have served as the Director of Disability Concerns for the Christian Reformed Church since July 2006. My wife Bev and I have four living children, including our oldest child, Nicole, who was born extremely prematurely in the late 1980’s and lives with severe, multiple impairments. That label does not define her. She loves magazines, loves interacting with people, loves roller-coasters and wild amusement park rides, and she loves to worship and to pray with God’s people. In any group, she shares her own unique gifts.
God used Nicole to lead me into a variety of involvements with people with disabilities and their families including these:
- Chairing the board of Special Education Ministry of Holland (a Friendship group)
- Serving with working groups for various ministries with people with disabilities
- Directing the Disability Concerns ministry of my denomination.
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to speak to groups across North America about church and inclusion, and welcome such opportunities. Likewise, I welcome this opportunity to assist you and your congregation. If you cannot find a resource that you would find helpful, or if I can assist you in some way, please be in touch.
My Topics
| Type | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Blog post |
Let everything, even dogs, praise the Lord January 31, 2012 |
|
| Blog post |
Focus on People Not Labels January 24, 2012 |
|
| Blog post |
Ministering to People with Mental Illnesses January 17, 2012 |
|
| Blog post |
Cruelty or Evil, Which is Better? January 9, 2012 |
|
| Blog post |
I Would Like to Help December 28, 2011 |
My Comments
Terry, interesting story. It's ironic that the program this "large-membership church" created to enhance their ministry got in the way of ministry. I wonder how many people with disabilities and...
You're welcome. I've also eliminated the word "lame" from my vocabulary for the same reasons. When we call something "lame" usually we are saying that it is "trite...
Thanks to both of you for your encouragement. Yes, very tough decision that many, many people face. As us Boomers get into our 70's and 80's, even more people will be making difficult decisions...
b-ver and John,
Thanks for your comments. I think what we are talking about is the whole matter of hope. This gets personal for me. My mother now lives with severe dementia. One of my...
Bill, I'm no lawyer, so I don't know whether the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) act trumps Washington law, but the ADA says, "Under the...