OUR VISION
To become an effective and significant ministry, which in collaboration with the Church, projects the love of Christ to PWDs across the nations, not only to win these souls for Christ but, also, to grant PWDs opportunities to actively take part in the kingdom business.
OUR MISSION
The MPWDs seeks to build a strong ministry to persons with disabilities through effective evangelism and discipleship, as well as create an enabling environment to promote the spiritual, emotional and personal growth of persons with disabilities in order to impact the Church, their communities, and nations
about us
MINISTRY TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (MPWDs)
Ministry to Persons with Disabilities (MPWDs) is a ministry of The Church of Pentecost which was birthed in the Vision 2023.
The MPWDs seeks to build a strong ministry to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) through effective evangelism and discipleship, as well as create an enabling environment to promote their spiritual, emotional and personal growth in order to impact the church, their communities, and nations.
MPWDs has as her vision, to become an effective and significant ministry, which in collaboration with the church, projects the love of Christ to PWDs across the nations, not only to win these souls for Christ but, also, to grant PWDs opportunities to actively take part in the Kingdom business.
Persons with disabilities are the world’s largest minority group (United Nations, 2019). According to the WHO report on Disability 2011, “more than one billion people in the world live with some form of disability, of whom nearly 200 million experience considerable difficulties in functioning”. By the report, “in the years ahead, disability will be an even greater concern because its prevalence is on the rise due to aging populations and the higher risk of disability in older people”. This also means that 1 in 7 people or approximately 15 percent of the world’s population have disability.
Disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being (WHO, 2011). This affirms the fact that disability occurs as a result of a person’s impairment and the environment within which he or she lives. It is the daily barriers in the environment that bring about the disabilities. Persons with disabilities face social or attitudinal barriers, physical or architectural barriers and information or communication barriers every day of their lives. This has resulted in their poorer health outcomes, lower educational achievements, less economic participation and higher rates of poverty. Also, PWDs are among the unreached groups across the world in terms of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
PWDs are with us in the societies but they are mostly unidentified and hardly participate in anything in the society. Actually, it seems like ‘we are not ready for them’. According to Exodus 4: 11; the Lord said to him, “who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” This tells us that God is actually aware of the disability anyone has and as a matter of fact, He made man in His own image. There is indeed a unique ability in every human that God has created. Once given the right opportunity, everyone can do something.
The church as a body of Christ has been commissioned to go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation. The church, therefore, should spearhead the inclusion of persons with disabilities for the world to follow. This will require that all barriers (attitudinal, architectural and information) be completely removed for full access by PWDs.
As a Church, we have committed to full inclusion by following these strategies:
- Form MPWDs committees at all levels of the church.
- Create aggressive awareness on disabilities at all levels, using every suitable medium.
- Train ministers, officers, members, the youth and children on inclusion and how to interact with PWDs.
- Appoint and train sign language interpreters for every district of the church.
- Make our church premises accessible by ensuring that surroundings (e.g., pavements) are accessible; build ramps with rails for all church buildings and other church owned structures, add elevators to storey-buildings, make entrances to premises wide, reserve parking spaces for PWDs, make toilet facilities disability-friendly, and the interior arrangement of buildings disability-friendly.
- Intentionally disciple PWDs to be mature Christians who will affect society with Kingdom values and principles.
- Reach out and evangelise to persons with disabilities.
- Provide interventions for PWDs.
Every member of The Church of Pentecost is encouraged to ask the Holy Spirit to fill their hearts with love for persons with disabilities and do as much as they can to bring PWDs to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Each member should have a PWD friend.
We trust that as we do these things and also pray, the Lord will build a Glorious Church that will possess the nations and the name of God will forever be praised.
