Christian Ministries Provide Wheelchairs to 80 Million
Two Christian ministries are confronting the staggering need for mobility worldwide, where 80 million people require wheelchairs but don’t have access. Free Wheelchair Mission and Joni and Friends say providing them is about more than transportation, it’s about dignity, independence and bringing people out of years of isolation.
“We feel motivated by Jesus to do this work,” Nuka Hart of Free Wheelchair Mission said, according to CBN News. “In a way, it’s sort of an homage to all the things that Jesus did when he was here, which is serving the most marginalized. The Bible says, ‘the least of these.'”
In many regions, a wheelchair changes everything and without one, individuals may spend years crawling in the streets or confined to only their home. Free Wheelchair Mission, based in Southern California, builds durable chairs designed for rugged terrain and developing nations with more than 1.5 million wheelchairs provided across 95 countries.
Joni and Friends partners through its Wheels for the World program, restoring donated wheelchairs for distribution around the globe. A lot of the restoration work happens inside U.S. prisons. Inmates repair and rebuild chairs as part of a vocational and faith-centered initiative that benefits both prisoners and recipients.
“We have 12 prisons throughout the United States that recondition those as a part of our ministry,” said Shawn Thornton, president of Joni and Friends. “We get all the parts together, we do the training. And these prisoners, who are often recommended by chaplains, work in a Joni and Friends Wheelchair Restoration Center in 12 prisons throughout the United States.”
But the work does not stop with delivery. The ministry also hosts family retreats for those living with disabilities. Globally, an estimated 1.3 billion people live with a disability, and access remains uneven — even inside churches.
Thornton estimates that only about 5 percent of U.S. congregations are fully accessible. Churches are not covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Some families, he said.
“Because the church just doesn’t want the uncomfortableness or the disruption of a wheelchair sitting in an aisle or something, they’re asked not to come back,” Thornton said. “A common thread of families is they’re told, ‘you’re not welcome here because you’re too disruptive.'”
For both ministries, the mission is deeply spiritual. A wheelchair is practical, yes. But it also carries meaning.
“In that wheelchair, we allow for that person, especially those that are believers and have been praying for one, to see in a tangible way that they are loved and not forgotten by him,” Hart said.
In the Kansas City region, you can call:
Dave Boyer in Shawnee. 913-269-4765, gdboyer@gmail.com
Eric & Alison Boles in Shawnee. 913-745-4915. eric.boles@gmail.com
Ron & Judy Egleston in Holt, Mo. 816-930-3113. eglestonfox@gmail.com
Fred & Trishia Shonkwiler in St. Joseph. 816-341-4097. fredandtricia@aol.com
For more information, visit www.freewheelchairmission.org or www.joniandfriends.org.
–Alan Goforth
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