It is estimated that 10 per cent of the world’s population, approximately 650 million
people live with disability. Eighty per cent of them live in developing countries. The
needs and rights of persons with disabilities have been high on the United Nations
agenda for at least three decades. This concern of the United Nations raises the
question of the missional role of the church in addressing the spiritual, social and
emotional needs of people with disabilities. “Speak up for those who cannot speak
for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute” (Prov. 31:8). In this light,
the article discusses the missional role of the church in promoting the rights of
people with disabilities, by engaging literature on disability, the rights of people with
disability, the biblical view of humanity, and the missional agenda of the church from
an ecumenical and theological perspective. The article concludes that the church
has a missional call to serve as the home and prophetic voice for the marginalised
in society.
