BCM/D Church Messengers Make Disability Motions at SBC Meeting

By Sharon Mager

DALLAS—At the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention, June 8-11, church messengers from Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (BCM/D) churches, Benjamin Hankin and Shannon Diehl, stood to bring motions from the floor, highlighting the need for more tools and support for disability ministry.

Motion 1 by Benjamin Hankin, Pastor of LifeHouse Church, Pennsville, N.J.

Benjamin Hankin brings disability ministry motion to the floor at the 2025 SBC Convention. (Screenshot)

Representing the staggering 1.3 billion individuals globally with disabilities (emphasizing the “B” in billion), Hankin called on the SBC Executive Committee (EC) to create a task force or study group dedicated to addressing the following three essential areas of ministry for people affected by disabilities:

  • Assessing current resources: What tools and guidance do SBC churches have access to for starting and sustaining ministries to individuals with disabilities?
  • Mapping existing engagement: How are SBC churches currently ministering to individuals and families affected by special needs? What models of care, best practices, and challenges exist?
  • Fostering support and inclusion: How can SBC churches improve their outreach, inclusion, and discipleship efforts among individuals with disabilities and their families?

Hankin emphasized the importance of a formal report from the Executive Committee (EC) task force. This report, filled with data, findings, and actionable recommendations, would be presented to messengers at the SBC’s 2026 annual meeting in Orlando. “We need to equip churches and encourage greater inclusion, outreach, and discipleship,” Hankin said.

Motion 2 by Shannon Diehl, Berlin First Baptist Church, Berlin, Md

Following Hankin’s motion, Diehl took to the microphone with an additional request regarding disability ministry. “Eighty percent of individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities never attend church,” Diehl stated, underscoring the heartbreaking gap in outreach.

Diehl urged the North American Mission Board, Send Relief, or another SBC entity to rise to the challenge. She called on these organizations to create resources specifically designed to help churches build and grow ministries for individuals with disabilities.

Why These Motions Matter

BCM/D Disability Missionary Katie Matthews was thrilled with the motions, acknowledging that many churches just don’t grasp the need, or know how to begin a disability ministry. Below are a few reasons these motions are important:

  • Representation matters: For the 1 in 4 people in the U.S. who live with some form of disability (per the 2022 CDC report). By prioritizing inclusion, the SBC has an unparalleled opportunity to model Christ’s love in action.
  • Families need support: Many families with loved ones who have disabilities feel isolated, not just within their communities but within their church circles as well. These motions seek to bridge that gap, providing families a place of safety and peace.
  • Churches need equipping: Most churches want to serve and love their members and community, but many lack the specific resources or expertise to begin or expand ministries for individuals with disabilities. These motions aim to remove those obstacles through training, tools, and encouragement.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in a fact sheet on disabilities, calls the number of people living with disabilities “the largest minority in the world.” BCM/D Executive Director Tom Stolle calls this group “the largest unreached people group in the world.”

Hankin and Diehl are leaders setting examples for disability ministry in their churches. Hankin, pastor of LifeHouse Church with his wife, Wendy, has an ongoing disability VBS-type ministry, and the church sponsors and coaches a disability team for Little League Challenger Baseball.

Diehl, the children’s minister and the wife of BFBC Pastor Brad Diehl, has worked with her husband to develop a disability VBS that led to multiple disability ministries, including a youth group starting this year.

Hankin’s motion was referred to the Executive Committee, and Diehl’s was referred to the North American Mission Board.

In addition to Hankin and Diehl’s motions, Sandra Peoples, a disability ministry consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, made a motion for an annual Disability Ministry Sunday to be added to the SBC events calendar. the second Sunday in July. Peoples said that currently, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the BCM/D are the only two conventions that observe that special day in July. The motion was referred to the Executive Committee.

Stolle commended Hankin and Diehl. “I was excited to see two BCM/D churches ask that more be done to advance the gospel to individuals and families affected by disabilities. The lostness in the disability community is staggering. Southern Baptists are passionate about sharing the gospel, and this mission field that is so often unseen is all around us.”

For information about how your church can start or strengthen a disability ministry, visit https://bcmd.org/everyone-belongs/ or email Katie Matthews.

Feature photo: Shannon Diehl brings disability motion to the floor at the SBC Convention. (Screenshot)

Sharon Mager serves as BCM/D’s communications specialist and news editor.