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ShareEvery movement needs a foundation that serves as an anchor for its ideas and worldviews. This is why Joni and Friends created a course like Beyond Suffering. -- Joni Eareckson Tada
Since the Christian Institute on Disability (CID) opened in 2007, Vice President Steve Bundy envisioned this bible-based, comprehensive course. “We needed a way to shatter the Church’s apathy toward disability ministry,” said Bundy. “To accomplish this, we prayed for like-minded, Christian professionals who could make significant contributions to such a study. And God powerfully answered!”
The course content and format sprang forth from two successful programs. Steve Bundy experienced the impact of the U. S. Center for World Missions’ premier course, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement and suggested it as a model. With the help of Dr. Jeff McNair, Director of Disability Studies at California Baptist University and CID Director of Public Policy, and Dr. Kathy McReynolds, CID Director of Academic Studies, the team established four-modules that would become the cornerstones of the CID’s initial course in disability ministry. About that time, Dr. McReynolds, also an Adjunct Professor at Biola University, began writing and teaching Biola’s first course on the theology of suffering and disability, which quickly filled to capacity.
More momentum was gained when Pat Verbal, CID Manager of Curriculum Development, assumed the role of senior writer/editor for the curriculum and James Rene, Director of Global Missions and Internships, joined the team.
Course objectives, outcomes, and lessons were prayerfully written with an eye for strong biblical content and relevant applications. Another critical component was to enable participants to have options in commitment level and location, so no one would be excluded.
The first six-week class titled, Foundations: Christian Perspectives on Disability Ministry was held at the Joni and Friends International Disability Center in Agoura Hills, California, in the summer of 2008. The response was overwhelming. Early student evaluations confirmed the life-changing potential for the course.
In 2009, the CID invited a select group of experts in disability education, medicine, ministry, counseling and advocacy to submit professional white papers for inclusion in the curriculum. These leaders caught the vision of the course and gifted the ministry with their pertinent experiences through their written words. This unprecedented collection of writings became the underpinning for the course which was renamed in 2010 to Beyond Suffering: A Christian View on Disability Ministry. The 16-lesson course was published in September 2011 as a Study Guide. The companion piece, Beyond Suffering: A Christian View on Disability Ministry Leader’s Guide, featured lesson plans, PowerPoints and video case studies from the award-winning Joni and Friends Television Series.
During course development, the Christian Institute on Disability continued to network with national and international Bible colleges, universities and seminaries interested in offering similar courses on the theology of disability and suffering. As a result, a growing number of institutions are launching programs to equip students in disability ministry. Joni Eareckson Tada, founder of Joni and Friends, sees the response to Beyond Suffering as an answer to a longstanding prayer: “There are many worldviews about disability, but none are as infused with life value and human dignity as the biblical worldview.”
While the true premise of this course’s history reaches all the way back to Jesus’ command in Luke 14 and his mandate to include people with disability in God’s family, it was designed for the future. Beyond Suffering will impact future generations as Christians change the way they think about suffering and become beacons of hope for the disability community.