Disability and Faith

Christine Boyle returns to Disability and Faith to share candidly about life as a disability mom and caregiver, focusing on home care nursing and all that comes with it.

Christine recounts both meaningful relationships and alarming experiences with nurses, emphasizing the need to set clear standards to protect the “sacred space” of your home.

She provides practical tips for managing home nursing, while also discussing the state's obligations to fulfill authorized hours. She also discusses the current realities of home care nursing: low wages, caregiver shortages, Medicaid waiver hours, agency accountability, fraud concerns, and advocacy successes (including DOJ action in Florida).

You are Invited In!

00:00 Welcome to Studio Court

01:39 Why Home Care Nursing

02:42 Serving Disability Families

05:18 Saying Goodbye to Jess

07:59 Life After School Ends

14:29 Why This Story Matters

17:48 Early Waiver Years

19:45 Running Nursing at Home

24:31 Wild Nursing Stories

35:46 When You Must Let Go

38:37 Being Clear Is Kind

40:58 Safety and Home Cameras

41:45 Home Camera Boundaries

42:38 Feedback And Courage

45:59 Keeping Great Nurses

47:11 Caregiver Shortage Reality

49:59 Emails And Documentation

51:36 Medicaid Fraud Zero Tolerance

54:54 State Compliance And Lawsuits

01:02:16 Home Expectations

01:05:22 Disability Dignity Stories

01:08:33 Guarding Your Sacred Space

01:13:37 Part the Waters Prayer

01:21:53 Church Support And Wrap Up

Every year I return to Preterm Cleveland because this is where, 26 years ago, God stopped me from having an abortion and I gave my life to Jesus. I came in terrified and hopeless, believing abortion was my only option—unsupported and coerced by pressure around me—I experienced a miracle that day and couldn’t have the abortion. In that moment, God’s kindness shattered my despair, and I surrendered my life to God: “Lord, my life is so screwed up, and I need you.”

Soon after, God brought the ministry of Young Lives into my life to love me, mentor me, and help me believe God still had a future for me.

Courteney was born with disabilities and lived a powerful and precious 21 years. It still grieves me when I think about what and who I would've missed out on.

I’m sharing this to urge believers to stand for life, understand what abortion is, reject eugenics and racism embedded in it, and love women with grace instead of condemnation.

00:00 Back at Preterm

01:28 Pregnancy and Desperation 03:16 Inside the Clinic

05:35 Ultrasound Surprise

09:13 Surrender to Jesus

12:29 Betsy and Young Lives

16:31 Courteney’s Life Story

19:40 Why Life Matters

21:08 Disability and Eugenics

24:14 Love Moms and Fight Darkness

26:16 Gospel Closing

The heart of this episode is deeply personal.

I share my story as a daughter and caregiver to my dad, who has lived with schizophrenia for nearly 43 years.

I was raised in a culture of stigma and secrecy around mental illness. We didn’t talk about it. We survived it quietly.

And yet — he was still my dad.

At 18 years old, I became his primary caregiver. In 2007, when his condition worsened significantly, I had to step into even more responsibility. I navigated difficult decisions.

I talk honestly about broken systems. Limited resources. The lack of safety nets for people like my dad. I share what schizophrenia has looked like up close — the delusions, the crises, the emotional toll. And I speak candidly about the pain of being treated like the enemy during episodes, even when you’re the one holding everything together.

This episode is about breaking the silence.

It’s about naming the stigma.

It’s about helping the Church understand that severe mental illness exists inside faithful families.

I challenge churches and leaders to talk openly about mental health, to partner with organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and to create environments where families can seek help without shame.

I share how counseling has helped me — and I encourage you to pursue counseling sooner rather than later. Caregivers need care.

And ultimately, I anchor this whole journey in Jesus. I do not have the strength for this on my own. My endurance as a caregiver depends on Christ — His strength, His purpose, and the hope that suffering is not wasted.

My dad is not his diagnosis.

He is a great dad.

You are Invited In 🩵

Other Resources:

www.christineboyle.com

Disability and The Church Conference

NAMI - National Alliance on Mental Illness

In this episode of Disability and Faith, host Christine Boyle talks about the upcoming global Tim Tebow Prom event, 'Night to Shine', for people with disabilities. Christine passionately articulates her mixed feelings about the event, emphasizing the need for intentional, year-round disability ministry rather than one-time celebrations. She calls for strategic follow-ups, relationship-building, and the inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of church life. Christine urges listeners to move beyond pity and superficial acts of kindness towards true discipleship and co-laboring with people with disabilities.

The Five Stages of Changing Attitudes

00:00 Introduction and Podcasting Struggles

02:38 Rebranding and Ministry Goals

04:20 Tim Tebow Prom Night to Shine Overview

08:29 Critique of One-Time Events

12:18 The Need for Year-Round Disability Ministry

23:18 Theological Perspective on Disability Ministry

30:14 Call to Action for Volunteers

32:48 Building Friendships Beyond Social Media

33:36 Creative Ways to Connect with Disabled Friends

35:08 The Importance of Showing Up

40:02 Understanding the Five Stages of Disability Attitudes

41:42 From Pity to Co-Laborers: A Shift in Perspective

45:04 The Role of the Church in Disability Ministry

47:22 Practical Steps for Inclusive Church Environments

49:52 The True Meaning of Community and Belonging

57:32 Invitation to Get Involved

59:14 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

In this episode, Christine Boyle shares a raw and emotional recount of her recent experience with a case manager from the Ohio Department of Medicaid. The episode details an incident during her son's annual Medicaid Waiver assessment that turned adversarial, highlighting the systemic challenges caregivers face. Christine delves into her 25-year journey as a caregiver, the importance of advocacy, and the brokenness in the system that caregivers must navigate. She reflects on how her faith drives her advocacy efforts and encourages other caregivers to stand firm in their God-given roles, despite the challenges and misunderstandings they may face.

00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview

00:25 The Incident and Initial Reactions

01:37 Medicaid Waiver Program Challenges

02:45 Case Manager Communication Issues

06:22 The Emotional Toll of Caregiving

08:07 Advocacy and Systemic Issues

27:05 Personal Reflections and Faith

32:03 Embracing Misunderstandings with Grace

33:24 Living for God and Honoring Our Kids

34:00 The Spiritual Significance of Caregiving

36:27 Standing Firm in Advocacy

37:57 Facing Adversity with Faith

38:48 The Struggles of Navigating the System

42:00 A Personal Story of Advocacy

53:15 The Importance of Strong Advocacy

In this deeply personal and hope-filled episode of Disability and Faith- Invited In with Christine Boyle, Christine welcomes her dear friend and mentor, Betsy Stretar, for a powerful conversation about God’s redemption and the beauty of spiritual friendship.

Years ago, Betsy—herself once a teen mom—walked beside Christine during one of the most vulnerable seasons of her life—as a teen mom searching for purpose and hope. Together, they revisit that journey of faith, resilience, and transformation, sharing how God wove their stories together through Young Life’s ministry for teen moms, YoungLives.

With honesty and tenderness, Christine and Betsy reflect on life-changing moments, including the joy of Christine’s daughter Courteney’s birth and the heartbreak of her passing. Through it all, they reveal how God’s love turned pain into purpose—and how mentorship rooted in compassion can change generations.

You’ll be inspired by their friendship, moved by their faith, and reminded that no story is beyond God’s redeeming grace. Tune in and discover how His promise of “a hope and a future” still holds true for every heart.

To give to the incredible ministry of YoungLives: www.giving.younglife.org/younglives

In this heartfelt episode of Disability and Faith, Christine Boyle opens up about closing one beautiful chapter and stepping boldly into another. After eight incredible years serving with Young Life, Christine reflects on how this ministry—especially Young Life Capernaum, which reaches teens with disabilities—deeply shaped her life, her faith, and her family.

From the moment she first encountered Young Life to her powerful testimony of encountering Christ at an abortion clinic, Christine shares candidly about the joys, challenges, and moments that changed everything. As she announces her transition from Young Life to founding the Invited In Disability Ministry, she casts a compelling vision for what’s next: creating spaces of belonging for adults with disabilities and equipping churches to be faith communities that accurately reflect God's heart for people with disabilities and their families.

With passion and gratitude, Christine invites listeners to be part of this new beginning—through prayer, volunteering, and financial support—to help ensure that every person with a disability knows they are seen, valued, and fully invited in.

You are Invited In!

www.invitedin.org

www.younglife.org

In this episode, I share an honest story from a recent Content Creators Expo (CEX) in Cleveland, where I was asked again and again: “So, what do you do?”

I would explain that I’m a podcaster who discusses disability and faith, and the Executive Director of a nonprofit disability ministry here in Cleveland. Those conversations opened the door for me to share not only what we do, but also the sobering statistics about disability and the Church—families leaving, churches doing little or nothing intentionally, and the urgent need for change.

What surprised me most was the puzzled reaction and hard questions that I received—especially from non-Christians. In the world, accessibility is becoming expected and essential. Yet in too many churches, disability ministry is still seen as optional. These people whom I spoke with about this just couldn't understand why the Church is so far behind and not doing more. I began to realize that our failure to the disability community extends even further beyond the disability community. Skeptical non-Christians become even more skeptical when they hear stories of an entire people group having to advocate for a meaningful presence within the Church. They simply don't get it. And that's a good thing! As Christians, we shouldn't get it either. Too often, we remain complicit, defending the Church at any cost, rather than defending those whom Jesus defended, cared for, and made space for at the table.

In this episode, I dive into that tension, talk about why we founded the Invited In Church Network to equip churches to become communities of true belonging, and wrestle with the hard truth that we often spend more energy trying to convince the Church to be missional toward the disability community when our efforts should be going toward being missional to a lost world.

You are Invited In!

Today we celebrated that 25 years ago, on August 16, 2000, I met Christ in this abortion clinic, Preterm Cleveland! God intervened, Courteney's life was saved, and my soul was saved! I am forever thankful to God for pursuing me, showing up in my darkest moment, and using His kindness to lead me to true repentance. Courteney was set apart for good works...made on purpose and for a purpose. What a perfect and great God we serve and love!

Today was interesting to say the least, as we encountered such darkness from the abortion clinic workers....making sexual gestures as I recorded, blaring music to drown out my voice, calling the police, and taking pictures and recording us as we loaded into our car and drove away. This was a first for us. But Satan knew....Satan knew the story that was being declared: the hope, the triumph, the victory, and Jesus. So it was a privilege to encounter such persecution. Bring it! God prevailed!

After a whirlwind of life, ministry, and miracles, I’m back behind the mic, and I’ve got stories to tell. In this heartfelt episode, I'm Still Here, I’m catching you up on the last four months that have been nothing short of incredible. From speaking engagements to travel adventures, disability ministry milestones to powerful moments of connection — it’s been busy, beautiful, and a little bit crazy (to say the least!).

Whether you’re a disability parent, a fellow advocate, a faith-filled friend, or someone just trying to keep going — this episode is for you. It’s a reminder that even when life feels like a blur, we’re still standing. Still showing up. Still here.

I’ll share highlights, behind-the-scenes moments, and encouragement for those of you who feel like you’ve been running on empty. God’s been moving, and I want you to hear about it.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What I’ve been up to since the last episode — and why the silence was actually sacred
• Stories from the road: speaking, advocating, connecting
• Beautiful moments of belonging in disability ministry
• A few vulnerable confessions (because life is real)
• And a whole lot of gratitude

If you’ve ever felt like life has swept you up and you don’t know where to begin again — press play. This is your invitation to breathe, smile, and be reminded that God is not done yet.