Shawn Thornton, our Joni and Friends President and Chief Ministry Officer returns to the podcast to share his experience and insight on disability ministry in the church. Raised with disability in his immediate family, Shawn has a unique perspective on how the church should care for people who live with disability. Hear how God has used his personal experience to grow him as a pastor and prepare him to reach the global church through his role with Joni and Friends.

• Listen to part 1 of Shawn’s conversation with Stephanie Daniels
• Get your copy of Shawn’s book, All But Normal: Life on Victory Road

Prior to leading Joni and Friends, Shawn served as Senior Pastor of Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, California, where he helped launch a dynamic disability ministry that has become a model for churches nationwide. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Awana Clubs International and on the Board of Trustees of Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, California.

Shawn and his wife, Lesli, live in Southern California and have three grown children, Jon, Katie, and Megan (who is married to Wes).

KEY QUESTIONS:

• How can you encourage your church’s culture to welcome people with disabilities?
• How can a struggle you experience equip you to encourage someone else?

KEY SCRIPTURES:

• Psalm 34:8-9: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. Fear the Lord, you His holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing.”
• 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”

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Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.