An estimated 80 million people around the world need a wheelchair but cannot access one, leaving many to crawl, be carried, or live confined to their homes.
Yet, two faith-based ministries are working to close that gap by delivering durable wheelchairs and sharing the gospel message with people who have long been overlooked.
Free Wheelchair Mission and Joni and Friends say mobility is more than a medical need. In many countries, it can restore dignity, independence, and the ability to rejoin a community after years on the margins.
“We feel motivated by Jesus to do this work,” said Nuka Hart of Free Wheelchair Mission. “In a way, it’s sort of an homage to all the things that Jesus did when he was here, which is serving the most marginalized. The Bible says, ‘The Least of These.'”
In many parts of the world, receiving a wheelchair can mean the difference between life spent on the ground and life restored with dignity.
Free Wheelchair Mission, based in Southern California, provides durable chairs designed for rough terrain. The ministry has delivered more than 1.5 million wheelchairs across 95 countries.
Recipients include people like Dawit in Ethiopia and Linda in Guatemala. The gift offers newfound freedom and a chance to rejoin their community.
It’s a tangible sign that God has not forgotten them.
“When I bend down, and I give out a wheelchair, and that person is praying for me, and I think when I go there that I’m going to be telling them about Jesus, and they’re actually showing me who Jesus is,” Hart said.
Joining them in answering this call is Joni and Friends, which restores donated wheelchairs through its Wheels for the World program. Much of that work happens inside U.S. prisons, where inmates repair and rebuild chairs as part of vocational and faith-centered rehabilitation.
“And we have 12 prisons throughout the United States that recondition those as a part of our ministry,” said Joni and Friends President Shawn Thornton. “We get all the parts together, we do the training. And these prisoners, who are often recommended by chaplains, work in a Joni and Friends Wheelchair Restoration Center in 12 prisons throughout the U.S.”
Thornton said a restored wheelchair is only the beginning. The ministry also hosts family retreats that support those living with a wide range of disabilities.
Globally, an estimated 1.3 billion people live with a disability. Thornton said many still struggle with access to churches that have not made room for people with mobility challenges. Some families report being told they are too disruptive to attend.
“Because the church just doesn’t want the uncomfortableness or the disruption of a wheelchair sitting in an aisle or something, they’re asked not to come back,” Thornton said. “A common thread of families is they’re told, ‘you’re not welcome here because you’re too disruptive.'”
Churches are not bound by the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Thornton estimates that only about 5 percent of congregations in the U.S. are fully accessible. Both ministries say this reality fuels their mission to bridge the gap.
“And in that wheelchair, we allow for that person, especially those that are believers and have been praying for one, to see in a tangible way that they are loved and not forgotten by Him,” Hart said.
While the need remains vast, the organizations say each smile from someone lifted off the ground is proof that a simple chair can be a vehicle for a miracle.
