Welcome
Welcome to Joni and Friends – Gateway, a regional office of Joni and Friends, an international disability ministry founded by Joni Eareckson Tada. We assist Christians and Christian churches in the Gateway region of Missouri and Illinois to reach out to persons affected by disability.

Our Lord’s Mandate
Jesus said, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame…Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.”
Luke 14:21 and 23 (New International Version)

Our Mission
To equip Christians and Christian congregations to relate to persons affected by disability the way Jesus would.

To equip Christians and Christian congregations to:

• welcome, embrace, serve, and support persons affected by disability
• share the Good News of Jesus Christ with persons affected by disability
• create places in which persons with and without disabilities help each other grow in faith and in lives of service
• encourage and empower persons affected by disability to serve in and through their congregations using the passions, talents and abilities God has given them

Our Ministries

• Wheels for the World – an international outreach in which used wheelchairs are collected by local volunteers, refurbished at prisons, and distributed by teams of volunteers from the USA working with local churches overseas (over 29,000 wheelchairs in 11 years)
• Sewing Ministry – the creation of hand-made wheelchair seat cushion covers, wheelchair bags and teddy bears for distribution to those receiving wheelchairs
• On a Roll for Jesus – a 5-session disability awareness program and mission project for use within Vacation Bible School or Sunday School (elementary age)
• Family Retreats – a one-week, volunteer-supported vacation experience where families affected by disability can rest, relax, spiritually rejuvenate, and find encouragement
• Special Delivery – visits to those affected by disability that often include resources designed to provide support and encouragement
• Through the Roof – training, resources and support designed to help congregations begin, develop, maintain or enhance disability ministry
  • Disability Awareness – discovering the needs of persons affected by disability (in terms of worship, education, socialization, encouragement, utilization of talents and abilities) and discerning God’s call in response to those needs
  • Disability Ministry – developing and implementing a plan to attract and assimilate persons affected by disability

Our Team

We are Christians of many denominations committed to the Luke 14 mandate.

Manager: Judy Redlich

Board:

• Ed Odom (Webster Hills United Methodist Church)
• Joe Pewitt (Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton)
• Paul Snow (Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton)
• Dale Spindler (Springhhill's Presbeterian Church P.C.A)
• Rozetta Taylor (Fee Fee Baptist Church)

• Frank T. Costello (Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton)
• Joe Foster (Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton)
• Ed Robins (Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton)
• Lance Wise (Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton)

• Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton
• New Jamestown Road Baptist Church, Spanish Lake
• Lafayette Church of Christ, Ballwin
• Ballwin Baptist Church, Ballwin
• Hope Church, St. Louis
• Twin Rivers Worship Center, St. Louis
• Dardenne Presbyterian Church
• Sutter Presbyterian Church, Bridgeton
• Faith Lutheran Church, O’Fallon, IL
• Immanuel Lutheran Church, Washington, MO
• First Baptist Church, Harvester, MO

Click here to volunteer.