Our story
1980s and 90s
In the 1980s and 90s, Joni Eareckson Tada, the gifted American writer and speaker, started to give disability high profile amongst churches worldwide through her remarkable biography and popular speaking tours.
Read full Biography of Joni Eareckson Tada
1994
In 1994 Joni’s organisation, Joni & Friends, held a major church conference in Hungary. 28 delegates from the UK attended. Amongst them was speaker Paul Dicken who lectured on ‘The Accessible Gospel’, and magazine publisher Colin Reeves, who organised Joni’s British speaking tours.
The idea emerged for a new UK branch of Joni & Friends. It would promote to British churches awareness of disability and the full inclusion of disabled people in Christian ministry. Unlike existing specialist groups, it would cover all forms of disability. Meetings with the Evangelical Alliance Disability Forum helped it to take shape.
1995
In 1995 Colin went with Joni to Ghana on an early Wheels for the World mission, bringing back the concept for possible UK teams.
1996
Then, in October 1996 Paul asked the USA board of Joni and Friends (JAF) to endorse a new UK work affiliated to JAF. Connection with Joni Eareckson Tada would aid the fledgeling ministry. JAF agreed, asked Colin to form and chair a board, and gave seed funding of $15,000 to start the ministry.
1997
It began in February 1997 in Paul’s front room with 300 names and addresses of JAF supporters passed on from the JAF European office. We wrote to them all and they became our core supporter group.
Later in 1997
Later that year Joni spoke at packed UK meetings including Salisbury Cathedral and Westminster Chapel, attracting many new supporters. One most exciting service took place at Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast when over 1,000 disabled people attended.
The pastor prayed at the beginning of the meeting, drawing an analogy from the great banquet account in Luke 14. ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame….’ Now, over 100 disabled people come to the church each Sunday as part of their thriving disability activities.
1999
With the Disability Discrimination Act, which affected churches, coming on stream, demand for TTR skills and materials grew – we played a key part in launching the Churches for All campaign, and published simple guidelines for church personnel. Then, in 1999, the trustees of both TTR and the 40-yr-old Disabled Christians Fellowship saw the sense of merging the two organisations – both brought differing skills and assets to the table, and both were blessed!
2008
Short-term teaching mission trips, called Integr8 are started – later changing the name to Churches Inc trips, and now Roofbreaker trips. These trips teach leaders and congregations about a Christian perspective of disability.
2016
UK Roofbreaker project launched – encouraging and equipping local churches/ministries to have a Disability Champion – called a Roofbreaker – in their own church.
2017
Provided our 10,000th wheelchair to a person in great need, during our Wheels for the World distribution in Ghana.
2020
During Covid and since then, we went online to provide new groups offering Christian fellowship, support and encouragement to disabled people in their own homes
2021
The charity pioneered a new approach of ‘Supported Distributions’ – shipping wheelchairs and providing Partners with expertise via online methods during Covid restrictions on air travel
2024
Fellowship groups, retreats and holidays re-branded as ‘Together’. This ensured the ethos and valuable original work of Disabled Christians Fellowship continues, with an updated name.
Through the Roof today
By God’s grace, Through the Roof today continues its core ministries while readily adapting to new opportunities and partnerships, echoing Christ’s call to… ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full’.