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Princeton Theological Seminary recently received a four-year, $1.25 million grant from the Lilly Endowment for the Crossroads Project, an initiative designed to help congregations expand worship and prayer practices with and for children with disabilities.
Managed by the Office of Continuing Education, the project is being led by Rev. Abigail Visco Rusert, MDiv ’08, Associate Dean of Continuing Education, Rev. Dr. Erin Raffety, MDiv ’08, Senior Research Scholar, and Tynisha Coleman, Program Coordinator.
The goal of the project is to intentionally deepen belonging and participation for disabled children of color in congregational life, while building resources for worship leaders and caregivers to assist in this work.
“When Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to children, Jesus did not mean only the children who our buildings and worship are currently designed for,” said Rusert, who emphasized that fostering a sense of belonging can be especially challenging for disabled children of color navigating multiple layers of marginalization.
The project formally began with a comprehensive research phase in 2025 that concluded in May. Over the course of seven months, six Princeton Seminary master’s and PhD students conducted research at six New Jersey/New York-area congregations, each with its own diverse community, ranging from African congregations, Spanish-speaking, historically Black, Asian American, and multi-ethnic. Students were matched to a specific church with special attention to cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
“In many of these congregations, English is not people’s first language nor is it their heart language or their language of worship,” said Raffety. “So, it was really important that we had researchers that could communicate with these families, especially since for a lot of these families, disability in their culture and in their congregation may be something that’s sensitive. [The students] met with leaders and families and they essentially said to them, ‘What’s the best way to get to know you?’ And then the research unfolded from there.”
When Jesus says that the kingdom of God belongs to children, Jesus did not mean only the children who our buildings and worship are currently designed for.
Students attended worship and other congregational activities, listened to leaders and families, and later shared their preliminary observations with the participating congregations.
Broadly, researchers found that language and generational differences, immigration-related pressures, and differing cultural and theological understandings of disability can affect the ways disabled children participate in worship and prayer. At the same time, the team observed significant congregational assets, including flexible, intergenerational worship environments, strong advocacy from mothers and caregivers, and extensive networks of lay volunteers eager to support children more fully.
As the Crossroads Project moves from research into program and resource development, its collaborative approach will continue to shape the work. Participating congregations have been invited to develop pilot projects that create new opportunities to further enrich the worship and prayer lives of disabled children in their communities through subgrants funded by the Crossroads Project grant.
“Congregations are partners in the project, not simply audiences for its final resources,” Coleman said.
The Crossroads Project is also developing children’s books designed to amplify both the challenges and gifts within these communities, which Raffety noted are often underrepresented in children’s literature. Caregivers, ministry leaders, and practitioners will contribute through a new Disability and Children’s Ministry Resource Group launching in 2027, where congregational and lay leaders can connect, reflect, and learn from one other, as well as access conferences, online learning opportunities, and other project activities. Their experiences and feedback will help shape resources to be practical, culturally grounded, and useful in congregational life.
“I really hope that in the United States, immigrant congregations and congregations of color lead the way in showing us how to center children, but in this case, particularly disabled children, in worship and prayer,” Raffety said.
She added, “We can see that disabled children have gifts for the church. After doing this research, we’re excited by what we’ve seen, but the church also has to be able to figure out how to receive those gifts.”
