For over 40 years Elevate Christian Disability Trust has been working to create places of belonging, hope, encouragement and to empower people with disability to live to their full potential in Christ.
The ministry started from unofficial meetings in the Willis family home after a stirring in the hearts of Di Willis and her husband Hugh, along with their close friend Margie Willers, who has cerebral palsy, and it has grown to a community of people from all backgrounds and abilities, impacting the lives of thousands.
Today Elevate Christian Disability Trust, previously known as Christian Ministries with Disabled Trust, (CMWDT) is an interdenominational, registered, charitable trust with a national support office and Drop In Centre in Onehunga, Auckland, as well as over 25 different branches of ministry groups in New Zealand and overseas. Elevate CDT has a range of support groups, especially for people who are physically (CFFD) or intellectually disabled (Joy Ministries), the blind (Torch Fellowship), and for families (Emmanuel Support). They also run a national camp over Labour weekend for people of all abilities, publish the ‘The Encourager’ magazine, which is distributed all around the world, and have expanded their ministry to Fiji and the Philippines.
Elevate Christian Disability Trust exists to evangelise, equip, and educate.
- To evangelise and share the gospel, and God’s heart for all people.
- To equip people with disabilities to achieve their full potential.
- To educate people within the church, and anyone else, about people with disabilities.
One in every five New Zealanders has a disability and yet they are often underrepresented in many of our churches. In response, Elevate CDT has developed a number of resources and seminars to teach skills in practical care and communication, enabling individuals and churches to better assist a person with a disability.
Di says one of her favourite things over the years has been seeing people’s mindsets shift that have never spent time with someone with a disability before. “People sometimes come in anxious and unsure, then have that ‘light bulb moment’ that people are just people and they are not to be dismissed.”
“Over the years we have seen so many people with disabilities empowered to step into what God has for their lives, seeing depression lift off their lives, find jobs, find a community, and encounter Jesus.”
“One of our trustees had heard about Christian Savings on Radio Rhema and presented the idea of partnering together with Christian Savings as they have a firm grounding in God, and bringing people together, along with good credentials as a Christian finance company”
We started conversations and now Christian Savings is delighted to welcome Elevate to the Charitable Deposits family as one of our donee charities. With Charitable Deposits your investment can earn a donation to support the ministry of Elevate Christian Disability Trust.
