Rick Bovell

Meet Rick

Rick and his wife Michele have been married for 24 years and have lived in Northern Illinois with their five sons for the past thirteen years. A systems consultant by trade, Rick is also an ordained minister who focuses on ministering to the disability community. Rick is involved with the disability ministry Joni & Friends, serving as the camp pastor for family retreats and as a member of their church equipping team. He and Michele minister in local group homes for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Rick says, "The Center for Faith and Disability fills a void that many in the Christian disability community did not know that we needed. Many of us believed that if we just followed the Spirit of God, and others did the same, that all would be good. What we often neglected was loving the Lord with your mind and how that develops priorities and practices that better enable us to follow the Spirit of God. I am enthused about the opportunities that this Center has to facilitate the development of mutually beneficial inclusive classrooms in local Christian schools, and how it can disseminate the results of its scholarship to communities around the world."