ESSENCE: Interdisciplinary- International Journal of Concerned African Philosophers

Despite constituting over 25 million persons, physically challenged individuals in Nigeria remain among the most economically marginalized and vocationally excluded segments of the population. While the Nigerian church has historically offered palliative charity to persons with physical disabilities (PWDs); providing food, mobility aids, and financial handouts; it has largely failed to engage the deeper systemic structures of economic exclusion that trap these individuals in perpetual dependency. This theoretical and analytical paper argues that a paradigm shift is urgently needed: the church must transition from a model of charity, which fosters passive dependency, to a model of agency, which cultivates economic self-determination, vocational competency, and entrepreneurial dignity. Drawing on a systematic integration of biblical-theological analysis, disability economics, social enterprise theory, and development studies, this paper proposes a comprehensive Faith-Based Vocational Empowerment Model (FBVEM) for the Nigerian church context. The model is anchored on four pillars: Theological Re-orientation (dismantling the theology of passive dependency), Vocational Integration (structured skills acquisition and apprenticeship through church networks), Microfinance Mobilization (leveraging church financial structures for disability-inclusive lending), and Social Enterprise Development (establishing church-driven social enterprises that both employ and train PWDs). Biblical paradigms such as the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the tent-making ministry of the Apostle Paul (Acts 18:3), and the Proverbs 31 model of industrious agency are used to construct a theology of economic vocation that affirms the productive dignity of all persons, including those with physical challenges. The paper concludes that the church, given its unparalleled institutional reach, moral authority, and community trust in Nigeria, is uniquely positioned to be a transformative engine of economic inclusion; not merely through sporadic acts of benevolence, but through structured, sustainable, and rights-affirming vocational ministry.

Open Full Text (PDF)