I Talk Funny.
God Uses That.
Dan Vander Plaats was born with a speech impediment. He grew up mostly ignoring it. Mostly.
The funny thing about growing up with a disability, especially one that affects how you speak, is that you tend not to think of yourself as disabled. Other people's kids were disabled. Not him. He didn't like to be around people with disabilities. He didn't see how they fit into his world, or why they should. Maybe that's how you've felt too.
MEET DAN
Where The 5 Stages Began
Dan was at a concert venue with colleagues from Elim Christian Services. Two of them had disabilities that affected how they communicated. Their server was kind and attentive. But the moment she noticed Dan's speech impediment, something shifted. She softened her voice, tilted her head, and spoke a little slower, just like she had with his friends.
Dan was irritated. He went back to his hotel room and called his wife. It took him hours to figure out what was bothering him. Finally it clicked: he hadn't objected to the server's attitude toward his colleagues. He only objected when that same attitude was turned on him.
He grabbed a notebook and started writing. That was the first draft of The 5 Stages.
THE ORIGIN STORY
Thirty Years Later
Dan Vander Plaats is a disability ministry speaker, trainer, and consultant whose work has shaped how churches and organizations around the world understand disability inclusion. He is the creator of The 5 Stages: Changing Attitudes and the author of Changing Attitudes about Disability. He serves as Vice President of Development for Acts 29 and holds a master's degree in Nonprofit Administration from North Park University.
The 5 Stages is now available in 27 languages, used on six continents, and referenced in academic dissertations, published books, seminary curricula, and training programs from the Salvation Army to the Wheaton College Center for Faith and Disability.
Dan and his wife Denise have been married for over 30 years and have two adult children.
TODAY
The Question He Keeps Coming Back To
Most churches want to include people with disabilities. Most leaders, if you ask them, will say inclusion matters. So why doesn't it happen?
That's the question Dan has been sitting with for thirty years. The 5 Stages isn't a policy document or a compliance checklist. It's a framework for understanding what's actually going on in a congregation, in a school, in a room full of well-meaning leaders who don't know why they're stuck.
Dan's conviction is simple: disability inclusion isn't a gap to fix. It's about the church becoming what it claims to be. And until leaders treat it that way, nothing changes.
WHAT DRIVES DAN
GLOBAL REACH
Where Dan Has Taken This
From the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship to the Ireland World Meeting of Families in Dublin. From the Acts 29 Europe Conference in Riga, Latvia to the Disability and the Church Conference in Washington, D.C. Dan has brought the 5 Stages framework to church leaders, seminary faculty, nonprofit executives, and ministry practitioners worldwide.
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27 LANGUAGES
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6 CONTINENTS
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30+ YEARS
AS SEEN IN
Published & Cited
Dan's work on disability inclusion has been cited in academic dissertations and referenced in published books including Shout for Joy by Dr. Karen Roberts, Inclusion Handbook edited by Mark Stephenson and Terry DeYoung, and Accessible Church by Sandra Peoples. It appears in training resources from Joni and Friends, the Gospel Coalition, Liberty University, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has been featured in podcasts including Theology in the Raw and Acts 29.
What People Are Saying
"Dan Vander Plaats' The 5 Stages profoundly shaped both my ministry and teaching. As an adjunct professor and pastor for preaching, I find it invaluable for discipling people toward Kingdom co-laboring across every distinction."
Rev. Pastor Eric Targe,
Teaching Pastor, Park Community Church; Adj. Prof. Disability Studies,
Moody Bible Institute | Chicago, IL
"Even when advocating for my son's fuller inclusion in the life of the church, I had not imagined his role beyond what the Stages terms friendship. I was now challenged to view Daniel as created to be a Co-laborer."
Michele Bovell
Contributor to Life on the Spectrum;
Volunteer with Joni & Friends | Rockford, IL