If you were in the room at Jesus Club Conference 2025 when Joel Moroney held up a Mr Potato Head, you knew immediately this wasn’t going to be an ordinary Bible talk. With humour, warmth, and deep biblical conviction, Joel invited us to imagine the church not as a polished institution — but as a potato.

“A potato,” he said, “is good for you… but when you add the parts, it becomes something greater.” In that simple moment, he pictured 1 Corinthians 12 in a way every Jesus Club member could grasp: “Every part is necessary… every member of the church is necessary.”

Joel told stories of his own church, and then told the truth too many churches quietly avoid: “If the local church is not accessible to all people, including adults with an intellectual disability… is it even church?”

For many delegates, this was the moment everything clicked. One wrote, “Joel’s first session was so encouraging… the passion for making things accessible really inspired me.”

Joel’s message was full of joy, but also deeply personal. “I’m autistic and ADHD,” he shared, describing his own difficulties navigating church environments. If he struggles as a trained minister, how much harder must it be for many Jesus Club members?

His challenge to us was clear: every believer, regardless of ability, is placed in the body by God on purpose. “If even one of those people is taken away, the church becomes less.”

A Jesus Club member’s story later that morning proved Joel’s point. A young man with an intellectual disability stood before a room of leaders and said confidently, “I want them to know that they are all welcome… God cares for them.”

Church together is not theoretical. It’s happening. Right now. In church-based Jesus Club around Australia.

And we want even more churches to experience it.

If Joel’s talk stirred your heart, would you consider helping us train more leaders, write more accessible Bible lessons, and support more local churches through Jesus Club?
Your gift helps adults with intellectual disabilities hear, understand, and respond to the gospel — often for the very first time.

👉 Give a tax-deductible gift today and help build churches where every ‘potato’ belongs.