ADA and the Church

I hear several loud knocks on our churches side entrance door. “Buster is here!” I yell in a sing song voice. Buster came to our church as “the guy in the wheelchair.” But it didn’t take long for our church to see he was much more than the guy in the wheelchair. He was the guy who fist bumped new visitors. He was the guy who asked how you were doing and really wanted to know how you were actually doing. The guy who got my kids Christmas and birthday presents and always prayed for my family. The guy who gave God all the glory and shared his testimony to anyone who would listen.  

Each and every Sunday Buster would wheel himself around our building and enter our church through the side “handicap accessible” door. There wasn’t much that was accessible about this door besides the fact that there weren’t steps. It was on an incline, and you had to navigate around poles to enter. You see, even though the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed in 1990, churches are exempt from following it. Our buildings don’t have to have 32-inch doorways. They don’t have to have ramps with a slope of 1:12 or elevators to other floors. And because this isn’t required it’s frequently overlooked. Our friend Buster passed away this year. His goal was to fill a whole row of chairs at church with people he invited. He joked that he would work his way to an entire section. Our church has decided that nobody with a physical disability should endure the negative experience of entering through our side entrance any longer. We have made plans to make our main entrance accessible. But not accessible in the way we claimed our side door to be.  

While we wish Buster was here to be the first to enter through our new doors, we are thankful for the impact he made on our church. As a smaller church plant, we didn’t have the funds to renovate our building, and that’s okay. At the Banquet Network this is a struggle we frequently see churches have. And while churches might not be able to comply with all ADA standards, we can try our best to meet the needs of others. I encourage you and your church to get creative. Pray for guidance and get to work. Maybe your baptismal isn’t designed for those with physical disabilities or wheelchairs but could you go to your local pool and use their chair lift? Maybe you can’t afford to put in a new accessible entrance, but could you meet your church guest at their car and ask them if they would like assistance? 

If your church is interested in learning more about creating a more accessible environment, here’s a free tool to help you evaluate the accessibility of your church. 

By: Katie Matthews