Thread by @1Schoolhouse

As much as I hate the cult-y atmosphere of many mega-churches, I feel a bit sad when I see people labeling them as bad by definition.

A lot of those “add ons” in mega-churches make them more accessible to disabled people. 🧵
#Christianity

Note: this is based on my own experiences attending events in dozens of churches throughout my life. This is meant to spark discussion on the subject. I do not intend to present this as hard rules, but rather observable trends.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the better the ramps.

Yes, most churches have ramps nowadays, but there’s a big difference between wide gentle ramps at every entrance, and one narrow rattling wood thing attached to the side door.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have elevators.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have multiple services with different worship styles.

If you have specific worship needs (ie, flashing lights give you seizures) then that could be the difference between church welcoming you, and endangering you.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have accessible bathrooms.

I’ve seen my fair share of bathrooms in my day that think just having a stall that’s larger than the others makes it accessible. But if the door is super heavy, wheelchair users 1/2

might not be able to open it. The stalls might be accessible, while the door into the bathroom itself is too narrow (I saw this in action at ORU. Students should NEVER have to race to another building in the rain just to use the bathroom between classes). Sinks might be too high.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have an overflow room that offers a calmer church experience. As an Autistic, I love these.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to livestream their services. If you’re someone who often can’t get out of bed, for example, this makes a huge difference. You can still be part of the group when you’re not able to travel.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have a “kids church” during the service. Having to sit still in service as an Autistic kid was genuinely harmful to me as a child, because I need to move at least a little to be able to process what’s being 1/2

taught. Eventually, I got the idea that I was somehow less Godly than my friends because I wiggled. On top of that, I struggled to process the messages because all my energy was spent on forcing myself to stay still. A “kids church” would have been a game changer for me.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have a sign language interpreter for the service (or at the very least, for the music)

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have extra rooms to… well, have a breakdown.

Seriously, as an Autistic, knowing there’s rooms that aren’t crowded makes a huge difference, because I know I can find a space to manage a meltdown if necessary.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have emergency medical supplies like an AED and a folding wheelchair at the welcome center.

In my experience, the bigger the church, the more likely it is to have wide aisles. If you use a wheelchair, this means you can sit next to your friends without worrying about blocking the aisle.

The point of this thread is not to say that one kind of church is good while the others are bad.

I just want to remind Christians that those “amenities” and “add ons” and “fluff” that megachurches have aren’t just bookstores and big worship bands.

If you don’t have wide enough bathroom doors, you’re telling certain disabled people that they need to crawl on the ground for the privilege to relieve themselves in your church.

If you only have one way to worship, you’re telling people who mentally cannot handle that environment that they don’t get to worship God with you.

If you have your Bible studies upstairs but no elevators, you’re telling people who can’t climb stairs that they don’t get to study the Bible with you.

You don’t need to change everything about your church to make it accessible to disabled people though!

If renovating the main bathrooms isn’t an option, maybe you can add a family restroom that’s bigger.

An overflow worship room doesn’t need to be fancy. It can be the second grade classroom with a projector hooked up to a WiFi stream.

If your pastor writes out sermons ahead of time, you could have printed versions available for deaf church-goers.

You can remove a couple chairs on a couple aisles and put wheelchair-symbol stickers on the floor there, so there’s plenty of space for any wheelchair users who attend.

The point is: disabled Christian are often excluded by small and medium churches. If you’re going to condemn mega-churches for their many faults, please make sure their disabled patrons would be welcome at your church.

I’d love to hear people share ways their church is accessible in the comments!

And I’d love for disabled people who want to attend church but can’t to share what would be the game changer for them that would make them welcome in a church.