Before starting any new project, knowing the project’s scope is always good. You would not want to spend a million dollars to renovate an entire building if you had one special needs person in your church; however, if 40% of your congregation has medical limitations that will require building remodeling to accommodate, that’s a significant financial impact that involves planning and budgeting. For both, whoever is behind the project must pray, consult church leaders and the congregation, and then decide what needs to be done.
The first step is always prayer. Ask God to show you clearly what you need to do and what His will is in determining the outcome. When money is involved, it is sometimes difficult to make the right decision for the mission’s good; therefore, ask the Holy Spirit to speak on your behalf and be the messenger.
The second step is to decide what you need to know. You will need a team to help brainstorm what is needed for your church and the impact suggestions might have on the church building, finances, and acceptance by the membership, in addition to meeting the needs of current and future members drawn to the church by the outreach program. Below are suggestions for team membership, but who you ask to participate depends on who is available within your congregation and community.
- church budget or a minister,
- a medical person who knows about disabilities
- a lawyer who knows about the Americans with Disabilities Act,
- a builder who knows about construction costs,
- someone who has worked with adults or children with special needs,
- a community church that has a similar program
Gathering data to determine what you need is better than assuming. Many disabilities and illnesses are invisible. Plus, many people do not share personal situations without a legitimate need. Without conducting a survey, you might discover a greater need for services than anticipated after services start. Therefore, I strongly recommend surveying as many members as you can. To help with confidentiality, consider obtaining a free online survey app and ask the congregation to complete it. Doing so would allow homebound, those away on vacation, and in-person attendees to all complete it anonymously.
The team should decide what you want to ask but remember that disability questions can be considered discriminatory. Therefore, I recommend having someone familiar with ADA and FMLA language review the wording of the questions before sending it out. Below are some sample questions.
Sample Survey
Possible Introduction
If you want to offer help to those with personal and medical needs:
As a Church, we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus by finding ways to help members with significant medical or personal needs. Please complete this confidential survey to help us better understand the congregation’s needs. Do not give your name or other identifying information. We want an idea of how many members need medical assistance and what type they need.
In addition, we know we have members such as solo or grieving spouses, single parents, those suffering from tragic events, etc., who have specific needs (other than financial). We would like to have an idea of what those needs are as well. Thank you in advance for your time and honesty.
Medical Accommodation
Yes | No | Do you or any of your family members have a medical condition(s) that makes attending church or church-related activities challenging? If you answered yes, please circle the type of challenge. | |||||||
Hearing Speech Vision | heart, breathing, blood sugar | Mobility, upper/ lower body | Risk of infection, open wounds | Weakness fainting seizures | Medical Restrictions | Medical Equip. | Other Exp below | ||
What would help when attending church in person or if participating remotely? Please describe below. | |||||||||
Mental, Developmental, or Emotional Accommodations
Yes | No | Do you or any of your family members have a mental, emotional, or developmental condition(s) that makes attending church or church-related activities challenging? If you answered yes, please circle the type of challenge. | |||||||
Hearing, Vision Speech | Sensory overload | Mobility or uncontrolled body movement | Behavioral verbal, physical, both | Anxiety – Fear | Sadness – potential suicidal | Autistic, downs syndrome, cerebral palsy | Other Exp below | ||
What would help when attending church, Sunday school, group activities, or participating remotely? Please describe below. | |||||||||
Personal Needs
Place a checkmark beside the areas of help you need. | ||
Vehicle maintenance | Desc. | |
Yard work | Type: | |
House cleaning | #Rms | |
Need Groceries | #People | |
Meal preparation | Which | |
Clothing | Gen/Size | |
Medical Supplies | What | |
Transportation | When/Where | |
Respite | When/Length | |
Home repairs | What | |
Financial assistance | Amt/Purpose | |
Furniture/equipment | What | |
Legal Services | Type | |
Counseling Services | Type | |
Support group Type | Type | |
Child Care | Age | |
Other needs | Desc. | |
Formulating a Plan
Your survey data will help you decide the type and size of your program. Consider creating a program using your members’ talents to help one another. If those in need can help others, they don’t feel as guilty when asking for help. A volunteer service program where everyone gives an hour or two a month would go a long way toward meeting everyone’s needs. Suppose they can’t provide time? Then, can they donate money or purchase a service to help someone instead?
Get creative. Someone with good organizational skills needs to coordinate the need/service assignments, plus you will want to have a reliable electronic scheduling program.
If you create this mission project to support your members, watch out because the rewards could become phenomenal. Few churches today walk the walk with their members. When I counseled employees in my former job, I often referred them to their churches for help. Most said their churches didn’t give that type of help. If you start being Jesus to your members, your church’s reputation for living what it preaches will grow, and before too long, so will your membership. Furthermore, God will smile and say, “My good and faithful servants.”
