This post is NOT about equipping your church with ramps and elevators. That helps the handicapped only AFTER they have managed to reach your sidewalk.

No matter how many lifts and ramps you install, if a church does not have a physical presence in a neighborhood, it is inaccessible. That is a key reason why the Church must find ways to assist neighborhood churches — especially in urban neighborhoods.

People who are poorer and frailer should not have to look far, walk far, beg for rides, or struggle with public transportation, which is often limited on Sundays.

Demographic studies in urban neighborhoods focus on finding enough potential members at an economic level and predisposition to support a building and a minister’s salary. This is the opposite of Christ’s approach. He focused His ministry on the people most in need, not those most able to pay.

City neighborhoods are often populated with the old and handicapped, as well as the young people just starting out. The city attracts them because they are closer to the health and social services, schools and opportunities they need. But urban neighborhood congregations are endangered as hierarchies measure ministry potential by the size of parking lots and demographic decisions which measure family income.

If the church is to fulfill its mission, it must find answers for the endangered species — the neighborhood church.

God’s love is for all — not just those with cars. ACCESSIBILITY starts with PROXIMITY!