Accessibility

In Medieval times, accessibility to God's word is limited to the clergy who are able to read Latin. The printing technology (Guttenburg) and the translation services (Martin Luthur) have opened the access of God's Word to laymen.

Until recent history of the Jesus movement, attendance/access to church worship is limited to the do-good-ers and nice people (forced by social convention implicitly). The recent church history has encouraged people of all backgrounds to worship God. (But social economic class separation still permeates the church.)

The current society, with many busy double-income families, participation in church is again, by lack of design or accommodation, limiting people who have trouble accessing the faith community. The issues:

1. the parents are busy throughout the week with their regular jobs, sending kids to school or daycare.
2. on weekends, they are busy with house chores, shopping, sending kids to private lessons, or to grandparents.
3. so the ability to carve time out for church attendance is already a miracle in itself
4. any small events (such as a birthday party, visit by distant friends or relatives, or an illness) will prevent participation in the rigidly planned church events
5. lack of child-friendly environment will prevent the parents from attending ministry team or governing board type of business meetings.
6. This means that on average, once a month the family will not be able to attend church service
7. Expecting a different night or time for additional meetings is really pushing their limit.

So a church that truly cares for the participation of this large segment of couples with young families must meet their basic needs and make the church accessible:

1. Expect the absentee and make materials accessible to them: via web downloads (MP3), sermon outlines in text (for online skimming) or downloadable documents, have online communities that draws people in and make them feel connected, even when they miss a service.

   Phone calls may sound personal, but it also implies a degree of threat or judgment if people only get called when they are absent. Furthermore, phone calls may be a burden for busy families: you never know when best to call, since their hands may be tied up anytime by the requests of the children.

2. Make best use of the Sunday worship service, and pack other necessary activities in that time rather than have another day.
3. For non-Sunday meetings, holding them in homes (child-friendly) is tremendously easier for the families than the standard church building.
4. Any activity that depends on physical attendance will merely become another separation measure that makes people feel failure and keeps them away.
5. Think of ways to share the message (whether sermons or teaching material) by making accessibility easier: not just those who can attend will access the material, but also those whose schedule does not allow it.

   Think of the extreme case: if a church decides to test people's passion of God and start having 3AM church services in a hard to find location (a highly non-accessible setup for most people's schedules), I am sure that everyone will make a point to declare their commitment and participate in a few, but eventually this will be more a prevention than a facilitation for people to receive the blessings of the church worship.

6. So I would advocate for listening to the limitation of various social segments in the church, and see if there is any aspect of the church that can enhance its accessibility.