Almost every older church has the same problem: a handful of steps between the door and the sanctuary, or up to the chancel, and a congregation that is getting older.
What the law requires
Religious organizations are exempt from ADA Title III as places of public accommodation. That exemption is narrower than people think: it does not extend to a day school, a rented hall, a polling place or a food bank operating in the building, and federal funding brings other obligations.
More to the point, the exemption is a legal position rather than a pastoral one. We have never met a congregation that wanted to rely on it.
What actually fits
A ramp, if there is room. The ADA Accessibility Guidelines set a maximum slope of 1:12, so a three-foot rise wants 36 feet of run plus landings. Most church entrances cannot give that.
A vertical platform lift, which rides straight up from a level pad in a few square feet. This is the commonest answer for an entrance with more than about two feet of rise. Both the Bruno VPL-3100 and the Harmar Highlander II carry 750 lb, covering a power chair and occupant.
An inclined platform lift, which travels along an existing staircase and folds flat against the wall. Useful where the stairs are wide, where a pad cannot be poured, or in a historic building that cannot be altered. Our inclined platform lift guide covers it.
A stairlift, for a single member who can transfer onto a seat. Cheaper by an order of magnitude and it does not carry a wheelchair.
The chancel, specifically
Getting into the building is the first problem. Getting onto the platform is the second, and it is the one that decides whether a member can read, serve or preach rather than only attend.
A short-rise platform lift usually answers it, and the Access Board guide covers when a lift may be used in place of a ramp on an accessible route.
What it costs to run
This is where congregations get caught. A lift in a public building normally needs annual service, an annual inspection and an operating certificate, and a maintenance log that may be a legal requirement rather than good practice.
Budget that at the outset rather than discovering it in year two. Our service page covers what a visit involves.
The things that cost almost nothing
Before any equipment: a handrail on both sides of the front steps that extends past the bottom one. Contrast on step edges. Lighting at the entrance. A reserved parking space nearest the accessible door. A pew cut so a wheelchair can sit with family rather than in the aisle.
That last one changes more than anything on this page and costs a carpenter an afternoon.
Paying for it
Denominational grants, local foundations, memorial gifts and a designated appeal. In our experience the appeal works better than people expect, because somebody in the congregation is already staying home.
Getting a real number
Send photographs of the entrance and the chancel with a rough rise measurement. All consultations, estimates and scopes of work are free of charge with no pressure or obligation, and our commercial page covers the wider work.
Smaller items, grab bars, portable ramps and transfer equipment, ship free from our online shop.
Who uses it, and how often
Worth asking before choosing. A lift used once a week by one member is a different specification from one used every service by several, and used on a Sunday by people who have never seen it before.
Public use pushes you toward simpler controls, clearer signage and a maintenance schedule that assumes nobody in the building is an expert. Constant-pressure controls confuse first-time users, so somebody should be shown how it works rather than left to work it out during a service.
Where it goes matters pastorally
A lift at a side door, round the back, past the bins, technically provides access and communicates something nobody intended. Where the budget allows, the accessible route should be the same route everybody else uses.
That single decision does more for whether somebody feels welcome than the equipment itself.
Getting a costed plan
What a committee usually needs is measured findings, options with numbers and a phased path, so the work can be split across budget years. Our audit work produces that rather than a single quote.
Hearing, seeing and getting there
Worth naming because a lift solves one problem and congregations often stop there. A hearing loop, large-print orders of service, and a reserved space near the accessible entrance all cost little and reach more people than the lift does.
Transport is the other one. Plenty of members stop attending because they can no longer drive rather than because of the steps.
Where to start
Walk the route somebody would take from the car park to a seat, then to the restroom, then to the hall where coffee happens afterward. That last leg is the one most often forgotten, and it is where the community actually is.
Our free consultation covers that walk, and there is no obligation attached to it.