Church Disability Inclusion Checklist: 30 Questions for Your Leadership Team

A church disability inclusion checklist should examine more than
parking spaces and classroom supplies. It should help leaders see
whether disabled people and their families can understand what to
expect, enter the building, participate in worship and discipleship,
receive needed support, contribute their gifts, and depend on systems
that do not disappear when one volunteer is absent.

Use these 30 questions as a leadership conversation, not a
pass-or-fail inspection. Invite disabled people and families to answer
with you. Their experience is more important than what the church
assumes it provides.

How to use this checklist

For each question, mark:

• In place: people can depend on this now.
• In progress: work has started, but it is not
  consistent yet.
• Not yet: this needs attention.
• We need to ask: leadership does not have enough
  firsthand information.

The final option is not failure. We need to ask is often
the beginning of better ministry.

Leadership and culture

1. Does senior leadership speak about disabled people as
   essential members of the body of Christ, not only as people to
   serve?

2. Is disability inclusion connected to the church’s
   mission, theology, budget, and planning?

3. Are disabled people and disability families included when
   decisions affecting them are made?

4. Is responsibility shared across leadership and ministry
   areas instead of resting on one parent, volunteer, or staff
   member?

5. Does the church have a clear process for receiving
   feedback, responding without defensiveness, and following
   through?

Before a family visits

6. Can someone find accurate disability and accessibility
   information on the church website?

7. Is there a named person or clear contact form for
   questions and support requests?

8. Does the website explain parking, entrances, restrooms,
   seating, children’s check-in, sensory conditions, and available
   supports?

9. Can a family receive a visual schedule, photos, or a
   simple What to Expect guide before
   arriving?

10. Does the church respond personally and promptly when
    someone asks for support?

Physical and sensory access

11. Can people with mobility disabilities reach the building,
    worship space, classrooms, restrooms, platform, and fellowship
    areas?

12. Are accessible routes, seating, and restrooms kept usable
    rather than blocked or treated as storage?

13. Are lighting, volume, crowds, transitions, scents, and
    unexpected changes considered?

14. Is there a quiet or lower-sensory option that does not
    isolate people from the service or community?

15. Are sensory tools available in a respectful way to
    children, teenagers, and adults who benefit from them?

Communication and worship

16. Can people access captions, assistive listening, large
    print, clear signage, and other communication
    supports?

17. Are communication devices, pictures, sign language,
    gestures, movement, and different response times
    welcomed?

18. Can people participate meaningfully in prayer, worship,
    communion, baptism, teaching, and church membership?

19. Are expectations explained clearly instead of relying
    only on unwritten social rules?

20. Do leaders avoid publicizing a person’s diagnosis, needs,
    or family information without permission?

Volunteers, safety, and
support

21. Are staff and volunteers trained in disability respect,
    communication, regulation, flexibility, dignity, and
    confidentiality?

22. Do relevant teams have clear plans for allergies,
    seizures, elopement, medical needs, personal care, emergencies, and
    child protection?

23. Are individual support plans created with the person and
    family rather than imposed on them?

24. Is there enough trained coverage that support does not
    collapse when one volunteer is unavailable?

25. Do volunteers know whom to contact when they need help
    during a service or activity?

Belonging across the whole
church

26. Can disabled people serve, lead, build friendships, and
    contribute their gifts in ordinary church life?

27. Does disability inclusion continue through youth
    ministry, adult ministry, small groups, serving teams, and older-adult
    ministry?

28. Are parents, siblings, marriages, and caregivers
    supported beyond Sunday-morning logistics?

29. Does the church plan for transitions between age groups,
    ministries, leaders, and life stages?

30. Does the church regularly ask disabled people and
    families whether they feel present, known, supported, needed, and
    loved?

How to read your answers

Do not total the questions and call the result a grade. Look for
patterns.

• Several not yet answers in leadership mean a new
  classroom will not solve the core issue.
• Gaps before the visit may mean families never reach the front
  door.
• Strong physical access with weak communication can still exclude
  people.
• Strong children’s support with no adult pathway creates a future
  cliff.
• A good program carried by one person is a sustainability risk.
• Many we need to ask answers mean the next step is
  listening, not purchasing.

Baylor researchers’ 2025-2026 work supports this whole-church view.
Interviews with 27 parents identified 22 types of barriers across nine
areas of church life, including leadership, attitudes, participation
expectations, support, volunteers, spaces, communication, child-related
factors, and parent-related factors.

Source: Carter et al., Barriers to
Belonging.

Choose one meaningful next
step

Select one action that removes a real barrier for a real person. Give
it an owner and a date. Then return to the checklist with disabled
people and families involved.

Possible first actions:

• Add accurate accessibility information and a contact person to the
  website.
• Hold a listening conversation with families and disabled
  adults.
• Train two additional volunteers so support is dependable.
• Build a visual What to Expect guide.
• Fix one physical access barrier.
• Create a clear plan for a child’s transition into youth
  ministry.
• Review whether disabled adults have real ways to serve and
  lead.
• Put disability inclusion on the next leadership agenda with a budget
  discussion.

Get a more personalized
picture

This article is a conversation starter. The free Church
Inclusion Scorecard walks through the church’s current systems
one question at a time and produces a result your team can save and
discuss.

The Inclusive Pathways Community Report helps church
leaders understand the disability-related need in their own ZIP code and
community.

If your team wants help turning the findings into a practical
roadmap, Inclusive Pathways partners with churches to
assess, equip, implement, and sustain a whole-church culture of
belonging.

About the authors

Kyle and Rachael Vermeulen are the founders of A Little Extra Love
and Inclusive Pathways. As global disability ministry missionaries and
parents raising their son Caleb, who has Down syndrome and complex
medical needs, they bring lived family experience together with
practical church implementation. They support disability families and
help churches build sustainable, whole-church systems of belonging.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an ADA compliance
checklist?

No. This is a ministry and belonging checklist, not legal advice or a
substitute for a professional accessibility or code review. Physical
access is essential, but the checklist also addresses communication,
discipleship, support, leadership, and culture.

Who should complete the
checklist?

Include senior leadership, ministry staff, volunteers, disabled
people, and family members. A staff-only answer may describe policy;
lived experience shows whether the policy works.

How often
should a church review disability inclusion?

Review it at least annually and whenever the church changes
facilities, programs, staff, age-group transitions, or major events.
Individual support plans should be reviewed whenever a person’s needs or
preferences change.

What if our church
has very few resources?

Clarity, listening, flexibility, and dependable relationships do not
require a large program. Start with the most important current barrier
and build a support the church can keep.