In this section you will find a Congregational Survey. Its purpose is to help you continue identifying barriers that prevent people from worshipping or participating in activities. It is best if a specific committee or taskforce is in charge of the entire process of sending out the survey forms, receiving them back, and compiling the results.

Why does ADNet recommend your congregation conduct a survey?

The "ABCs of Access" check list will help you identify some of the more obvious barriers found in much of our North American environment.

However, many disabilities and mental illnesses are invisible--learning disabilities, depression, and hearing loss to name a few. The barriers for participation are often not so obvious. In addition, church members can be hesitant to inform the church of barriers to their participation, not wanting to complain or appear selfish.
Conducting the survey will accomplish at least two things:

• Allow people to share their needs anonymously.
• Identify barriers in the congregation that are not obvious.

How should we conduct the survey?

First, it is important that the survey be distributed to every adult in the congregation, not only those who have obvious disabilities or mental illness.

The surveys can be distributed in a way best suited to your congregation:

• Put one in each mailbox.
• Distribute them during adult Sunday school classes
• Distribute them in a congregational meeting
• Incorporate the process as part of a Sunday morning worship service.

Please feel free to copy and distribute the survey as you see fit.

How do we summarize the results?

Each congregation is unique and one way of doing things is often not appropriate for everyone. There are a variety of ways to summarize the survey information. Choose the way or ways that best helps your congregation understand the findings.

A committee could:

• Gather all the completed surveys and tabulate the information using either a blank paper form the MS Word form on the computer.
  
• Invite the congregation to participate by tabulating the results on a blank survey sheet in table groups. Take all the survey forms and, as a committee, compile the answers.
• Before a fellowship meal begins, display flip chart paper or newsprint around the room. Each piece of paper contains one question from the survey. After the meal, give each participant a stack of index cards with one typed or written question per card (there be a total of 15 cards per person). Once individuals have answered the questions, they should tape their cards to the appropriate flip chart paper or newsprint. The committee takes all of the pieces of paper and summarizes the results.

 

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