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Our church was built in the mid-1950s and has served us well. Many people in our congregation are now elderly, however, and are having some difficulty getting into and around the facility. How can we make our building more accessible for people with disabilities?

For almost any church built more than 20 years ago, accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities is an issue. Prior to 1990 when the American Disabilities Act became law, accessibility was not a requirement for public buildings. Though technically that law does not apply to churches, many churches have chosen to follow ADA guidelines so that they may welcome all people to their facilities.

Before you start planning renovations, Christopher Kidd suggests asking a trained architect or contractor to do an accessibility survey of your building. "This person can itemize where your building is deficient according to handicap codes, especially those of the ADA," says Kidd of Taylor, Kidd, and Associates Architects in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Once the survey is done, you can prioritize the areas that need to be renovated, taking into account factors such as local building codes.

Before finalizing the list, you should see how reprogramming might solve some of the accessibility problems. "Challenge how facilities are being used in spaces such as the balcony or basement," says Todd Brown of Brown Church Development Group in Holdrege, Nebraska. "Try to reprogram so that people who need access won't have to go to those spaces. Moving the fellowship hall from the basement to the main floor of the church is one easy solution."

Bruce Wardell of Bruce R. Wardell Architects in Charlottesville, Virginia, affirms that kind of thinking. "There are administrative ways to be come accessible," he says. "If you have a fourth-grader in a wheelchair, you can make sure the room used by that class is on an accessible level."

If your building has more than one level, however, you might eventually need an elevator. "That is probably going to be the most satisfactory solution in the long run, but it's also the most expensive," Wardell says.

The cost of an elevator will vary, depending on what kind you choose and where you install it. For example, installing an elevator on the outside of a building is less expensive than making room for it inside. But an elevator won't necessarily solve all of a church's accessibility problems because old buildings often have lots of levels in various parts of their complexes.

Our church is old, and, quite frankly, it looks it. It's not old enough to have historic appeal; just old enough to look dated and a bit shabby. How can we give our building a more contemporary look?

One way to change the look of an existing church is to build around it, says Steve Beutler, vice president of Miracle Steel Structures. For example, a large building can be constructed on two sides of an older facility, then attached, giving a contemporary look to the whole complex.

Bruce Wardell's company did something similar. Wardell says adding to the front and back of the church was like putting a new overcoat on it.

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