A church has reduced its worship set to increase accessibility for those with sensory sensitivities. 

In March of 2019, Coast Hills Community Church in Surrey, B.C. conducted a survey of their congregation by speaking with each of their small groups about what could be improved in Sunday services. 

They truly were not expecting the feedback they received. "We met with life group leaders, with individuals, families and well over 50% of the church. One thing that came out of that was that some members have sensory issues and Sundays can be quite loud for them," Lead Pastor Kevin Snyder says. 

The members were asking for a quieter worship set. "We call it 'Accessible Sunday'. We stumbled upon it intentionally. This came from our vision statement. We are a Jesus-centred community creating gracious space through acts of generous love," Snyder says. This was the result of that vision. 

They found that for people that are having sensory issues, or people that are suffering from concussions the service can be overwhelming and painful. They didn't realize it was such a present case in their membership.

"Parents are saying 'my child with autism doesn't have to wear earplugs or earmuffs now!'"

Coast Hills Community Church hopes to make church accessible for all. (Coast Hills/Facebook)They began to brainstorm. "How can we act on this? If people are having issues with the sound, why don't we pull the sound back a bit? Why don't we say not every Sunday has to look the same. We can have one person on the guitar, one person singing, and no drums just a jembe," Snyder says.

Coast Hills Community church also realized it wasn't just about having an acoustic set, they needed to bring all the decibels down to appropriate levels. 

"We are just learning how to do this. The sound was still over 85 decibels, that's our contemporary culture. We have mics but we are trying to keep it between 72-75 decibels. When we are speaking, the mic is turned down a little bit more. I can have a bit of a loud voice, so we are just trying to be more conscious of people who have this issue," Snyder says.

"Worship is everything a part of us, music is just one small segment of it."

The result has been fantastic. The church has seen growth in attendance on 'Accessible Sundays'. Parents and elders have come to thank the leadership for accommodating their needs so visibly. 

"Let's serve them as we worship, this is an opportunity for all to be accessible to church. 

"Parents are saying 'my child with autism doesn't have to wear earplugs or earmuffs now'" Snyder says.

This special service happens on the first Sunday of the month which is also their communion day. Snyder states that is intentional.  

Not everyone was on board at the start. Some members didn't understand and visitors were confused. "People have come and expected a band but we explain from the front. Worship is all of us. Worship is everything a part of us, music is just one small segment of it," Snyder says.

Snyder believes that on 'Accessible Sundays', the church is most reminiscent of how the Israelites might have experienced church because they are able to fully hear one another sing out and praise with the sound kept low.

"It's a beautiful way that we can meet the needs of one another and the leadership can give the power back to the people and have the Spirit speaking to the community," Snyder says.