In 2023, Dennis Blaisdell received a pivotal call from the pastor of his former congregation, Meridian Point Church in Colorado Springs. The discussion centered on a vision for serving families through a special needs ministry and the potential of launching a church specifically designed to cater to their unique requirements. When asked to lead the initiative, Blaisdell and his wife sought spiritual guidance. “After praying with my wife about it, we decided that if we’re living this life for God and he’s calling us to ministry, then we would sell everything and move back to Colorado to launch this church,” Blaisdell recalls.
This commitment led to the founding of Access Christian Church, an organization built from the ground up to support families who often feel overlooked by traditional religious structures. By prioritizing accessibility and specialized care from its inception, the ministry ensures that every aspect of the worship experience is inclusive and supportive for all attendees.
While it is common for congregations to add a special needs ministry to their existing programs, Access Christian Church was designed with this community 100% in mind. Blaisdell notes that while many leaders have good intentions, programs often struggle when integrated into established churches. These initiatives can fail because the existing infrastructure and long-standing traditions make it difficult to restructure services or physical spaces to truly accommodate special needs families.
“On the flip side, when we started this church, the first thing we thought about was, ‘What would a person with special needs need when coming into this worship area?’” says Blaisdell. “We started from the ground up with that goal in mind rather than already having a house and trying to put on an addition.”
Blaisdell and his team connected with Joni & Friends, a faith-based organization committed to reaching and serving people with disabilities within churches. Joni & Friends flew a staff member to Colorado to offer training. In addition, Blaisdell met with more than 25 families, caregivers and individuals with special needs to get their opinions.
“They are the experts,” says Blaisdell. “They live that life every day, so they know what is needed.”
The doors of Access Christian Church opened to the community in December 2023.
Blaisdell describes the main worship area as “looking so weird and being so awesome.” The space includes wiggle chairs, camp chairs, rocking chairs, beanbag chairs and even swings. In addition, church leadership put up two tents with rugs inside for those attendees who have sensory issues.
“The space is set up so that kiddos can move around if they need to,” notes Blaisdell, who jokes that after teaching middle school for seven years, there isn’t a distraction in the world that bothers him.
They also offer a shorter Sunday service, an “unplugged” worship experience, and calmer lighting options.
As he began researching the area’s special-needs population, it became apparent that there is a lot of hurt in this group’s background.
“It’s heartbreaking,” says Blaisdell. “Some people have even been kicked out of churches because they couldn’t remain quiet or quit moving around.”
He met one 44-year-old developmentally delayed man who was ousted from three different churches for singing too loudly.
“He was told, ‘This isn’t the place for you,’” Blaisdell recalls. “We are missing the point as the ‘big C’ church when that is happening.”
Access Christian Church emphasizes that everyone has God-given strengths and talents that need to be used in the kingdom. Therefore, church leadership has as their goal to give everyone the opportunity to serve.
“We don’t just want to create a place for people to come on Sunday and leave,” says Blaisdell. “We aren’t called to sit in seats and listen to a guy talk. We are called to serve.”
He recently met with a family whose son with autism is generally nonverbal. Blaisdell asked what his strengths were, and the parents said that their son loves to give hugs. Blaisdell and they talked about it and decided he would make a great greeter.
“[The son] repeats things, so one day he was repeating ‘Jesus loves me.’ Another nonverbal kid started mimicking him, saying, ‘Jesus loves me,’” says Blaisdell. “That’s evangelism right there.”
Creating a church specifically with the special-needs community in mind is unchartered territory, so Blaisdell tells his leadership team that they need to be both rigid and flexible as they iron out the kinks—rigid in regard to routine, yet flexible as they adjust to meet people’s needs.
“If we find that we are missing something, we will do whatever we need to do to change it,” says Blaisdell. “We’re just so excited about what’s happening here.”