USA (MNN) — How is your local church doing in caring for members who are blind or visually impaired? If it’s not a conversation you’re having, it probably should be.
Allen Decker with MegaVoice says, “Friends of ours at Torch Trust in the UK, they’ve done a lot of significant studies that show whether you know it or not most congregations have about 10 to 20% of somebody that has some form of visual impairment.”
To help bring God’s Word to everyone, MegaVoice creates handheld audio players loaded with many kinds of Bible resources.
Image courtesy of MegaVoice.
“We make it simple on purpose so that that it can be used by everyone. With the tactile keypads on our devices, [a person] can, with either low vision or no vision at all, be able to feel the buttons and navigate through their Bible and Bible teachings,” Decker says.
These audio players are meeting a critical need in the U.S. and around the world.
“A lot of people have this misunderstanding that people have access to those books in other formats like Braille. Unfortunately, with a lot of the groups that we work with, a major demographic is 65 years and older,” Decker says. “They’ve lost their sight later in life, due to medical conditions, and never had the opportunity to learn Braille, or some of the other formats that, that are available.”
Awareness is the first step. Now that you know, what can you do to better know and serve brothers and sisters in your church? (Read what one woman, Maureen, shares about this.)
If you’re looking for more resources to grow, Decker points to ministries such as Joni and Friends and Torch Trust.
“[Joni and Friends has] a focus of helping churches understand and welcome people with various disabilities. [Torch Trust has] a ministry designed to work with churches more closely, and understanding various disabilities and the resources that are available,” says Decker.
Header photo is a representative stock image courtesy of Chuttersnap/Unsplash.
