How one church transformed worship accessibility with Sorenson’s Video Remote Interpreting service. 

Client overview

Organization: Elevation Church Ministries
Location: Scottsburg, Indiana
Audience: 500–600 members, both in-person and online
Accessibility focus: American Sign Language (ASL) video remote interpreting (VRI) for Deaf members

The challenge

Elevation Church Ministries exists to share the Word of God with everyone — yet, even in a place built on inclusion, one member’s experience revealed a barrier that couldn’t be ignored.

During a Sunday service, DJ Nocera and the pastoral team at Elevation, noticed a Deaf congregant attending faithfully week after week — participating in worship and even getting baptized, all without being able to understand the sermon.

“Seeing him there, with such faith, but without full understanding — it hit us hard,” DJ recalled. “He was showing up every week, and we realized we weren’t fully reaching him. Plus, when you walk around our church and you can’t understand the language, you don’t feel like you belong.”

Pain points

• Limited access to the message: Deaf members could see and feel the energy of worship but couldn’t fully understand spoken sermons or teachings.
• Interpreter shortage: In rural Indiana, finding qualified in-person ASL interpreters for weekly services was nearly impossible.
• Budget challenges: As a mid-sized church, cost was a major consideration. Elevation needed an affordable, sustainable way to provide interpreting.
• Lack of awareness: Before connecting with the Deaf community, church leaders didn’t realize captions alone weren’t sufficient for full language access.

“We learned that captions aren’t enough for the Deaf community as their primary language is most often ASL — not English,” DJ said.

The solution

To ensure every message was accessible, Elevation Church partnered with Sorenson, using its Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) service to connect Deaf and hearing members in real time.

How It Worked

Seamless integration

The church’s IT team connected a laptop to an existing TV display, instantly adding a live interpreter feed viewable to the congregation.

Consistent access

Deaf members could now understand every message, prayer and song — experiencing full participation in worship for the first time.

Reliable, easy setup

VRI worked flawlessly every week. “Our IT guy has never had a single complaint,” DJ shared.

Extending inclusivity online

Encouraged by their success in person, Elevation is now working to bring the same inclusivity to their online congregation.

“It brings so much joy to see all members understand the message. We’re also excited to extend the same inclusivity to our online congregation.” 
— DJ, Elevation Church Ministries

The results

A transformed worship experience

For the first time, Deaf members could access every word of the message — deepening their faith and connection to the church community.

Growing inclusion and awareness

The area near the interpreter screen soon filled with both Deaf and hearing congregants eager to worship together. Hearing members are also now learning ASL greetings like “good morning” and “God bless you,” to greet Deaf members and build genuine community connection.

“When we added the interpreter, the area around the screen filled up — hearing people wanted to sit there too. Everyone wanted to see and be part of it.” 
— DJ, Elevation Church Ministries 

Faith in action

“What Jesus represents is leaving the 99 for the 1,” DJ said. “You’re not investing in a piece of technology — you’re investing in a person.”

Simple and Reliable for Small Teams
The Sorenson VRI setup is fast, dependable, and affordable — making it possible for Elevation to offer consistent accessibility without straining resources.

Expanding the vision

Elevation hopes to eventually add a Deaf-led service and invite more members of the Deaf community to join, ensuring that everyone can worship fully.

"Sorenson makes the spoken Word accessible to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people. As a pastor, if you even suspect you have a Deaf member, you need to understand that the Bible isn’t easily available to them — English is typically not their first language. Sorenson provides a perfect way to share God’s Word with someone who has never been able to access it before." 
— DJ, Elevation Church Ministries

Why choose Sorenson VRI for Ministries

• Accessible for any congregation: Connects Deaf members with interpreters through video — no travel required.
• Simple setup: Works with your existing equipment and Wi-Fi.
• Affordable and scalable: Designed for churches of any size or budget.
• Truly inclusive worship: Bring every member into the message, both in person and online.

Ready to make your services more inclusive?

Visit sorenson.com to learn more about Sorenson VRI for ministries