I am a key member of a 4-6 person team dedicated to two ideas commonly known in ministry:
- If children don’t understand & embrace the gospel before their teen years, they likely never will
- Scripture is most effective when people have access to it in the language they understand most clearly
Deaf adult ministries are reaching other Deaf adults – as it should be. They are the indigenous, the ones with the language and shared cultural experience that gives them standing to share the gospel with their Deaf neighbors here and around the world. They’re the ones who, after decades of dedicated work, have a full verse-by-verse Bible (ASLV) and are working in other countries to duplicate their process in the more than 400 signed languages worldwide.
Deaf children, however, are tucked behind barriers — we have to build “creative access” resources to reach them. Parents want the best for their children, but the advice they’re getting is overwhelmingly in favor of aural and technological approaches, and against exposure to Sign Language and the Deaf community. It comes down to a longstanding ideological battle, we’ve seen what those look like. Generations of Deaf people have been the collateral damage, the majority believing that they’re disqualified from having a relationship with the hearing God who surely must hate them because He made them Deaf.
Unfortunately, less than 5% of churches nationwide have ministries for Deaf people, and fewer yet are prepared to minister to Deaf children. Several assumptions stand in the way, each a variation of “why go to the effort?” Jesus answered clearly that ONE is worth the effort that ninety-nine don’t require.
Deaf children and their families need to know the Truth and be set free by the God who designs each person uniquely. He goes beyond knowing all languages of communication to knowing the unique expressions in each heart. Unusual people, including the Deaf, are not hated by their Creator — they are designed to see the world from a different perspective and share the beauty of it with others.
We’re here to support their knowledge of Jesus while they are young, so they can enjoy Him for a lifetime and share His love with others forever.
- We’re redesigning the God Loves Deaf Kids app, making long-intended expansions to provide parents & church leaders the information and tools to understand Deaf children and nurture their lifelong relationship with Jesus through faith and scripture.
- We’ve begun publishing God’s Word for Deaf Kids, a memory verse project in ASL with voice and captions. Verses are distilled to their core content and signed by a variety of volunteers in the Deaf/Signing community for toddlers through elementary (and the young at heart) to understand, memorize, recall, and share.
- We’re preparing to resume work on the SignLab VBS in 2023, finishing the training materials, making the Worship and Culture modules customizable for the audiences served, and ensuring all content and supports are available online to increase access and reduce delivery costs.
- We’re preparing to work alongside Deaf Missions in 2023 as they create the Jesus Movie, where all key characters use ASL. Our role will be to develop children’s/family resources to further explore and understand the story of our Creator becoming one of us to save all who believe.
Deaf children need the opportunity to know Jesus through scripture in modes they can clearly understand. That’s why Silent Blessings is here.
A small team relies on individuals who have a variety of skills, a passion for the people served, and the ability to find unusual solutions to inevitable challenges. That’s why I’m here.