Did you know that one of the world’s most unreached mission fields is not a nation but a people: the Deaf community.

Imagine growing up in an environment where you can’t understand the people around you, yet they can hear and understand each other. Consider the impact that would create on a Deaf person’s language ability, employment prospects, and social and emotional wellbeing.

Most Deaf people are born into hearing families. Their hearing siblings are constantly exposed to speech from birth, but most likely the Deaf child does not have the same level of exposure to sign language during their formative years. This affects all areas of a Deaf person’s life, but the biggest impact is on their spiritual development.

In Bethany Lievens’ work with Deaf children, she must explain many basic concepts that hearing children learn at a much younger age. For example, when she taught the story of Joseph, she asked the kids if they knew what a king was. At first, the kids were puzzled, and finally an eight-year-old girl recognized the word—from the movie The Lion King. The children who attend Bethany’s class are fortunate. Most Deaf adults have significant gaps in Bible background, such as the concepts of God, Creation, sin, and salvation. When Brian and Bethany Lievens, or anyone else, begins ministering to Deaf people, they must fill those gaps before they can build on the foundation. Churches and individuals who actively get to know the Deaf community and sensitively care about them can make a big difference in their lives. Many Deaf people have felt excluded and misunderstood by churches. 

Here are some ways to care:

• Get to know your Deaf neighbors through conversations about everyday things, like mowing the lawn or favorite sports teams. Or invite them for dinner or a game night.
• If you don’t know ASL, use speech-to-text phone apps or write your words on paper. Most Deaf people will really appreciate your efforts to get to know them.
• Learn ASL through a local college. (A better way to learn than only online resources).
• Include trained interpreters in your church service or hire a pastor competent in ASL to preach and to teach Deaf attendees. First seek guidance from established Deaf ministries.

Brian says he is Deaf for a reason: for the glory of God, just like the blind man in John 9. We are called to reach all people with the gospel, and that includes Deaf people. How can you or your church reach this mission field?