A Mission Field You May Never Have Heard Of

 In seminary I had a class from C. Peter Wagner: “Strategies For World Evangelization.” It was a church growth class on a global scale. We learned about “unreached people groups” within countries all over the world. I kind of filed that approach away in my mind. Then, many years later I became aware of an unreached people group right here in the United States (and worldwide) that I had never heard identified. Here is how I came to know about this group.

A lady in our church called me one day to ask me to pray for her new little granddaughter who had a severe hearing impairment; in fact, she was deaf. From time to time the grandmother would bring the little one to our church and she would take her to the nursery. Pretty soon, the whole family came to church on a fairly regular basis. Our nursery folks took good care of little, blonde Amy, but when she was four she outgrew our nursery department. I vividly remember the first morning after she turned four. As I stepped to the pulpit I dismissed the children 4 years through 5^th grade to our great children’s church. I saw Amy’s grandmother walk hand-in-had with her out of the sanctuary to take her to her class. As I saw them go, tears came to my eyes, and I had a hard time getting into my sermon, because my heart broke when I realized we were not prepared to teach a deaf child about Jesus. From then on, her grandmother, and later her mother, tried to help by going with Amy and signing to her what the teacher said. They were gracious about it, but I knew it wasn’t enough, and it also meant that one of them had to miss worship every week they came.

About this time, I found out about a ministry called Silent Blessings, which had been founded by a college classmate of mine, Marshall Lawrence. He understood the problems of deaf people better than I ever could, because his daughter is deaf. He offered some breakout sessions on ministry to the deaf at our annual denominational convention. For the first time, I got a glimpse of understanding that the deaf community is an unreached people group who live among the rest of us. Around 30 million Americans have significant hearing loss. Turns out only about 2% of deaf people know Christ as Savior, and most churches have nothing for them. Less than 5% of churches have any outreach to the deaf and usually that consists of offering sign translation of the sermon. While that is helpful, it is not nearly enough, especially for those who were born deaf. A child who grows up deaf will probably never hear the Bible stories most of us take for granted, so when a sermon is signed to them as an adult, they often don’t have enough background to understand it very well.

Marshall also introduced a deaf pastor and some deaf believers to the breakout sessions. It was delightful to hear their testimonies through translators. What’s more is they had a deaf service two nights of the convention and that was a real eye-opener to me. More precisely, it was an ear opener. Even though they couldn’t hear, they still praised God through music. They loved to feel the beat, which requires the volume to be turned up very loudly.

Our church tried to make accommodations for Amy. I shared my concern about Amy and the deaf with our people and many of them understood the problem. Amy’s mother and a friend taught sign language and several of the children took the classes and really tried to communicate with Amy. We had Marshall come and share his ministry with us. I took two free ASL classes at the local college, but when you aren’t around a deaf person all the time, it’s hard to approach proficiency. Anyway, about the time I finished my classes, Amy’s family moved away and we only saw her when she came to visit her grandmother.

Our church wanted to do something that would reach deaf people, but we ran against problems that are common to people who want to reach this community:

1. The deaf community is tight knit.

2. They are self-sufficient.

3. They have a hard time trusting the hearing community.

4. They don’t consider their affliction as a handicap, or even an affliction, and they don’t like being treated as handicapped.

5. They speak a foreign language called ASL, American Sign Language.

Families with deaf children have unique problems:

1. Nearly 95% of all deaf children have hearing parents.

2. Only about 10% of those parents ever learn enough sign language to hold a conversation with their children.

3. They have to make very difficult decisions concerning treatment and education. Right choices are not clear-cut. They are far reaching, and there’s a lot of conflicting advice.

What I would like my readers to do:

1. Please pray for this enormous, largely ignored unreached people group.

2. Educate yourself about the deaf community. A great first step is to visit the Silent Blessings website, silentblessings.org.

3 Check out the children’s television program that Silent Blessings produces, “Dr. Wonder’sWorkshop.” It’s an amazing tool God is using to teach deaf kids about Jesus. If you can’t find it on your TV listings, check out samples at silentblessings.org.

4. Give to folks who are on the mission to the deaf community like Silent Blessings

5. Consider having Marshall Lawrence come to share his burden for the deaf with your church, small group, or club. He will open your eyes and touch your heart with this great ministry. 

Thank You to My Friends who have Served on Veterans Day

I never served in the military. The draft was on in my day and I was in the last cohort that received a deferment because we went to college. When my number was drawn, it was very low—30—which meant, without the deferment, I would have been called very quickly. I remember the day they drew my number. I did something I never did before or since. I walked off my summer job—just told my boss I was leaving and left. I drove around the Kansas countryside to decide what I should do. If I passed the physical, I would have been in uniform in a few months. Perhaps I should enlist. Could I get into the National Guard? My dad served in WWII; shouldn’t I go too? He waited to be drafted and I knew he didn’t want me to volunteer. How would I do? Could I handle the discipline? How would I react if I were in combat? I was confused. Finally, I decided that since I didn’t have to go right then, I wouldn’t. The deferment made me ineligible for the draft until I graduated unless I quit school, became a part-time student, or fell below a 2.0 gpa. Also, I was a ministry student; they had special deferments for ministers and student ministers. Should I sign up for one of those? I just didn’t feel right about taking ministerial student route. I was not a conscientious objector. I didn’t like the idea of fighting, but I knew that I would, if I had to. I just didn’t know how well I would fight. I decided I would use the regular student deferment and, after I graduated I would decide. But when I graduated the war was over. I was never called and the draft ended.

I have always liked reading history and I have read a lot about war. I stand in awe of the guys who have been in combat, especially those who have fought bravely. I’ve always wondered how I would react in combat. Would I stand strong? Would I curl up in the fetal position? Would I become a homicidal maniac? Or would I run away? I will never know. I’m kind of glad of that. I’m grateful to the men that faced an enemy so that I never had to. It’s right to celebrate these fellows (and in recent years, ladies) and the sacrifices they have made: in their bodies, in their psyches, of their time, and in their families.

About 10 years ago I was called to officiate at a funeral for a man I knew as a stroke victim. He was only a couple of years older than me, about 55 when he passed. He had been confined to a wheelchair for a number of years since his stroke. He seemed like a great guy, but he had a hard time communicating because the stroke had affected his speech as well as his mobility. He was a Viet Nam veteran so there would be military honors. It turned out he was quite a vet. He was a genuine hero. Six guys from his unit showed up and told stories of him that he had never spoken of, even to his sister. They had been a special reconnaissance team and spent a lot of time behind enemy lines. This guy that I knew as a cripple had earned a bronze star and a couple of other high honors on the field. At the funeral, these men had wonderful things to share about his bravery. I felt inadequate to say anything worthy of this man. He had gone to war because he was called. I had not because I was not called. He learned some things about himself that I can never find out about myself. I still feel a great deal of gratitude toward him and all the vets.

I travel a lot and when I see someone in uniform at an airport, I always try to thank them for service. It’s not much, but it’s way better than the reception Viet Nam era guys got. Veterans are among us and not distinguished by uniform, so these remarks are the best way I know to thank them.

Thank you veterans and God bless you. If I knew how to salute, I would salute you now.

"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."- George Orwell (or at least attributed to him)