“It’s our desire to get resources into (Deaf) people’s hands, and then help them to get it into the hands and hearts of others,” explains DOOR President and CEO, Rob Myers.

International Week of the Deaf 2017

Every year in September, the International Week of the Deaf calls attention to the rights of 70 million Deaf people worldwide. Advocacy efforts include celebrating Deaf identity, raising awareness of Deaf culture among the hearing population, and providing a united Deaf perspective on core topics.

(Graphic courtesy DOOR International)

“Full Inclusion with Sign Language,” the 2017 theme of IWD, underscores the importance of sign languages. As explained here, it emphasizes, “full inclusion of deaf people is possible when sign language is recognized and used widely within the society.”

“Beyond the direct disability aspects that people often think of, deafness leads to a person being involved in a new language,” explains Myers.

“If you don’t have language, you don’t have information.”

This is largely why many Deaf people worldwide have no access to the Gospel. Less than ten percent of the world’s 350+ sign languages have any published Bible translation work.

Even if Scripture has been translated into a sign language, it doesn’t necessarily mean those Deaf believers have a way to fellowship and grow in Christ. Church planting and biblical leadership development are even rarer than translation efforts.

DOOR International: Deaf reaching Deaf for Christ

(Graphic courtesy DOOR International)

Roughly 68 million Deaf people – a whopping 98 percent of the total population — do not know Christ. Reaching them is the heartbeat of DOOR International.

“We focus on sign language Bible translation,” says Myers. “We also focus on training up local Deaf leaders to reach their own people for Christ through evangelism and church planting, and we call that program 2-by-2.”

As explained here, most Deaf people need to see God’s Word in sign language instead of reading it on a page. Sign language Scripture introduced Jay to Christ.

“For the first time, he really understood the essence of the Gospel because it was coming to him in his heart language,” shares Myers.

Prior to that, Jay was stuck in a world of vague monotony. Jay’s father was the pastor of a local church, so weekly Bible studies and Sunday services were the norm. However, it was a routine without meaning for Jay. No one around him – not even his own parents – knew sign language.

“He would sit and watch his father preach, watch people singing, but he had no idea what was going on…all that he could do while he was in church [was] sit and draw.”

Everything changed when a DOOR missionary invited Jay to a Deaf-led church.

“He saw the same type of service, but everything was in sign language. People were worshipping the Lord in sign language, they were sharing Bible stories in sign language; communication was giving people full access to all of the information.”

On the International Week of the Deaf, you can help unreached Deaf like Jay gain access to the Gospel. Click here to take action!

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

“We’re excited that 1.9 million Deaf people in Nigeria will have access to this significant portion of Scripture; first-time access for many of them,” says Rob Myers, DOOR President and CEO.

There are approximately 70 million Deaf people worldwide, according to World Federation of the Deaf. Less than two percent of them know Christ, making the Deaf one of the world’s largest unreached and unengaged people groups.

To remedy this, DOOR began outreach work in strategic “launching pads”. Identifying these regions allows them to reach Deaf people on a broad scale.

“In terms of reaching a community, Nigeria is an amazingly strategic place to start,” explains Myers.

“There are 1.9 million Deaf people in Nigeria…that’s a little under three percent of the global Deaf population.”

Nigeria is also strategic because if Deaf ministry takes hold there, it can easily spread to other countries in West Africa.

Getting God’s Word into Nigerian Sign Language

DOOR began translating God’s Word into Nigerian Sign Language back in 2013. At that time, there were no Scripture resources available in NSL. Working together with local believers and the Bible Society of Nigeria, they recruited and trained a Deaf translation team and three teams of Deaf church planters.

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

“The translation team has been working for the last four years, and this September they are publishing a significant portion of Scripture,” says Myers. “We’re going to be holding a celebration on our campus in Nairobi, Kenya.”

An in-country celebration will be held later in the month, he adds, through a partnership with the Bible Society of Nigeria, Deaf Bible Society, and local churches. Then, DOOR’s Deaf church planting teams begin “follow up” work — going out into Deaf communities, sharing more about the biblical accounts, and training Deaf leaders.

“We do that in partnership with Deaf Bible Society, who does an amazing job publishing and distributing the work that the translation team does,” Myers explains.

“They provide the technology that allows our church planting teams to go out into the field and bring that published Scripture into the hands of Deaf communities throughout Nigeria.”

What’s next?

Finishing the CBT is certainly a major milestone, but the journey isn’t over yet.

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

“Deaf populations who’ve never had access to the Gospel for thousands of years are now beginning to have that access…. The enemy doesn’t like when people begin to surrender and begin to give their life to Christ, so pray that those strongholds would be broken,” asks Myers.

“Pray for God to break down barriers and strongholds that would prevent His Word, His message, and His people from being able to reach the Deaf in Nigeria.”

Moreover, DOOR’s Deaf church planters need help covering the basic costs of ministry (transportation, food, etc.) You can help meet critical needs for as little as $21. Go here to help Deaf church planters in Nigeria.

FOBAI is a coalition of groups involved in Bible translation that pools resources and ideas. For only the second time in its 25-year history, a Deaf believer led one of FOBAI’s plenary sessions. Read about the first FOBAI encounter here.

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

“Several people in the audience said it was the best presentation out of the entire forum,” says DOOR International President Rob Myers.

“I was so encouraged to see Deaf leaders taking their place in the realm of Bible translation.”

Tesfaye Moges, one of DOOR’s Deaf consultants-in-training, led a session on the visual context of Scripture. He signed the following in a recent update sent to DOOR:

“I am thankful to God for this opportunity to explain…about the visual context of the Bible, and how that connects to Deaf translation work. As I made the presentation, I noticed that one of the interpreters was actually sobbing! She later told me how much the presentation affected her, and how she felt that now was God’s timing for the Deaf to get His Word.

“One person stood up during the end of the presentation and said how clear and eye-opening it had been. It had inspired and informed him at the same time. As we broke from the plenary session, many people – both Deaf and hearing – came up and told me how much my presentation had affected them.”

“I am so thankful for the training I am getting. It’s opening opportunities for me to serve God, to train and equip others, and to grow. At FOBAI, I also learned what is happening across the world for sign language Bible translation. It’s very exciting to see what God is doing. Please pray for this work.”

Moges’s presentation was inspirational in more ways than one. Neighbors in Ethiopia previously knew him as “the one not even God could save.”

From ruffian to DOOR leader

According to Myers, the DOOR leader who captivated people at this year’s FOBAI summit has a dark past.

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

“He was feared in the Ethiopian Deaf community, and he was known as someone you needed to stay away from,” shares Myers.

“He first got involved in Bible translation, not because he was interested in the translation itself, but because it gave him the opportunity to travel. And then, all of a sudden, he encountered the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.”

Moges had no idea what that crucifixion actually meant. However, his heart began to change as he and his teammates began translating the account into Ethiopian Sign Language. For the very first time, Moges received details in his heart language about the price Christ paid for humanity.

“In light of that amazing sacrifice, Tesfaye couldn’t do anything but surrender his life to his amazing Savior…and his life radically changed.”

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

Visit DOOR’s blog to read Tesfaye’s full testimony.

“I’m encouraged just even knowing Tesfaye’s story because it reassures me that no one is too far for the Gospel…and the Gospel is for everyone,” says Myers.

“It’s for the Deaf, it’s for the hearing. It’s for people who are far off from God, or the people who think they are close to God.”

For 98 percent of the world’s 70 million Deaf people, Christ is not a prophet or a teacher. He is a complete stranger because they have not seen the Gospel in their heart sign language.

Partner with DOOR International here to change that statistic.

(Photo courtesy of Finishing the Task)

“The idea of finishing the task – that’s not just a function for pastors or a function for the church in general,” observes Rob Myers, President and CEO of DOOR International.

“The Great Commission is a call that God has on every single one of our lives.”

The needs of 1,386 unreached and unengaged people groups were presented to ministry and church leaders from across the U.S. Speakers Rick Warren and Francis Chan encouraged believers at Finishing the Task 2016 to focus their efforts on what matters the most: making disciples of all the nations.

This video presents the vision of the Finishing the Task movement.

Finishing the Task 2016

As explained here, “Finishing the Task (FTT) is an association of mission agencies and churches who want to see reproducing churches planted among every people group in the world.”

Myers addresses the crowd at Finishing the Task 2016.
(Photo courtesy of DOOR)

Each year at the Finishing the Task Conference, church and ministry leaders gather to celebrate progress, identify remaining needs, and commit resources to reaching the unreached.  Following the 2015 conference, 138 unreached and unengaged people groups received new attention and resources.

“If I could relive my life, I would’ve spent a lot more time focusing on this,” said Francis Chan.

See the complete list of unreached and unengaged people groups.

“Among the groups on that list, between 10- and 15 percent are Deaf groups,” says Myers. “Deaf communities around the world that are unreached are part of the ‘final frontier’ of the Great Commission.”

There are 70 million Deaf people worldwide, and less than two percent of them know Jesus as their Savior. As the world’s largest Deaf-led ministry, DOOR International exists to equip and empower Deaf believers to reach their own people for Christ.

“We are so excited to see God moving among Deaf communities around the world. God is raising up Deaf leaders, and God is raising up Deaf ministries. DOOR International is one of those ministries, and we also have several partner organizations that we work with.”

Through workshops and hands-on breakout sessions, Myers taught conference attendees the importance of “best practices” in Deaf ministry. Church and ministry leaders also learned how to equip Deaf leaders and engage in Deaf-to-Deaf church planting.

“DOOR’s heart is Deaf-to-Deaf church planting, so while it’s hearing churches and hearing pastors and I, as a hearing person [at this conference], God uses us as advocates for the Deaf community,” says Myers.

“Deaf leaders need to be the ones doing this work. Our goal is to help churches understand how…if they want to see Deaf ministry happening, that they have Deaf leaders they’re encouraging to reach their own communities for Christ.”

What it all means for you

Partnering with DOOR International doesn’t mean you have to learn sign language. Myers shares three ways every believer can help reach the Deaf for Christ.

PRAY

“God called each one of us to pray for workers to be raised up in the harvest, and that is a big need in the Deaf community. Pray for those needs and pray that God brings the resources.

Find more prayer needs here.

GIVE

(Photo courtesy of DOOR International)

“Sometimes, we have people in the field who are ready to be trained, they’re ready to reach their own people but they’re simply waiting on funding. It only takes $21 to sponsor a church planter through DOOR International for a day.

“We would love to see people come alongside our ministry and begin supporting and helping to see local Deaf people trained to reach their own people.”

Support DOOR’s work and help bring the hope of Christ to the Deaf.

SHARE

Finally, “God may be calling you to be an advocate for the Deaf community. You can begin to advocate by getting more information,” Myers shares.

Learn more about Deaf culture and the common misunderstandings surrounding the Deaf community. Then, “begin bringing that awareness to other people in your church, and encouraging them to partner, to be engaged with Deaf ministries.”

See what happens when Deaf people receive the Good News of the Gospel in their heart sign language.

(Graphic credit Deaf Bible)

International (MNN) — We’re wrapping up our mini-series about reaching the deaf for Christ. Back in April, Faith Comes by Hearing and Deaf Bible created the Deaf Bible mobile app and Deaf Bible Web site. These ministries also collaborate with Deaf Opportunity OutReach, or DOOR.

Today, DOOR CEO Rob Myers lists three ways you can help mission groups who are reaching the deaf for Christ.

Pray

As with any missionary endeavor, prayer is essential and takes top priority.

“Continue to pray. This is a huge work among a huge people group, and we need prayers,” says Myers. He says less than 25% of the world’s 400 sign languages have started any type of sign language Scripture projects.

“Out of 72 million deaf people around the world, only about half-percent of them have ever [been introduced to] the Gospel. Over 50% of them are completely illiterate, [and] there is no completed Bible in a sign language yet.”

Share

(Photo credit Deaf Bible)

A second way you can take part in reaching the deaf for Christ is by sharing resources with hearing-impaired people in your social circles.

“If you have a deaf relative or someone that you know who is deaf, there are currently resources available for them through the mobile app, Deaf Bible,” Myers explains.

You can also access a number of Deaf Bible translations and resources at the Deaf Bible Web site or DOOR’s Web site: http://deafbibles.com/.

“Many [deaf communities] have misunderstandings of what Scripture is about,” says Myers. “Access to a sign language Bible gives them a tool for understanding deeply the message of the Gospel.”

Give

“A third thing they can do is support Bible translation organizations who do this type of work,” adds Myers.

“Our heart is to see lives transformed, and we found in our work that transformation can’t happen without access to God’s Word.”

(Photo cred: Deaf Bible)

By financially supporting ministries mentioned in our series: DOOR, Deaf Bible, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Wycliffe Associates, and The Seed Company, you’re making it possible for believers worldwide to reach the deaf for Christ.

“When a [deaf] person finally comes to understand that God has a plan for them, that God has gifted them in certain ways, and that they can contribute to His Kingdom–when you see their eyes light up and they begin to see their value, that transformation is amazing to watch,” notes Myers.

Read Part One and Part Two of our mini-series, Reaching the Deaf for Christ.

Can you tell which people group Bruce Smith of Wycliffe Associates is referring to?

It's the deaf community. And so far, the entire Bible has not been translated into even one of the hundreds of sign languages around the world. Smith said, "With over 200 sign languages in the world, there's only one sign language … in all of history … that's American Sign Language, that actually has the New Testament in video translation. So this is a daunting task."

But Wycliffe Associates knows they need to start somewhere to maintain their commitment to see Scripture in every language around the globe.

Smith said it's a common misconception that since the deaf can see, they can read and therefore they only need a written translation of the Bible. However, the rate of illiteracy in the deaf community is even higher than among the hearing: "Printed English worlds that we would read hear in America have no relationship whatsoever to the sign that American Sign Languages use. They are separate languages. So we need to get out of the mode that what they're doing is just representing the words that we read on a page," Smith said.

That's why Wycliffe Associates is creating video translations for various sign languages around the world. To get started, they're working with a powerful ally: "The great news is that we're working with a partner that's very experienced in this area. They're called Deaf Opportunity OutReach International," Smith said.

Currently, the two organizations are working on completing DOOR's international headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as beginning a specific translation project in San Jose, Costa Rica, with plans for more throughout Latin America.

Since there is little previous work is this field, Smith anticipates this work to take at least a decade. To expedite the process, Wycliffe Associates needs volunteers with job, technical and life skills to aid in many of the tasks that come with translation. The more volunteers they have, the more the translators can focus on simply translating each language.

Want to volunteer? Click here to learn about the skill sets needed to help Wycliffe Associates. The link will also provide more information about the ministry of Wycliffe Associates and other projects they are involved in.