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A Special Deaf Ministry Leadership Meeting
Various leaders have met together at Deaf camp meetings and during committee meetings such as Deaf Ministries Committee and Adventist Deaf Ministries Board Meetings. But these meetings were for planning Deaf work. There has a been a need for Deaf ministry leaders to come together for a refreshing meeting todiscuss their needs and ideas.
Then, on August 7-10, 2008 history was made when, under the sponsorship of North American Division, Deaf ministry leaders from all over North America met together to share the blessed challenges of Deaf ministry. While some attendees were hearing, most were Deaf themselves. Some were pastors or interpreters, while many were lay workers who have a burden to share the Gospel message to Deaf people.
Each one participated by sharing their testimony of how they became Adventist Christians and involved in Deaf ministry. Then they also shared about what they are doing in their areas back home. In doing so, many ideas were exchanged on how to better share Christ. Some have been in this work for many years, and they showed pictures that revealed some history of the Deaf work. Others are quite new and their enthusiasm and ideas were contagious. After each leader gave his or her presentation, some one in the group prayed for that leader, their work, and the Deaf group back home. This was a time of refreshing for these leaders and an opportunity to come together as one. The theme of the event was on unity. We can not work separately from one another. We need to work with each other. By the end of this event, the group had become more unifi ed and
stronger. Deaf ministry is a very special ministry. American Sign Language is the fourth most commonly used language in North America. Over 2 million Deaf people live in North America and only 2 to 4% attend church of any denomination. The Adventist church has only an estimated 330 Deaf members. Deaf people can not be reached by typical evangelistic endeavors; therefore, they are often left in the dark.
Working to share the Gospel message with Deaf people is very challenging and painstakingly slow. Our few Deaf ministry leaders often do this work with little, if any support. We only have 2 full-time pastors for the Deaf at this time. Much of the work has been done by lay volunteers in their local areas. This Deaf Ministry Leadership Meeting was an extra special blessing in that these leaders were able to give and receive much needed support, prayers, and sharing of ideas.
