Reach the Deaf

The hymn “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” contains this verse:

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.

Charles Wesley, the author of the hymn, may have had this passage in the Bible in mind when he wrote it.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
Isaiah 35:5-6

This describes what will happen when Jesus Christ begins his reign on earth.  All of the physical defects we now suffer from will be eliminated.  There will be no deaf people; everyone will have perfect hearing.

But we are not yet living in the age when deafness has been eliminated.  There are many people who are deaf and they need to hear the gospel just as hearing people do.  Here is a Christian organization that provides help for those who want to preach the gospel to the deaf.

Reach the Deaf

Equipping, Encouraging and Engaging Christian Leaders to Reach the Deaf.

At ReachTheDeaf.com, we aim to equip, encourage and engage Christian leaders with the resources they need as they establish and grow local church Deaf ministries.

We started after a fishing trip between two old college roommates who were both involved in Deaf Ministry. We (Joseph and Cody) talked about our frustration about how limited the resources were for people like us who were trying to “figure out” Deaf Ministry. After complaining to one another for a while, we decided to do something about it! Out on that Florida lake, in a 14 foot Jon Boat, we started brainstorming about what would become ReachTheDeaf.com. After a great deal of research and planning, we started ReachTheDeaf.com later that year to reach out to people serving in Deaf Ministries all over the world!

The site includes a presentation of the gospel message in sign language.

http://reachthedeaf.com/gospel/

There are articles that give helpful advice for those who work with deaf people.  There is even one on how to minister to someone who is blind as well as deaf.

http://reachthedeaf.com/category/article/

There is a list of resources to help those who work with deaf people.

http://reachthedeaf.com/category/resource/

They even offer a free course in basic sign language.

http://reachthedeaf.com/sign-language-lessons/

Anyone who is interested in reaching deaf people with the gospel will find this site helpful.