Hebrews 10:23-24 -- The Power of Fellowship

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching." -Hebrews 10:23-25

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." -Matthew 18:20


Aristotle once said that because the Deaf have no logic or reason, they would never be saved because they could not hear the word of God. Yet, there are ministries all over the world who consists of Deaf believers spreading the word of God, using sign language. There is nothing too wonderful for God or impossible for Him. By His power, the blind can see and the deaf can hear (figuratively speaking).

When my parents got married, they had discussed having children. My mother wanted a daughter and my father wanted a son. After three years, they finally had a baby daughter, followed by another daughter two years later. Finally, late September of 1986, my father got his wish. I was born. A couple years went by and they discovered I was deaf. My mother took the news worse than my father. She felt because I'm deaf, she couldn't teach me that Jesus loves me and he died for me. But years went by and she learned and mastered the language of the Deaf; American Sign Language. Through ASL, she was able to show me the word of God and what it meant. Ever since then, her dream was to minister to the Deaf who have no knowledge about God. But all attempts at setting up a deaf ministry in Waco have crashed and burned. Every year, we have a Deaf VBS for children who are deaf or have deaf parents. But each year, the number of kids become smaller. Several years ago, we worked with a Deaf pastor from Fort Worth. He would come to Waco every Sunday night and have a bible study in ASL. After a while, it just fizzled out. One ministry still stands today at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church and has been around long before I existed. The one important thing missing from this ministry is the young people. So several of my friends and I got together and tried to start a bible study, and we only managed to have a few meetings before that too fizzled out. So all that's left is Sunday school for the Deaf at CABC.

So my mother set up a potluck just last Sunday with a purpose of setting up a ministry that is led by the Deaf. The discussion we had was well-intentioned and in-depth, but it still left my mother with an unsatisfied feeling; and I felt the same way. I've always been a passive person and never expressed myself in front of people as well as I would like to. So that's the reason why I've decided to express my thoughts on here, which is something I'm starting to become good at. All thoughts and comments are welcome and will not be rejected.

Here's a summary of what happened at the potluck, from my perspective. (Names of participants are excluded.)

One person opened the discussion by explaining the purpose of the Deaf ministry. The purpose is to gather people, both Deaf and hearing, to become like a second family. While the hearing people can be a part of it, it was strongly suggested that the Deaf have leadership in this ministry, because they are role models in their community. This doesn't mean hearing people can't be involved, but they just can't have too much control in how the ministry is run. In my experience with the attempts of setting up a Deaf ministry in Waco, hearing people who are involved tend to take over and the Deaf felt smothered and looked down upon. So this time around, we want to have Deaf leaders, whose primary purpose is to reach out to the Deaf community. Deaf people look up to their Deaf elders; they listen to them. The goal was to enpower the Deaf to lead the ministry, while hearing people can assist in whatever way they can. It was argued that the Deaf already has the power and to say we, the hearing people, want to enpower them implies that we have the power originally and we're giving it to them. That was not the case the first person was trying to make. Of course the Deaf has the power. They just don't know what to do with it, how to use it. Those who were involved in other ministries have that experience and that is one way they can help the Deaf ministry; to show the Deaf how to lead. That's all.

One important way of knowing how a ministry is successful is not by the number of people, but how close they are to each other. God encourages all Christians to have fellowship with one another. Like it says in Matthew, when two or more people gather in God's name, His presence is known. A ministry has to have the feeling of a family, a closeness where each person can feel free to express themselves. A Life group is a group of people who meet at a person's house, which gives the feeling of comfort rather than the feeling of being in church. Topics discussed in the Life group doesn't neccessarily have to be about God, but about ourselves. Such topics could cover so many things; such as addiction, problems at work, financial trouble, depression, controversion regarding to sex, orientation, race; and so many other things. Positive things are included with those topics; testimonies, praying, praising, meditating, contemplation, etc. Voices may be raised, tempers flared, tears shed, and friendships tested; but in the end, we learn about each other. The more we learn about each other, the closer we become. The closer we become as a spiritual family, the closer we become with God. That's what we need in this ministry, the ability to have closeness with God and with ourselves.

Later after the potluck, I had thought about what took place earlier. I discussed with my mother my thoughts about what happened and some suggestions on how we can proceed. My suggestions were to start basic. Make an event that revolves around an activity; such as a park where we can play frisbee golf or flag football or whatever. Previously, those who are involved in the ministry can meet and discuss what to do. Such things would be striking up a conversation with someone and try to get them to express themselves about something, like work or school. Then we give them a positive perspective on that and try to get the person involved in a discussion. This one-on-one approach is ideal for creating an enviroment where they don't feel they're being watched or criticized. Then later, we can involve more people in the discussion and hope it leads to one big group of people just expressing their ideas. One thing I've observed in the Deaf community, people tend to talk one person. Then another person joins the conversation then another one. Eventually, we're all sitting around in a big circle, telling jokes, complaining about school, discussing relationships, and things of that nature. That's the type of enviroment I would like to develop in this ministry. It may require a lot of time but it's something I think would be worth it.

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome here. If you've been involved in a deaf ministry, or are now, feel free to share your ideas and experiences.

Blessings upon you all this week.