Pray for Oklahoma Baptists who are serving the culturally Deaf in our state, our country and around the world. An estimated 72 million culturally Deaf people have almost no access to God’s Word in their heart language, and few of them have ever been exposed to the Gospel.
Culturally Deaf people are those who were born into the Deaf community or a Deaf family and whose first language—their heart language—is a signed language. Most of them are physically deaf as well. Some were born deaf or became deaf at a very young age. They are different from individuals who lived their lives hearing and became deaf or hearing impaired later in life.
Ninety-eight percent of the Deaf do not know Jesus, making them one of the least-reached people groups in the world. Often ignored and oppressed, the Deaf are some of the least evangelized people on earth. The church must begin by understanding Deaf culture to reach them with the Gospel.
The culturally Deaf can be found in every country in the world. There are 300 different sign languages. Many are connected by similarities called sign roots—common facial expressions, body movements, and hand signs. International Mission Board missionaries are using sign roots to translate 300 Bible stories into the sign languages of Chinese, Senegalese, Thai, Romanian, Czech, Indonesian, Hungarian, Turkish, American and Mexican.
Oklahoma Baptists are working to reach the Deaf both at home and abroad. Some serve on college campuses; some are planting Deaf churches, and some are serving in compassion ministries. Gifts to the Cooperative Program help to support their efforts.
Pray God will help the Church reach this global population of 71,844,450 people who need to know about the love and sacrifice of Jesus. Pray each one will want to know the God Who loves them and that missionaries to the Deaf will have the resources they need to reach them. Pray missionaries will know how to contextualize their ministry to the Deaf in their area. Pray also that those ministering to Deaf young people will know how to best reach them.
Because of the generous giving of Oklahoma Baptists through the Cooperative Program, an amazing array of ministries are supported. This unified giving encourages fellowship with other believers all over the world. Collectively, Oklahoma Baptists are advancing the gospel together.
Missionaries to the Deaf are featured in the 2023 Missionary Prayer Guide for Oklahoma Baptists. For more information about the Cooperative Program, visit oklahomabaptists.org/cp.
