Home missionaries embrace the challenge of taking the gospel to…

Those Who Cannot Hear

by Timothy York

One day, a young shoemaker-turned-preacher announced at a local minister’s meeting that God desired for the gospel to be spread to all nations, and that he was willing to go. We would expect the response to be a resounding amen or heartfelt prayer on behalf of the young missionary. Unfortunately, the announcement from young William Carey was met with, “Young man, sit down; when God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.”

Thankfully, Carey did not allow naysayers to squelch his spirit but formed “The Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Amongst the Heathen” and spent many years of his life as a missionary to India.

On May 30, 1792, in Nottingham, England, William Carey preached from Isaiah 54:2-3, “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.”

Carey told the audience that the tent of the gospel must be enlarged so all nations might have room under its canopy of safety. This sermon launched the modern missions movement that continues striving to “lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes.”

My wife Amanda and I are attempting to enlarge the tent of the gospel to make room for the Deaf. According to The Hands of Christ Deaf Ministry, 93% of all deaf Americans are completely unchurched. Although there are many factors that contribute to this sad statistic, the primary reason is the language barrier. Deaf Missions (www.deafmissions. org) states, “English is often a second language to deaf people, who therefore find it difficult to read a printed Bible or Sunday School lesson.

Deaf people want and need the Bible and other Christian teaching aids in their fi rst language. They need ministers and teachers who understand their language and culture.” Romans 10:14 says it best: “How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

My wife and I have been tasked with planting LifePoint FWB Deaf Church in Buffalo, New York, a part of Team Buffalo headed by Brian Williams. This will be a church where all preaching, praying, and singing will be administered in the preferred and natural language of the Deaf—American Sign Language. Our prayer is that God will call some deaf men to preach, so we can train them to pastor and send them out as missionaries to the Deaf.

Perhaps you would like to join us as we “lengthen the cords, and strengthen the stakes” for the deaf. Pray that God will tear down cultural barriers that exist between the hearing culture and the deaf culture. Pray that God will call some deaf men to preach, and that they will surrender to His call. Learn American Sign Language and begin a deaf ministry in your own church. Support the work of LifePoint FWB Church fi nancially through the Missions: North America offering.

About the Writer: Tim York and his wife Amanda are Home Missions church planters to Buffalo, New York. To learn more about LifePoint Church, visit www.homemissions.net.