Our name has changed, but the need remains the same.

Jesus loves me, this I know
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong –
they are weak, but He is strong.

Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915)

Generations of mothers, fathers, babysitters and other caretakers have sung or hummed this song while rocking a small child. Many of us keep it in our ‘top ten’ list of resources by which we comfort ourselves in times of distress or defeat.

What if you had never heard it? What if your child cannot hear you sing it? If you’re among the millions of deaf people, or if you are the parent of a deaf or hard of hearing child, you don’t have to reach into your imagination to answer that question.

In the early 1990’s, Marshall and Terry Lawrence were faced with the reality of a deaf child and painfully few resources to tell her this simple truth: Jesus Loves You. Thus began Deaf Kids Connect (once known as Silent Blessings Deaf Ministries), a group of dedicated people creating resources to reach deaf children with the love of Jesus in American Sign Language (ASL), most of whom are born to hearing families.

Many well meaning people over the decades have made honest attempts at communicating the gospel, most by signing messages delivered in a hearing church. Their desire is to deliver the message in an accessible way, but the result is too often hand-babble and a helper paradigm that leaves deaf people confused and feeling ‘less than’. An interpreted church service, if there’s no fellowship with the rest of the body of believers, leaves a deaf person feeling as welcome as an eleventh toe. This is why the percentage of Deaf Americans having a growing relationship with Jesus Christ is in the single digits.

Progress in technology has made it possible to produce and distribute materials from deaf people for deaf people, communicating ideas in their language (ASL and others) and culture (Deaf/Visual). Several ministries, such as Deaf Missions, DOOR, and more have been presenting the gospel, Bible translations, sermons, and other materials to support adults here and around the world in their Christian walk. But those are adults, and they can seek out resources for themselves and/or learn of them through other adult friends. Children don’t have the same access, relying on what parents & mentors provide.

Since the early 2000’s, thanks to Deaf Kids Connect (formerly Silent Blessings) and their collaborative partnerships, the pool of resources for deaf children has grown exponentially.  The initial hunt for material yielded less than 2 hours of video; now there’s over 34 hours of video available, and feedback of a world-wide impact. Their flagship has been Dr. Wonder’s Workshop, a weekly TV show with per-episode themes presented in ASL with voice-overs and captioning. Deaf and hearing siblings can all enjoy and benefit from watching, and it can be engaging for adults, too. Although the 5th and final season was released

A favorite testimony is of a girl who appreciated having her mom sign during family prayer time, at least she could know what others were telling Jesus. She watched one of the children’s videos and saw a boy praying in American Sign Language. Discovering that she could talk to Jesus herself,  in her language, changed her life dramatically.  Her mother wrote that she began participating in family prayer time, as much more than an outside observer. She’s developing her own relationship with Jesus, which is what each of us must do.

Jesus loves me, and Jesus knows my language.  This is the missionary message, and the message that Deaf Kids Connect seeks to deliver to children all over the US, and perhaps the world.

You can help. You can pray, raise awareness within your church and community, seek out resources and make them available in your church or personal library (or community library), extend your welcome to deaf people in your community, and of course, you can donate funds toward connecting families to Christ. See the website, www.DeafKidsConnect.com, for more information.

Jesus loves me, He who died
Heaven’s gates to open wide.
He will wash away my sins,
let His little child come in.

“Suffer the little children to come unto Me … for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.” –Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16