When God gives you a big vision, His provision will match the vision. And on June 20, we saw proof!
With dialogue and action completely in American Sign Language, JESUS: a Deaf Missions film provides unprecedented access to the story of Jesus for Deaf people, who can fully immerse themselves in the story. While hearing family and friends will also enjoy the movie, this film is for Deaf by Deaf.
On two dates, June 20 and 23, JESUS: a Deaf Missions film premiered in hundreds of theaters. Audiences showed up to the movie, and now its run time has extended to additional dates and theaters. Needless to say, we are extremely excited about what lies ahead.
Looking back, it was fun witnessing this Deaf-led project come to fruition. One of my favorite things was watching all of the talent God brought together. Not only were the cast and crew skilled in their craft, there was incredible unity among the team. It brought me such joy to see everyone stepping into their giftedness, each bringing something unique and special to the production. It’s a beautiful picture of the body of Christ in action.
Often, in the church and the workplace, Deaf people are with hearing people, compromising to fit into the hearing mold. But in this film production, when hearing people joined the team, the roles were reversed. The hearing people were working within a Deaf framework, and they were the ones who had to fit into Deaf culture. It was a learning curve for them, and it was fun to watch them come up with creative solutions.
One example was working with the team in Bulgaria, where some of the movie was filmed. Saying “cut” at the end of a scene is not the norm on a Deaf set, but the hearing crew was relying on that word, so they made a pillow with the word “cut” on it. Instead of saying the word, the pillow was thrown into the scene when we needed to “cut.”
It was fun to see the collaboration and creativity so that everyone functioned successfully together with a Deaf-led team.
Backing up even further, you might be wondering: why make a film about Jesus in American Sign Language (ASL)? It has often been stated that 98% of Deaf people worldwide do not know Jesus. Let that sink in. Deaf people are among the least-reached people groups in the world.
A primary reason for the large number of unreached Deaf people is a lack of resources in their heart language: sign language. It’s hard to encounter Jesus as Savior when the perception is that He does not communicate in your language.
Because English is often the second language for Deaf people in the United States, reading a printed Bible can be challenging and frustrating. That’s why Deaf Missions created the ASLV Bible (American Sign Language Version) and it’s why we produced JESUS—with the generous gifts of friends of our ministry, including the wonderful support of our friends at Jesus Film Project and Cru.
More than 50 years into Deaf Missions, we keep our focus narrow:
- We create epic video content in sign language with the vision to clearly communicate the Gospel to Deaf people worldwide.
- We support the development of Gospel communities.
- We equip Deaf leaders by providing access to resources in their heart language.
We see JESUS: a Deaf Missions film as a catalyst to start a movement of evangelism and discipleship in the international Deaf community. Through this film, access to Jesus will be more prevalent for Deaf people.
Once the movie is out of theaters, churches can sign up to show the film through the Faith Content Network. There is no cost to the church, but tickets are required and provided through FCN.
As evidenced on the Day of Pentecost, God’s story is unstoppable when it is in the heart language of a people group. JESUS: a Deaf Missions film uses native signers to bring the story of Jesus to life from a Deaf perspective for a Deaf audience. Deaf people will encounter the love and teachings of Jesus on a deeper level in their heart language.
While this film was produced to be shown in movie theaters, it has also been created for long-term impact. Our prayer is that JESUS: a Deaf Missions film will ignite a movement in the Deaf community to reach the unreached.
We hope you will support JESUS: a Deaf Missions film while it’s in theaters. Invite a friend (Deaf or hearing), encourage your small group to go together, and share about it on social media. You can find your nearest theater here. And you can learn more about the movie on our website. We’ll see you at the movies!
