‘Holy Hands’ digital creator Hayden Daum (’20) returns to Liberty to share his passion with students

Last year, Liberty University alumnus Hayden Daum (’20) felt a calling to reach the Deaf community for Christ. With only 2% of the Deaf population reached by the Gospel, Daum, a member of the Deaf community himself, created the ministry Holy Hands using his personal social media account to post videos interpreting popular worship songs in ASL. In just a year, he has amassed over 1 million combined followers on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and has had the opportunity to collaborate virtually with Christian music artists like Phil Wickham and Forrest Frank and film a music video with for King & Country.

On Tuesday, Liberty’s Office of Disability Accommodation Support hosted Daum for a meet-and-greet in the DeMoss Hall grand lobby, where he shared about his ministry and how God is using it to reach others.

The event drew many members of Liberty’s Deaf community along with hearing students, and it was moderated by senior Emma Chupp and interpreted by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services staff. Daum, using ASL, began by sharing his story of coming to Liberty and how God orchestrated his steps into his social media ministry. A Texas native born into a military family, Daum lived around the world growing up, including Dubai, where he attended high school.

Daum told Liberty News that he was born deaf, and it wasn’t something that “happened” to him later in life.

“It’s just how I’ve always experienced the world. There were definitely challenges, especially after I received my cochlear implant at age 9 and found myself in this in-between space,” he said. “I was able to step into both the hearing and Deaf worlds, but at times it felt like I wasn’t fully accepted in either. I could speak and function in hearing spaces, but then I also felt like I wasn’t ‘deaf enough’ in Deaf spaces, which honestly created a bit of an identity struggle for me growing up.”

Despite these tensions, Daum said they shaped who he is today.

“It gave me a deeper understanding of both worlds and a strong passion for bridging that gap. It’s also played a huge role in my faith and ministry, because I’ve seen how something that once felt confusing or isolating can be used by God in a powerful way to reach people who feel caught in between or overlooked.”

During his talk with students, Daum said he yearned to attend a Christ-centered university that offered both strong academics and uncompromising faith, so he enrolled at Liberty and graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in camp and outdoor adventure leadership. His degree led him to his current position as program director at Camp Gideon, a Christian camp in Georgia.

At Liberty, he said he found belonging not just in the Deaf community but through his role in student leadership, which pushed him out of his comfort zone and encouraged growth.

“Somebody approached me to become a prayer leader (on my hall), and I was struggling with prayer and with my relationship with God. But they encouraged me and supported me that I could do it,” Daum said.

Daum grew exponentially in his first year through being a prayer leader. But finding community with other deaf students together with hearing students was one of the sweetest parts of his time on campus.

“The community (at Liberty) is what I truly treasure the most; the classes are great, the education was awesome, but the Deaf community and the ASL community were just amazing. I loved it,” he said.

Daum emphasized that he never felt like he was being seen as a “project” at Liberty because he’s hard of hearing, but just as a normal person.

“Accessibility is so important, including being inclusive and not looking at the deaf people like a project,” he said. “We’re regular people, we’re humans, and that’s it. And if we feel you are looking at us as a project, we will feel that. We don’t want to be somebody that needs to be fixed; we want to be called out (into leadership). That’s what Liberty did for me — they called me out as a regular person. They didn’t care that I was deaf; they wanted me to be a prayer leader.”

While his education at Liberty helped him learn discipleship, especially while interacting with children and families in camp ministry, Liberty was instrumental in preparing him for his new venture, Holy Hands.

“Truly, I believe that I am here because of (being a prayer leader at Liberty). It started out just from there, and there was a lot of growth,” he said.

Daum initially used social media to post fitness videos but said he very quickly felt the urge to preach Jesus on his platforms.

“Why not talk about (Jesus), a person who saved my life and gave me eternal life? Only 2% of the Deaf community know who Jesus is. It’s such a burden, and I felt like I needed to do something about that.”

Daum said that even if he could reach one person with the Gospel through his platform, it would be worth it. But one follower quickly increased to hundreds, then thousands. His platforms skyrocketed within months, eventually reaching over 1 million followers, both deaf and hearing.

“This growth is not normal, especially in one year. It’s really thoughtful of how God has moved so fast; it’s been a blessing. I knew this was God’s plan and his perfect timing. Now, there are so many people who come to me and email me and send me letters. It’s really special.”

He said he hopes to continue collaborating with other artists, traveling as an ASL worship interpreter, and possibly use his degree to establish a camp for deaf individuals in the future. Ultimately, however, he emphasized that he is “living in obedience” to where God calls him.

A Q&A was held at the end for students to ask questions and share encouragement on how Daum has touched their lives through his videos. One hearing attendee noted how she watched him sign on social media and after learning from his videos about the need for the Deaf population to be reached with the Gospel, she was inspired to learn ASL and started classes in Liberty’s B.A. in American Sign Language & Interpreting.

Daum took time to take pictures and connect with students after the discussion, encouraging them to heed God’s calling on their lives while at Liberty.

“Step into something. It’s OK to be a follower, but start looking for what you can do for your community, for the Deaf community, and what you can do for Liberty,” he told them.