Convocation panel shines light on ministry to the Deaf community

Liberty University students were challenged to consider how they can include all people in ministry through a first-of-its-kind American Sign Language Panel Convocation on Wednesday morning.

The panel featured three popular figures from the Deaf community, including Brandon Gaskin, founder and executive director of Deaf Millennial Project ministry and pastor of a Deaf church in Texas; Janet Moreno, a content creator focusing on Deaf motherhood and whose book “The Shape of God’s Voice” was released this week; and Hayden Daum (’20), a Liberty alumnus and the creator of the Holy Hands social media ministry where he interprets worship songs in ASL.

The Convocation was held in cooperation with Liberty’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Office. The event opened with worship featuring ASL interpretation on stage by graduate student Emma Chupp, with panelists Gaskin and Daum joining the Liberty Worship Collective for the first song. Special seating was reserved in front of the stage for Deaf and hard of hearing students, faculty, and visitors from Lynchburg and the surrounding communities, with overflow in Section 107.

John Wyble, a Liberty student and pastor of Living Word Deaf Church in Forest, Va., introduced the panelists in a video message in ASL.

Vice President of Spiritual Development Josh Rutledge moderated the panel, asking questions about the guests’ personal salvation stories, challenges they’ve faced in Christian circles as members of the Deaf community, and their thoughts on what ministry that includes deaf and hard of hearing people can look like. He was joined by Bonni Brennan, director of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, who served as an interpreter for the guests. A group of six additional interpreters voiced for the panelists. 

“I pray and I believe that somebody is going to come to know Jesus because this Convocation happened today,” Rutledge said. “Even if it’s not in this room today, I believe that someone will come to know Jesus because somebody in here, through what they learn in this Convocation, is going to be inspired to understand what my brother (in Christ) Brandon (Gaskin) has shared with you this morning, which is the Great Commission is a call to go to all people, to speak in all languages, and that includes going to those in the Deaf community.”

The discussion focused on reaching the Deaf community, considered to be one of the largest unreached people groups in the world with an estimated 2% of the population reached with the Gospel. The panelists continually emphasized the importance of creating inclusive spaces for the deaf and hard of hearing within Christian ministry.

“Deaf people are made in the image of God,” Gaskin said. “We are not separate. Like we just said, we’re not less than, we’re not meant to be put in a corner. We want to be in ministry. … I can’t even tell you, when I get to experience something like this, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh I can’t wait for heaven.’”

“There were so many people around here starting to sign and starting to move their hands, and that just warms my heart,” Daum said about the opening worship time. “I saw people in the Deaf community but also some people in the audience as the cameraman was moving around, and it was just beautiful. That’s a great start.”

Daum has signed ASL for projects with several Christian recording artists, including Phil Wickham, Forrest Frank, and for King & Country.

The panelists also explained the differences between learning and using a visual language versus a spoken one and the importance of hearing the Word of God in one’s heart language. They referred to ASL as a “3D language” — because of the visual element — with its own grammar and syntax, and highlighted that while closed captions can be helpful, they still require a degree of translation for members of the Deaf community.

“There’s a disconnect,” Gaskin said. “If I’m stuck there with just closed captioning, I don’t get to be a part of worship. Here’s the deaf person, watching through an interpreter, but they don’t get to look to the stage. They don’t get to see everything that’s going on. They don’t get to be a part of this worship experience. They’re connected over here to the interpreter. So why don’t we change our frame to think about deaf people as being part of the main thing?”

In the afternoon, students were invited to a meet-and-greet with the panelists, hosted by ODAS. Attendees included members of Liberty’s Deaf community and students studying ASL, along with visitors from Lynchburg and the surrounding areas.

Brennan said part of the thought behind the unique Convocation setup was to allow students in the Deaf community the opportunity to experience the gathering the way it is usually experienced by hearing students.

“We wanted no Deaf people to have to use an interpreter today. We wanted the interpreters to be the experience of the hearing people,” she said. “Everybody who was deaf would look on that stage and see the questions in their language and see the answers in their language. That was groundbreaking — that the hearing people were using an interpreter today.”

“Already, the stories that people are walking up to me and sharing are incredible,” she added. “Who knows the impact that this is going to have on just hearing people alone, let alone what this is doing for our Deaf students.”