Topography of Faith

We have heard many times about the importance of sharing the gospel with other people (a.k.a. evangelism), but there is one problem: we are scared of it. Most of us are intimidated by the concept of going to strangers and sharing with them about Jesus. I have never been particularly passionate about evangelism or mission work in the past, but things have changed a bit with my perspectives on missions and evangelism since I started seminary.


I ran across a fascinating interactive map posted by Jonathan McKee in his blog today that shows various religious affiliations for people in a given state based on the 2008 Pew Research survey. While looking at this map, I started to think about the mission field of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. Many statistical studies has been done by the Gallaudet Research Institute on various issues related to deafness or hearing impairment, but as far as I know, there has been no official research done that outlines religious affiliations of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in the United States by either Gallaudet or any other organizations (please leave a comment if you are aware of any out there). There is a statistical figure that Deaf ministry leaders will use to drive the point home about the immense need for evangelistic work among Deaf and Hard of Hearing people ("Only 2% of all Deaf and Hard of Hearing people know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord"). But the problem with this data is that it is based on speculation and has never been verified through official statistical studies (is this even possible to find out about this in quantitative measures?).

Now, suppose that this statistical figure was true, this is a serious matter that churches must address. We cannot allow this to perpetuate because there are many people dying without knowing about Jesus. What must we as Deaf Christians begin to do or change in order to become better at sharing the gospel message to Deaf and Hard of Hearing people groups not only in U.S. but also in other countries? How can we faithfully fulfill the Matthew 28 mandate that Jesus gave us in the coming decades?

CLICK TO VIEW THE INTERACTIVE MAP