Recently, I received a call from our team members attending the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Conference. I couldn’t attend this year because I was still recovering from surgery following my mini stroke, which was disappointing because this year was especially important. We were showing scenes from our newest iBIBLE animation.
One of our team members called and said:
“Steve, a woman came to the booth and watched one of the new scenes. She just stood there and cried. Then she brought her husband over. Then she started bringing other people over. They’re all excited and they want to talk with you.”
A few minutes later they connected me through Zoom and introduced me to several people gathered around our display. They shared their excitement about what they had just watched, but there is one important detail I haven’t told you yet.
Every one of them, except their interpreters, was deaf.
Deaf people gather to watch a scene from Luke Chapter 1 where the characters sign.
The woman who had been crying was deaf. Her husband was deaf. The others she kept bringing back to the booth were deaf. And the scene they had just watched was from Luke Chapter 1, where the virgin Mary was signing.
The woman who had been crying said, “Finally, no more signers in the corner!”
That simple statement captured exactly why this project matters. For years, deaf people have watched Christian films and videos with an interpreter standing off to the side of the screen. While those efforts are valuable, viewers must still divide their attention between the story and the interpretation. What these men and women had just experienced was something different.
For the first time, they were watching an animated iBIBLE episode where the character was signing. The virgin Mary was speaking their language. And naturally, the last question they asked was, “When can we watch more?”
The woman who had been crying said, “Finally, no more signers in the corner!”
The deaf community is often referred to as the largest unreached people group in the world. Officially, there are at least 70 million deaf people worldwide, and only about 2% are considered reached with the Gospel.
But as I have spent time with deaf pastors, ministry leaders, and believers over the last several years, I have come to believe something else.
The deaf community may not only be the largest unreached people group in the world. They may also be one of the most forgotten.
Not forgotten by God, but often forgotten by the rest of us.
Years ago, deaf leaders asked me a simple question: “Can you make the characters themselves sign?” At the time, I didn’t think it was possible. And at that time, it probably wasn’t. But today, I can finally answer that question. YES, we can have the characters sign!
You can imagine how much joy I am experiencing at being able to finally meet their need. And that joy doesn’t compare with the joy being experienced by our deaf ministry partners.
Click the image to see the virgin Mary signing in a scene from the Gospel of Luke.
Two months ago I shared a sample iBIBLE scene in American Sign Language (ASL) and announced that a ministry partner had committed a $100,000 matching gift to help us complete our pilot episode. Because of that gift, we immediately moved into production.
The scene you can watch by clicking the image above is the very same scene that moved the woman at our SBC display to tears.
It is still a prototype, but it represents something that has never been done before in an animated Bible film. For the first time, we are creating iBIBLE episodes where the characters themselves communicate through sign language.
Even more exciting, these first episodes will allow us to expand into additional sign languages in the future. There are more than 350 sign languages used around the world, creating an opportunity to bring the Gospel to millions of deaf people in a language they understand.
The Gospel of Luke in ASL will be the first animated Biblical content created in sign language.
Today, we are already more than halfway toward matching the initial $100,000 gift, and I am praying we can complete the match and finish funding this first iBIBLE signing episode based on Luke Chapter 1.
Would you prayerfully consider helping us?
God has opened an incredible door, and I truly believe we have an opportunity to serve a community that has too often been overlooked.
Even if you cannot give at this time, I would deeply appreciate your prayers. Pray for our production and technology team, the deaf leaders guiding this project, and the millions of deaf people we hope to reach with the Gospel.
And if you know someone who is deaf, please share this sample scene with them. I would love their feedback. You can also share your thoughts by simply replying to this email.
Together, we can help reach the largest unreached, and often forgotten, people group in the world.
RevelationMedia is excited to be working on the first ever American Sign Language animation of the entire Gospel of Luke! You can help us produce the first chapter by donating below. Once completed, these scenes can be easily reanimated into the more than 350 sign languages worldwide, allowing deaf people to experience the Gospel in their native languages. Click the link below to be one of the first people to watch a sample of these groundbreaking signing episodes and reach the unreached today!
