By Tammy Nischan
Todd Stinson, Deaf Pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., is passionate about helping change a sad statistic. Of the estimated 70 million people in the world who are Deaf* (according to the World Federation of the Deaf), only about 2 percent have been reached with the gospel.
Door International, an organization whose tagline is “Deaf Reaching Deaf for Christ,” contends the Deaf population is “the largest unreached people group in the world” (doorinternational.org/statistics). Todd, who was born Deaf, attended the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Mass., outside of Boston, while growing up. He studied and learned oral speech there. This educational experience equipped him to communicate in a primarily non-Deaf world. He also participated in public school sports as a member of his high school basketball team.
Reflecting on his spiritual journey, however, Todd remembers the not-so-easy path to accepting Jesus as his Savior.
STEPS TOWARD FAITH
He recalls a cross that hung on the wall of his great-grandmother’s house. Todd always wondered about this cross, especially because no one in his family discussed this wall hanging. He also recalls attending church services with his grandparents, but he wasn’t able to catch every word of the preacher, who moved back and forth across the stage as he spoke.
When Todd started at the University of Louisville, he met several fellow Deaf students who invited him to join a Deaf club near the Belknap campus. Seeing a room full of people using American Sign Language overwhelmed and shocked Todd. Suddenly, he did not feel alone in the world. However, Todd had learned to communicate by reading lips and using his voice, so he found himself caught between two worlds. He slowly learned sign language through immersion in the Deaf college community.
Todd remembers playing golf one day with the college’s Deaf pastor whom he described as patient, loving, and caring. While they were together, Todd asked the pastor about the sad man hanging on the cross in his great-grandmother’s home; that’s when he heard the gospel message for the first time. Todd felt overwhelmed again, but this time it was with the love, grace, and hope Jesus longed to offer him.
On Oct. 3, 2002, Todd gave his life to Christ and was baptized. Sadly, he fell away because there was no peer support for the Deaf in the church he attended. A long battle with addiction ensued before he again crossed paths with the Deaf pastor from his college years.
Todd remembers this pastor sharing about Revelation 3:16. The pastor illustrated the verse by placing three chairs in front of him, explaining that each one represented a different kind of Christian . . . cold, lukewarm, and hot. The pastor then grabbed the lukewarm chair and said, “God does not like this kind of Christian behavior.” Immediately afterward, Todd fast-walked to the stage and stood in front of 70 Deaf participants and confessed his struggles to them. It was the hardest thing for Todd to do; but after confessing, he felt free from the weight of sin.
LUKEWARM NO LONGER
Two weeks later, Todd lost his job at Chase, and two weeks after that he was diagnosed with cancer. At a time in his life when he was feeling hopeless and without purpose, American Sign Language was how he first saw HOPE in a message. He says he “saw GOOD NEWS” and this is what carried him through this very dark season. After rededicating his life to Christ, he became involved in several Deaf ministries in the Louisville area (Valley View Church, Southeast Christian Church, Sojourn, Deaf Teen Quest, Deaf Men’s Gathering, and more) as well as taught several Bible studies.
In 2012, he and his wife felt called to start a Deaf ministry at Northeast Christian Church. They led Bible studies and managed a weekly interpreted service. After a decade of volunteer work at NECC, God orchestrated Todd’s transition to full-time ministry within this congregation.
Since joining the NECC staff 13 months ago, he has witnessed the number of Deaf people in attendance rise from around 5 to between 20 and 70 in any given week. While he is thankful for this growth, he realizes there is still much work to do. Thousands of Deaf men and women live in the Louisville area, he says. As a staff member within a church where outreach is a top priority, he has already been given the opportunity to partner with several other churches in the Louisville area to plant Deaf ministries. By offering food and ASL-led Bible studies, Todd says more and more Deaf people are choosing to participate in these ministries with each passing month.
Todd’s vision extends beyond his home city, however. His dream is to see the lives of Deaf people transformed locally so that they can make a difference nationwide and globally. Although 98 percent of the Deaf population do not know Jesus as their Savior, Todd says he is not aware of any other full-time Deaf pastors or staff members in the entire state of Kentucky. He said he knows of only four other full-time Deaf pastors nationwide.
Todd’s dream is for the Deaf community to know Jesus personally both locally and beyond. He loves it when a Deaf person sees the story of salvation for the first time and “their face begins to glow as their eyes see hope in the message of the signer.” He encourages those who want to make the Deaf population feel welcome in their local church to simply be themselves and make the visitors feel welcome.
If you know anyone in the Louisville area who is looking for an interpreted service or Bible study, consider visiting NECC at 11 a.m. on any Sunday and at 5 p.m. any Thursday. Todd offers this advice to any church interested in developing a ministry to reach their community’s Deaf population: “Develop a Deaf ministry by first finding and providing a Deaf leader and then adding an ASL interpreter to your services.” To learn more about how to share Jesus with this population in your community, contact Todd at [email protected].
Looking back, Todd realizes seeds were being planted in his heart throughout his childhood and college years. His personal spiritual journey testifies to the power of Deaf people being equipped to share the hope of heaven with their Deaf brothers and sisters.
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*Christian Standard’s style is to capitalize Deaf in all instances.
Tammy Nischan serves as a licensed marriage and family therapist in the state of Kentucky and is author of Facing Dawn: A Morning Devotional for the Brokenhearted and co-author of the children’s book Twenty Bible Verses Every Child Should Know.
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