Adventist Deaf Ministries (ADM) is a non-profit ministry for Deaf people. A faithful group of volunteers comprise the ADM Board of Directors, a majority of whom are Deaf church members and leaders.
The U.S. government recognizes ADM as a 501(c)(3) organization, which means we are tax-exempt and donations made to ADM are tax-exempt for U.S. taxpayers. ADM was created by a dedicated group of Deaf ministry workers in 1998. The Articles of Incorporation was signed and notarized on April 1, 1998. The application for non-profit, tax exempt status was shortly thereafter approved by Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Why a special ministry for Deaf people? Is there really a need? And does it make a difference in the lives of Deaf people?
You may be tempted to think the needs of Deaf people are met by the local church. In some cases it may happen. But the truth is Deaf people often find the local church unfulfilling and frustrating. Due to communication barriers, Deaf people can often feel more lonely in a room full of people, than when all alone.
Pretend that you have lost your functional hearing. Now imagine sitting through a Sabbath School class where there's no way you can keep up in identifying who is talking, let alone figuring out what is being said. Are you beginning to feel isolated and alone? Next, sit through the worship service. Since many church services are increasingly music-oriented, prepare to spend time figuring out which stanza they are on, although you may know the song by heart. Even with a sign language interpreter, countless songs can quickly sap your patience due to their old-fashioned language.
Signed music rarely comes anywhere close to the quality of what you hear. Just imagine how excited you would be if you had to sit through songs that were sung in a monotonous, raspy voice, in broken English, missing words, and lacking any sense of rhythm. That is how many songs come across in sign language!
While many sign language interpreters are excellent, research has shown that Deaf people prefer to attend church where the services are conducted in their own language and where they can enjoy Christian fellowship with other Deaf members. The quality of sign language interpeters often do not equal the quality of a Deaf-signed service as many things are often lost in translation.
And because English is often a "second" language for Deaf people, the language level of many songs and sermons can be difficult to grasp. Hence, it's unique when Deaf people fit in and truly benefit within a local church.
Thus, the need for a special ministry that can address the special needs for both Deaf church members, as well as to outreach to Deaf people in the community!
ADM's booth at one of many outreach events.
The establishment of ADM was the result of the closure of Deaf Services at Christian Record Services in 1997. Soon after the closure of Deaf Services at CRS, the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD) invited Deaf and hearing members to an exploratory meeting to discuss ways to continue the Deaf ministry. In response to a proposal to continue the ministry under the formal church organization, the North American Division (NAD) and Union Presidents decided in 1998 that they no longer wished to operate a ministry for Deaf people within the denominational organization because there were not enough funds to do so. After the rejection of the proposal by the North American Division, bold action was taken in creating a non-profit ministry for Deaf people, known as Adventist Deaf Ministries (ADM).
Hence, ADM was founded to fill the gap in the Seventh-day Adventist Church when church administrators decided to abandon a ministry to Deaf people in 1997.
We want to stress that ADM works closely with the denomination, such as assisting the General Conference in preparing the quarterly Easy Reading Edition of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide. ADM's Executive Director currently serves on the NAD's Deaf Advisory and we work in close association with the North American Division.
ADM is a tax-exempt, wholly donor-supported organization. The majority of our donors are Deaf, attesting to how they value ADM's work in spreading the Gospel to this underserved population. Donations to support this ministry are greatly appreciated and are tax-deductible in the USA. As we mentioned above, ADM is recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt religious nonprofit organization by the IRS.
This gives you an idea how and why ADM began. And below, we want to share with you some of the objectives of our important ministry.
Mission Statement
Sharing the Three Angels' Messages with the Deaf.
Goals
1. Successfully and effectively evangelize Deaf people.
2. Encourage and support genuine discipleship among Deaf Seventh-day Adventists.
3. Train and equip Deaf people to do their part in spreading the Everlasting Gospel.
4. Educate the church concerning the needs of Deaf people and their contributions to the worldwide mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
5. Serve as a Deaf Ministries resource entity to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
6. Actively pursue various fundraising efforts by which the work for Deaf people may be adequately supported.
7. Expand Adventist Deaf Ministries' role to meet the growing ministry needs of Deaf people.
We believe this labor of love will produce both numerical and spiritual growth among Deaf people for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
What Church Leadership Say...
"Adventist Deaf Ministries is our frontline provider and premier resource center for the purpose of reaching Deaf people with the gospel. We depend on the services of Adventist Deaf Ministries and consider them a partner in ministry."
Debra Brill, Vice President of the North American Division
"Truly, an un-reached people group in our midst. I am grateful for ADM's commitment to reach Deaf for Christ."
Ron Christman, ASI Secretary-Treasurer
"Adventist Deaf Ministries joins in the same mission of reaching unreached people with the Gospel as Adventist Mission-Global Mission and SEEDS Church Planting Conferences, with a specific focus of reaching an important group that is highly unreached-the Deaf and hearing impaired. Thank you, ADM team, for partnering with us to take the Gospel to ALL the world!"
Marti Schneider, Adventist Mission-Global Mission
