October 20, 2026
ROME, Ga. — Dana Tarter summed up one of the challenges churches face in reaching Deaf people with the gospel in three words.
“Access is key,” she said. “If you don’t have access to the information, it doesn’t matter what information you’re trying to share, you’re missing it.”
Tarter, who is Deafblind, helped organize Deaf Day on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Pleasant Valley North Baptist Church in Rome, along with Rebecca Story and Alma Jolly. Deaf Christians and ministry workers gathered for worship, fellowship, training, and encouragement, with workshops on American Sign Language, discipleship, and worship, as well as programs for children and youth.
The Georgia Baptist Conference of the Deaf event drew more than 160 attendees from 37 churches. The statewide organization has supported Deaf ministries since 1958, bringing Deaf ministry workers together for fellowship, worship, training, and outreach. It holds a three-day gathering every two years and one-day events once or twice a year.
Pleasant Valley North Lead Pastor Mac McCurry said the church’s Deaf ministry has grown in recent years, with people coming to Christ, being baptized, and joining the church. The Georgia School for the Deaf is located in nearby Cave Spring, and McCurry said that provides churches in the area with opportunities to reach Deaf people who may experience isolation.
“We want to see people not feel so isolated,” McCurry said. “We want to see people come to Christ and be fed the Word and grow in the Word.”
Story, Tarter, and Jolly have helped develop Pleasant Valley North’s Deaf ministry. Story, who is hearing, said her involvement in Deaf ministry began in college, when she met a Deaf student and began learning sign language.
“I promised then that my hands were His,” Story said, “because I knew that there was nobody there to help them receive the message.”
Story signed up for a sign language class where she first met Tarter, and they reconnected years later at Pleasant Valley North. During an interview at Deaf Day, Story signed questions into Tarter’s hands, and Tarter answered verbally.
Tarter identified a shortage of interpreters, particularly in churches, as one of the biggest barriers to Deaf people receiving the gospel.
Story explained that the challenge goes beyond simply translating English words. For many Deaf people, ASL is their primary language, and Christian terms and concepts can be misunderstood when they are not communicated clearly in that language.
Tarter has made repeated trips to Kenya and said she has developed a deep affection for the Deaf community there.
“I love Kenya,” she said. “The Deaf people there and the Deaf community is just amazing. It’s like home to me.”
Those trips, she said, led to a conviction that the same effort was needed at home.
“If we can go do this in Kenya, we can do this right here for our community here,” Tarter said. The goal, she said, is to provide opportunities for Deaf Christians to fellowship, learn, and grow together.
“I want them to know that Jesus loves them and that we’re here to help and support in any way we can,” she said.
Story and Tarter describe themselves as being “rooftop” friends, drawing from the biblical account of friends who carried a man to Jesus and, unable to get through the crowd, lowered him through the roof.
“They went up on the roof, and they cut a hole and brought their friend to the feet of Jesus so he could have access to Jesus,” Tarter said. “That’s the kind of friends and people we need in our lives. Those who will bring us to Jesus.”
John and Joyce Forsberg of First Baptist Church Peachtree City have seen the need for that kind of access firsthand. Their involvement in Deaf ministry began after they adopted a Deaf daughter from China in 2004. They said she became the first Deaf person at their church to use an interpreter, and the ministry grew from there.
John Forsberg now teaches through an interpreter and relies heavily on visual material.
He said events like Deaf Day are valuable because Deaf Christians may have few opportunities to gather in large numbers.
“It’s very important to bring Deaf people together in a setting like this so they get to know one another and begin to identify with the Deaf Christian community,” he said.
Joyce Forsberg said those relationships also give Deaf believers opportunities to learn from one another, connect with interpreters and ministry leaders, and grow spiritually.
“And they can learn in their own language,” she said. “That’s so important.”
The main speaker for the day was Stephen Newell, who has served in Deaf ministry since 1998 and planted Overmountain Deaf Church in southwest Virginia in 2013.
Newell preached from 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, focusing on the Christian life as the journey of a new creation. “The old has passed away, and behold, the new has come,” he read.
Christ’s love, rather than techniques or programs, must be what drives Christians to serve and share their faith, Newell said.
Years of ministry, he said, have taught him that evangelism methods accomplish little when believers are not walking closely with Jesus.
“You must be deeply in love with Jesus,” Newell said.
Newell spoke directly about the experience of Deaf people who may be viewed by the hearing world as less capable. Christians, he said, are called to see others differently — with compassion, patience, respect, and love. “We need to look at the world in the way Jesus did,” he said.
Newell closed by asking attendees whether they believed in Jesus, whether they loved Him, whether they had left their old lives behind, and whether they looked at the world through His eyes.
The day also included practical training for those involved in Deaf ministry.
Hayden Daum, a member of the Deaf community who travels to churches to lead worship and teach about ASL interpretation, led a workshop on interpreting worship songs. Daum founded Holy Hands, a social media ministry that presents worship music in ASL and has attracted more than 1 million followers across several platforms.
Daum said interpreting worship music involves more than signing the lyrics. Facial expressions, body movement, rhythm, and an understanding of the words all help communicate the meaning of a song, particularly for Deaf people who cannot hear the music and rely on lyrics, beats, and vibration.
He encouraged those attending to express the glory of God through their hands, faces, and bodies as they worship. “We don’t do this for ourselves or for other people,” he said. “We do this for Him.”
Story said making connections with Deaf people does not require specialized training.
Story said hearing Christians do not need to know sign language before they begin reaching out to Deaf people. A wave, a greeting typed on a phone, or simply making the effort to communicate can open a door.
“Don’t be afraid to try to engage a Deaf person,” she said. “Let them know that they are valued and that Jesus loves them, too.”
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