Who are we?
Jesus Christ calls us together to follow Him, serve Him and bring God's life to the Deaf community. That doesn't mean we're better than you. Jesus is the One doing all the good things here. We are people just like you following a great God who loves us.
What do we look like?
We are a group of Jesus followers focused on
the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. That means we change so Deaf and Hard
of Hearing can best
meet, accept and follow Jesus Christ.
- We change our worship to better fit Deaf. That means loud music and songs translated into ASL. That means most times Deaf and Hard of Hearing lead the worship.
- That means we teach the Bible in stories, not single verses. Stories are easier to understand and remember. The goal is to know God better and follow Him better. Whatever it takes, we do.
- Hearing people are not the enemy at NewHopeDeaf. They are husbands, wives, parents, children, coworkers and friends. At the same time, this is a Deaf church. Hearing need to adjust to what we are doing here. That means learning to sign.
- In one way we don't look like the Deaf community. Sometimes the community gossips and hurts. Sometimes the community is selfish. Sometimes the community tears down its own people. Not just the Deaf community- all communities do this.
- We aren't perfect at NewHopeDeaf. We sometimes do the very same wrong things that the community does. We also know it is wrong when we do that. Our goal is to be a Deaf community that lives Jesus' way. That means we think other people are more important than ourselves. We work hard to do the right thing, and forgive people when they fail.
- In everything we do, we want to please Jesus.
What do we believe?
- There is one God. God is Father and Son
and Holy Spirit.
God made everything right and perfect. - People messed things up. We still mess things
up today. Inside our hearts, we are bent. We often want to do
wrong things. We often
don't want to do right things. That's called sin. We all do it. - God is holy. That means clean. God will not accept sin.
- Because we sin, we all die.
- Jesus came to earth. He was completely God and completely human at the same time. He felt the same things you and I do except one thing. Jesus never sinned. He never did wrong and always did what was right.
- Jesus died on the cross. Because He was innocent, Jesus could die instead of you and me. Yes, our bodies will die, but our spirits will live. And one day, Jesus will come again and give our spirits new bodies too. We will live forever with Jesus. Jesus is the only one who could pay the price for our sins.
- On the third day, Jesus came out of the grave. He is alive again. He is now in heaven and in the hearts of His followers.
- Only Jesus can pay the price of our sins. Only Jesus can give us life that continues forever.
- Jesus calls everyone to follow Him. It does not matter if you are Deaf, Hard of Hearing or hearing. It does not matter if you are black or white or any other color. Everyone sins. Everyone needs to be saved from God's punishment. Only Jesus can do that. Jesus calls everyone.
- When you accept that Jesus did this and you decide that Jesus is your life boss (that is what Lord means) Jesus comes into your heart. He cleans you from your wrongs, sins.
- Because He saved us and because He is all-wise, we do what He says. We follow Him. We keep following Him until we die or He comes back the second time.
- Until Jesus comes again, our job is to live His way. That is different from the world. We do not have the strength or the wisdom to do it. That is why God sends us His Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit is also God. When the Spirit comes into us, the Spirit starts to change our hearts. He starts to change what we want and how we do things.
- Part of living God's way is telling other people the opportunity they have with Jesus.
- The Spirit can fill people all the way to the top. They can speak or sign in other languages. They are given special skills to better serve God.
- We believe that miracles can still happen today, the same way they happened when Jesus walked the earth and the same way they happened in the early church.
- When Jesus finally comes back again, He will make everything clean and right. There will be no sickness, or war or anything evil or bad.