Skip to content
  • The Alabama Baptist
  • The Baptist Paper
  • The Alabama Baptist
  • The Baptist Paper
  • Log In
  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Donate
  • The Alabama Baptist
  • The Baptist Paper
  • The Alabama Baptist
  • The Baptist Paper
  • Log In
  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Donate
The Baptist Paper
The Baptist Paper
  • SBC 2025
  • Latest News
  • Trending
  • Your state news
  • Classifieds
  • SBC 2025
  • Latest News
  • Trending
  • Your state news
  • Classifieds

IMB celebrates work of Deaf Pathway Global

  • July 2, 2021
  • International Mission Board
  • International News, Latest News, National News
IMB President Paul Chitwood celebrates the work of Deaf Pathway Global with Mark and Vesta Sauter, who lead IMB’s work among the Deaf.
(IMB photo)

IMB celebrates work of Deaf Pathway Global

In 2020, Deaf people numbered nearly 70 million people around the world. Of those, 1,444 Deaf people die every day without Christ, according to IMB’s 2020 Annual Statistical Report. Most Deaf people around the world have none of the Bible in their heart sign language.

Those numbers should concern any Great Commission Christian, said IMB President Paul Chitwood in a June 15 gathering held in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Nashville. Chitwood and Mike Glenn, senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church in Tennessee, celebrated the Bible translation work of Deaf Pathway Global, a non-profit venture of Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church that offers sign language translations of Bible stories by Deaf translators.

“Knowing that many Deaf around the world die lost every day, we know there is not a moment to spare,” Chitwood said. “We must press forward as quickly as we can, and to be able to do so in a project like this is unprecedented.”

Vision realized for reaching the Deaf

Thirty years ago, the number of Deaf people without Christ in Middle Tennessee got the attention of Betty Stirsman, a member of Brentwood Baptist Church.

Glenn recalled, “Almost 30 years ago, Betty came to me with a long list of people who lived in the greater Middle Tennessee area — 60,000 Deaf and hard of hearing individuals who had no place to go to church. There were interpretative services but no Deaf churches …. This broke her heart, and it broke our hearts.”

In 1984, Stirsman began interpreting Brentwood’s worship services. By 1986, the church started a Deaf Sunday School class, and in 1995 the Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church began. Nearly 30 years later, Stirsman’s vision for the Deaf is literally reaching around the world through the Bible translation work of Deaf Pathway Global in cooperation with IMB.

13 sign languages, 300 Bible stories

Stirsman was on hand for the June 15 celebration. To date, Deaf translators with Deaf Pathway Global have completed 300 key Bible stories in 13 languages — including Chinese, Czech, English, Polish and Thai, among others — with more languages planned or in process. These stories are available through the free Deafway Bible App in the iPhone App Store and through Google Play.

“So much of what the IMB is able to do among the Deaf around the world is the result of this work,” Chitwood said. “Church planting teams use the Bible stories that Deaf Pathway teams produce, and the church planting teams’ feedback to the translation teams helps them refine their translations. The first 300 Bible stories that Deaf Pathway teams translate in each sign language have been selected to communicate the key truths of the Bible. They also support the whole missionary task.”

‘Fulfillment of Pentecost’

Glenn also affirmed the importance of the work of Deaf Pathway Global to global evangelism among the Deaf.

“This is the fulfillment of Pentecost — the promise that everyone will hear the gospel in their own language,” Glenn said.

Vesta Sauter, who along with her husband, Mark, leads IMB’s work among Deaf peoples, believes this effort not only reaches the Deaf without Christ, but it also allows Deaf Christians to fulfill their missionary calling.

“By cooperating and partnering with Deaf Pathway Global, we are able to accelerate our work by Deaf missionaries among Deaf peoples using a process that is easily reproducible,” Sauter said. “What we see emerging are not just stories but tools and training to continue the process of translation in many different countries.”

Sauter, who is hearing but whose parents were Deaf, understands the transforming power of the gospel in the lives of Deaf people.

“My father was not a good man before he came to Christ,” Sauter said. “The gospel changed him, and when I was 8 years old, he had me signing stories to him from the Bible that he would share with his friends.”

Knowing how important the Bible was to her dad as a new believer, the ability to provide the Deaf with a Bible in their heart sign languages is especially meaningful to Sauter.

“I didn’t think I’d see this until heaven,” Sauter said.

More information

For more information on IMB’s work among the Deaf people, visit imb.org/deaf/. To learn more about Deaf Pathway Global, visit https://www.deafwayglobal.com/ where you can download the Deafway Bible App for iPhone or Google Play.

Share with others:

Facebook
X/Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Latest News

  • Lawsuit against Dave Ramsey’s company moving forward
    Lawsuit against Dave Ramsey’s company moving forward
    June 19, 2025/
    0 Comments
  • Mother in Somalia loses husband, home for following Christ
    Mother in Somalia loses husband, home for following Christ
    June 19, 2025/
    0 Comments
  • First person: 15 questions for a six-month spiritual checkup
    First person: 15 questions for a six-month spiritual checkup
    June 19, 2025/
    0 Comments

Sign up for the Highlights

Get all latest content delivered to your email a few times a month.
Email is required Email is not valid
Thanks for your subscription.
Failed to subscribe, please contact admin.

Related Posts

Lawsuit against Dave Ramsey’s company moving forward

At issue is a “righteous living” policy at Lampo, better known as Ramsey Solutions, which requires employees to abide by Christian values. Those values, Ramsey’s company has argued, include banning intercourse outside of marriage.

Mother in Somalia loses husband, home for following Christ

A mother of three children in Somalia is struggling to survive after her Muslim relatives drove her from their home and threatened to kill her for accepting Christ, she said.

First person: 15 questions for a six-month spiritual checkup

If you haven’t done a spiritual self-reflection yet this year, I encourage you to review the questions in this post to look at your life at an even deeper level. 

Supreme Court upholds TN law banning transgender hormone therapies for minors

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 18 in favor of a Tennessee law banning medical treatments and procedures, including puberty blockers, for transgender adolescents seeking gender transition.

Want to receive news highlights throughout the week? Sign up here!

Email is required Email is not valid
Thanks for your subscription.
Failed to subscribe, please contact admin.

About

  • Our Story
  • Our Team
  • Our Partners
  • Advertise and Promote
  • Classifieds
  • Contact us
  • Our Story
  • Our Team
  • Our Partners
  • Advertise and Promote
  • Classifieds
  • Contact us

Explore

  • State-specific news
  • Archive
  • Opinion pieces
  • Sunday School lessons
  • Persecuted Church
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • State-specific news
  • Archive
  • Opinion pieces
  • Sunday School lessons
  • Persecuted Church
  • Podcasts
  • Videos

Submissions

  • Story suggestions
  • Your Voice/Letter to the Editor
  • Photos / Videos
  • Corrections/other
  • Submission Policy
  • Story suggestions
  • Your Voice/Letter to the Editor
  • Photos / Videos
  • Corrections/other
  • Submission Policy

Subscribe

  • Subscribe
  • Renew subscription
  • Gift a subscription
  • Start a new member subscription
  • Start a new group subscription
  • Start a new subscription at the group rate
  • Hosted Church
  • Manage your group
  • Manage your account
  • Request free trial
  • Subscribe
  • Renew subscription
  • Gift a subscription
  • Start a new member subscription
  • Start a new group subscription
  • Start a new subscription at the group rate
  • Hosted Church
  • Manage your group
  • Manage your account
  • Request free trial
The Baptist Paper
Address:
3310 Independence Dr.
Birmingham, AL 35209
Copyright © 2025 TAB Media Group
  • Privacy/Terms of Use
  • Help
  • FAQ
  • Privacy/Terms of Use
  • Help
  • FAQ

Email:
news@thebaptistpaper.org

About

  • Our Team
  • Advertise and Promote
  • Classifieds
  • Donate
  • Photo Galleries
  • Contact us
  • Hosted Church
  • Our Team
  • Advertise and Promote
  • Classifieds
  • Donate
  • Photo Galleries
  • Contact us
  • Hosted Church

Explore

  • Latest News
  • Trending
  • Your State News
  • Persecuted Church
  • Editorials
  • Opinions
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Archive
  • Submit your news
  • Latest News
  • Trending
  • Your State News
  • Persecuted Church
  • Editorials
  • Opinions
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Archive
  • Submit your news

Subscribe

  • Manage your group
  • Manage your account
  • Subscribe
  • Start a new subscription at the group rate
  • Manage your group
  • Manage your account
  • Subscribe
  • Start a new subscription at the group rate

Log Out?

Lost your password?

Log In

Lost your password?

Log in

Become a part of our community!
Forgot your password? Get help
Privacy/Terms of Use

Reset password

Recover your password
A password reset link will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy/Terms of Use
Back to
Login
×
Close Panel