Deaf Ministries
Reach, train, and equip the deaf.
Good Soil Evangelism & Discipleship resources have been developed using original, commissioned artwork and engaging, easy-to-understand graphics. The highly visual nature of the resources makes it a great fit for ministry to the deaf, an often overlooked segment of the population.
Deaf Employees “Hear” The Story of Hope in their Own Language
Pastor Isagani Sta Ana (a deaf pastor in the Philippines) participated in a Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship seminar at the Redemption Ranch in the Philippines. So, now he and his wife (Sarah) travel every last Sunday of the month, by plane, from their island of Palawan to Manila to teach The Story of Hope to a group of deaf employees at the Hapee Toothpaste Corporation.
The Story of Hope
A Very Visual Bible Study Resource - "Look Inside" and See for Yourself
The Story of Hope for Evangelism - This resource was developed to be an evangelistic Bible study, for use in personal or small-group evangelism. It is designed to work with unbelievers who know little or nothing about the Bible, as well as with people who do have some background knowledge of the Bible. As such, it is an ideal resource for teaching Bible to the many deaf people who have very little Bible knowledge.
It unfolds the Bible's redemptive story, from Genesis through Revelation, allowing the participant to have his/her own "aha" moment as mysteries of the Bible are progressively revealed through the study. It's a great "no pressure" way for non-Christian participants to clearly understand the gospel, so that they can sincerely embrace Jesus as Savior.
The Story of Hope for Discipleship - This Bible study workbook is also very helpful in discipleship. Participants learn the overall development of the Bible's BIG Story, so that they know how it all fits together, while also being equipped to teach it to others.
- 64 colorful, illustrated pages with plastic coil binding.
- Study includes 40 events in the Bible's redemptive story, 20 from the Old Testament and 20 from the New Testament.
- Also, includes The Chronological Bridge to Life that summarizes the overall story of the Bible in eight words: God - Man - Sin - Death - Christ - Cross - Faith - Life
- Global English (7th-9th grade reading level) also available.
FREE Leader's Guide
103 Professionally Designed Pages
103 professionally-designed pages of answers to the Bible study questions contained in The Story of Hope and suggestions as to how to deal with some of the common questions you may face, as well as many other tips for making your study successful. Download it for FREE and see for yourself.
FREE Leader's GuideMobile Apps – Android or Apple
The Story of Hope Class Facilitator Guide - FREE
A FREE curriculum guide for teaching The Story of Hope in a classroom setting. 120 beautifully professionally-illustrated pages. Your deaf students will enjoy the activities used throughout the class—they are FUN and interactive and engaging. And you can purchase the Class Facilitator PowerPoint that contains 400+ beautiful slides to illustrate the lessons! Great for teaching deaf, as well as hearing students!
400+ beautiful slides in this Class Facilitator Presentation!
*Download also available
No boring sessions in this study!
- Lesson plans for 31 class sessions (can be adapted for fewer sessions, or for more sessions).
- Creative learning activities for all sessions that make learning: engaging, interactive, and FUN.
- Strategically designed to equip students to be motivated and confident in using The Story of Hope in evangelistic or discipleship studies.
- "It's Your Time" is the final lesson, where students are launched to use what they have been taught.
- An optional Class Facilitator PowerPoint presentation available for teaching The Story of Hope class, with 400+ slides.
- FREE online access to the online Instructor's Resource Center, with files for class activities.
The Way to Joy
A Very Visual Bible Study Resource for Discipleship - "Look Inside" and See for Yourself
The Way to Joy - This resource was developed for personal or small group discipleship with new believers, or for people who have professed faith in Jesus Christ but have never been discipled—never been taught the basic steps in beginning to follow Jesus Christ. The colorful visualized design makes it an excellent resource for ministry with the deaf.
Begins with a chronological overview of the Bible, then proceeds to these topics:
- Assurance and Security of Salvation
- Reading and Studying the Bible
- Prayer in the Believer's Life
- The Holy Spirit in the Believer's Life
- Personal Purity and Holiness
- Learning to Share Your Faith
- The Place of the Church in the Believer's Life
- Becoming Involved in Serving Jesus
- Includes perforated Bible memory cards.
- Includes prayer and Bible reading journal.
- 64 colorful, beautifully illustrated pages.
- Plastic coil binding.
- Generous quantity prices.
FREE Leader's Guide
44 Professionally Designed Pages
44 professionally-designed pages to help you lead someone through this discipleship study. Includes answers to all of the Bible study questions in the study as well as lesson plans for all 10 discipleship sessions. Can be used for one-on-one studies or small groups studies. Download it for FREE and see for yourself.
FREE Leader's GuideThe Way to Joy Class Facilitator’s Guide - FREE
A fun way to teach a basic discipleship class and train believers to make disciples
Not only is The Way to Joy a great ministry resource for personal discipleship, it is also an excellent workbook for use in classroom settings. Deaf students will love The Way to Joy, because of its bright, colorful, beautifully-illustrated visual design. And your deaf students will love the FUN activities used throughout the class.
Engaging, Interactive, and FUN Learning - Deaf Students Will Love!
- Students learn best when they are having FUN, and this study combines learning with FUN, so the truth sticks!
- Thirteen (or more) class sessions covering topics essential for basic, foundational discipleship.
- Great for baptism or new converts or new members classes, but for equipping disciplemakers as well.
- The final session is called “It’s Your Time” in which students are challenged to put into practice what they have learned, by discipling someone else.
- The 42-page professionally designed Class Facilitator’s Guide is available as a FREE download.
- FREE access to the online Instructor’s Resource Center for The Way to Joy Bible class.
The Bible's BIG Story PowerPoint CD
The Bible's BIG Story PowerPoint CD contains three PowerPoint presentations of the Bible's story of redemption, from Genesis through Revelation:
20 Events - to use with short presentations and The Story of Hope Condensed.
40 Events - to use with medium-length presentations and The Story of Hope.
100 Events - to use with more extended presentations of the Bible's BIG Story.
Each Bible event is beautifully illustrated with an image from the Good Soil Redemptive Art Series. Also, included in each presentation are slides of Bible maps and the Chronological Bridge to Life. Great way to present the Bible's story of creation, fall, salvation, and total restoration to deaf students. Highly recommended for your deaf church ministry.
Sample Old Testament Images
Eve and serpent in Eden
Abraham & Isaac
Sacrifice of lamb at altar in front of tabernacle
Sample New Testament Images
John the Baptist
Resurrection of Jesus
Believers in heaven - around Jesus - the rapture scene
The Bible's Big Story Teaching Visuals
The Bible's BIG Story Teaching Visuals - Set of 105
Set of 105 laminated, double-sided teaching visuals for teaching the Bible's redemptive story, from Genesis through Revelation.
More
13.5" x 10.75" laminated printed teaching visuals. Key Bible event content on the back, event image on the front. 105 teaching visuals, 50 Old Testament, and 50 New Testament, plus five that work especially for ministry with Muslims. Great for teaching kids (and, adults too!) the BIG Story of the Bible that begins in Genesis and culminates in Revelation. An ideal resource for teaching the Bible to deaf students. Same images and key content as the Chronological Bible Cards—essentially big versions of those pocket-size cards. See below.
Chronological Bible Cards: Genesis — Revelation
ChronoBible Cards: Genesis-Revelation
A complete set of 135 pocket-size cards (4.5" x 3.375") for learning and reviewing the content and chronology of the Bible's Big Story.
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Pocket-size cards for learning and reviewing 100 key Bible events as they appear chronologically from Genesis through Revelation. Each Bible event card contains an image from the Good Soil Redemptive Story art collection on the front and key content information on the back. 25 major Bible era cards and 10 Chronological Bridge to Life cards included. Great ministry gift to give to each of your deaf friends and students.
Diane, missionary in ColombiaJust wanted to let you know that we got the printed teaching visuals for The Story of Hope and love them! I use them in the two churches we are in for the children's classes. Last week I sticky tacked them up on the wall and the parents were overwhelmed by them.
Then this week-end was our Church Wide Annual meeting at the camp with all the churches in the federation. There are three of us ladies who have worked with a few deaf people in a couple of the churches. We are beginners and very inadequate for the task of signing during sermons. But we are willing. However, when I called one of the pastors to see what the speaker was preaching on (in order to prepare ourselves with the vocabulary), this is what he said: “Revelation and the world today.” Yikes! And we're to interpret his message?! Even if we could, what we are finding out, is that you basically have to explain everything to most of the deaf. So, even if we could interpret his message, it would have been well out of their range of understanding. So, instead, I chose some of the visuals. I chose the first ones, the lamb offering, and prophecy of Christ's coming, His coming, His death (comparing it to the lamb offering), His ressurection, His return, Rapture, Hell, etc. It worked great! I signed, I showed them the visuals, and I explained, etc. I just wanted you to know how I have been able to use them and I just got them 2 weeks ago! Thanks to all of you who put it all together. And the visuals are fantastic!
Hooks for Hanging the Bible’s Storyline
Teach deaf students—in just a few hours—to be able to think their way through the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation. Every movie or novel has a central storyline, a plot. Even young students can learn the BIG storyline of the Bible, using 25 “Hooks”—major eras of the Bible.
The activities for teaching Hooks are FUN for students of all ages, even the teachers.
And there are FREE instructional helps.
A great set of resources for use in your deaf ministry.
The 12 "Hooks" for Hanging the Old Testament Storyline
The 1 + 12 "Hooks" for Hanging the New Testament Storyline
Ariel, Filipino visiting in New JerseyMy latest Hooks for Hanging the Bible’s Storyline workshop was last Saturday in a Bible study in the home of the owner of Sam Ash Music Stores in Bayonne, NJ. Several very diverse cultures were represented in the group (Filipino, Russian, German, American, African, Hispanic, Arab, and Jewish). They were amazed and enjoyed it - and everyone understood. Some said, “I finally got it!” “I’ll read my Bible again.”
Chronological Bridge to Life
Teach the deaf in your ministry the BIG Story of the Bible, based upon eight key concepts that emerge chronologically from Genesis to Revelation:
- God
- Man
- Sin
- Death
- Christ
- Cross
- Faith
- Life
A walk through the Chronological Bridge to Life
A great set of resources to add to your deaf ministry - visual, simple, FUN.
Reflections from God’s Story of Hope in Word and Image
Reflections unfolds the storyline of the Bible through 50 Old Testament and 50 New Testament events—from Genesis through Revelation.
- 100 key Bible events organized by 25 major Bible eras.
- 100 full-page Bible event images.
- More than 200 pages, 9" x 12".
- A Bible storybook for all—adults, children, Christians, or non-Christians.
$20 in Quantities of Eight or More - $40 for One Book, $30 each for Two. An excellent gift to give the deaf to whom you minister!
Gaining Ground with Good Soil
A Highly Visual Ministry Resource for Teaching and Training Deaf Christians
Gaining Ground with Good Soil is a story about missionaries. In an interesting narrative form, the story explains Good Soil's theology of evangelism and discipleship. You will love the story of a missionary couple, and their national colleagues, who learn some Biblical principles that revolutionize their ministries—Good Soil principles that can help you and your congregation to become more effective as well.
The interactive and FUN class sessions appeal to deaf students. And the instructional visuals will help your deaf students understand the essential concepts in the book.
There is a FREE Leader's Guide for teaching the contents of this book in 12 or more class sessions. See the FREE resources below.
All the resources needed for teaching Gaining Ground with Good Soil in a small group or class in your deaf ministry.
The Story of Hope - Kids
The Story of Hope - Kids workbook is a chronological Bible study for kids, approximately ages 8-12. It is designed to help kids understand the BIG story of redemption, from Genesis through Revelation—a perspective that very few other ministry resources provide for children. The workbook contains one page for each of 40 Bible-event lessons, including an image from the Good Soil Redemptive Art Series and questions that get kids digging into the Bible texts for themselves. Also, the Chronological Bridge to Life is presented in an eight-page sequence. There's a Personal Faith Response page too.
Questions and map activities engage kids to read and think, rather than just rotely memorize. This workbook is bright and colorful and beautifully illustrated.
64 pages, Plastic Coil Bound
The bright and colorful visual design makes learning easier and more interesting for deaf children.
One lady who went to Sunday school as a child, but never truly trusted Jesus as her Savior, was being led through an evangelistic Bible study based on the adult version of The Story of Hope. She commented:
Why didn't they teach the Bible like this to me when I was in Sunday school? If they had done so, I might have understood it and become a true believer.
Adventures in The Story of Hope
FREE Bible Curriculum
Approximately 400 pages of lesson plans for teaching 48 Bible lessons—40 Bible-event lessons and eight Chronological Bridge to Life lessons. The lessons unfold the BIG Story of the Bible, chronologically from beginning to end, focusing on God's redemptive story. As students learn about major Bible events, they also learn how all of them are connected around the one BIG Story.
Lessons include many creative activities to engage kids in active learning: questions, games, songs, crafts, drama, “My Story of Hope” activities, memory verses, and other Bible learning activities. Also, a complete set of coloring sheets, one per each of the 40 Bible event lessons.
Great resource for your ministry with children.
The Way to Joy - Kids
The Way to Joy - Kids is a basic discipleship Bible study workbook for kids, approximately ages 8-12. If your students have made professions of faith in Jesus Christ, the next step is obviously discipleship. If you have not done so already, we recommend that you take them through The Story of Hope - Kids. But the next step beyond that would be The Way to Joy - Kids.
The Way to Joy - Kids includes ten lessons on basic truths that every young believer needs to know and some key spiritual disciplines that every Christian needs to practice. It is bright, it is colorful, it is beautifully illustrated with images that kids relate to. And, it includes a Bible reading and prayer journal to accompany the weeks of the discipleship study.
64 pages, Plastic Coil Bound.
The bright and colorful visual design makes learning easier and more interesting for deaf children.
The Roots of Faith Bible Courses
Chronological Bible curriculum, unfolding the BIG Story of the Bible in 100 events and packed with FUN learning activities.
Students will learn…
- Much of the key content in the Old and New Testaments.
- The chronology of 25 major Bible eras and 100 key Bible events.
- The geographic locations of many places where Bible events occurred.
- The BIG Story of the Bible and how it progresses from Genesis through Revelation.
BRING members of your deaf church ministry, along with a sign language interpreter or two. We would welcome your group to join us for the classes.
Ask us about a group rate.
Or, teach the courses yourself in your own deaf ministry.
The kind of teaching-learning that deaf students will love - engaging, interactive, FUN!
How can you be certified to teach The Roots of Faith Courses?
Option One: Participate in The Roots of Faith Courses
Full Certification
Image of a TROF OT Class at ABWE - FUN Learning
Image of a TROF NT Class at ABWE - Interactive & Engaging Learning
Or, Option Two: Purchase The Roots of Faith Instructor’s Kits
Provisional Certification
We all want to share our faith effectively…but how do we do it?
Evangelism and Discipleship Training
For Members of Your Deaf Ministries Team
The top ten takeaways from Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship training:
- Learn how to initiate conversations that open up to unobtrusive opportunities to share the gospel.
- Learn how to determine where a person is on his/her level of understanding of the gospel and receptivity to knowing more about salvation through Jesus Christ.
- Learn how to present the truth of the gospel in a way that it isn't misunderstood by the person with whom you are sharing, regardless of his/her religious worldview.
- Learn how to share God's story of redemption, from Genesis through Revelation, so that the recipient will understand the Biblical context for the good news of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
- Learn how to present the gospel, using the Chronological Bridge to Life.
- Learn how to share the gospel, using your own faith story.
- Learn a variety of ways to use The Story of Hope, in evangelism, with confidence.
- Learn how to use The Way to Joy, in discipling believers who are still weak in their faith.
- Learn about a wide variety of evangelism and discipleship resources that you may find to be helpful in your ministry.
- Learn to teach others what you have learned about evangelism and discipleship, and train them to do what you have learned to do through the training you have received.
Learn to share the gospel, God’s story of hope, in a way that people will clearly understand it, sincerely embrace it, and hold fast to it.
Always, engaging, interactive, and FUN learning.
An “m” in a restricted access countryWe are in (a restricted access country) at the moment and I spoke at the international church last Sunday. While there, my wife ran into an English teacher who attended a Good Soil E&D class (that goes by another name there, for security reasons) we did in the capital city two years ago. She told us she recently taught a large group of deaf church leaders from all over the country. She could not use the books (for security reasons) but they did work in groups and do the feedback. Surely this is one of the more interesting applications that has been done. My wife just taught another class with 31 women from 15 different churches in (this restricted access country).
BibleStorying Workshop
Two Days in May
One of the keys to effective Bible teaching with any group, including the deaf, is telling Bible stories so that historical Bible events “come alive” in the minds of the people who “hear” them!
This BibleStorying (Bible story telling) workshop will enhance your skills as a Bible story teller and teacher. You will learn lots of tips and techniques for improving your ability to tell Bible stories that will gain and hold student interest. And, you will learn about—and practice using—several Good Soil Bible teaching resources.
- Day One: How to Learn Bible Stories
- Day Two: How to Tell Bible Stories
Moving Beyond Lecture Workshop
Two Days in October
Deaf students generally enjoy engaging, interactive, and FUN learning! Moving Beyond Lecture will energize your teaching ministry with the deaf!
It will enhance your ability to teach children, beyond what you can probably imagine.
- Learn a seven-step process for developing lessons for teaching and training.
- Enlarge your teaching toolbox with lots of creative techniques and tips for teaching.
- Become more sensitive to classroom factors that can enhance your teaching-learning environment.
- Engage your students more actively and make learning FUN for them.
- Become much more confident in your teaching.
FREE Book for Leaders of Deaf Ministries
Gaining Ground with Good Soil is an evangelism and discipleship training narrative—a scaled-down version of the Good Soil Evangelism and Discipleship seminar in a narrative format. The principles gained from this book are applicable for anyone wishing to serve God through Biblical evangelism and discipleship, but is especially instructive and helpful for ministry leaders, including leaders of Christian deaf ministries.
The realistic, but fictional narrative, around which the book is developed, tells the story of a couple of missionaries who were frustrated and discouraged—to the point of almost giving up—because of their lack of success in evangelism and discipleship on their field. But, the "Good Soil" principles they learned from Bible study revolutionized their ministries. It will help you think through a theology of evangelism and discipleship and help you to present the gospel so that people will clearly understand it, sincerely embrace it, and firmly hold on to it.
Free instructional resources for individual and group study are also available for download. www.GoodSoil.com/FREE
If you are a leader of a Christian Ministry with the deaf , with a USA shipping address, and will commit to reading this book , we will send you a FREE (and postage-free) copy of Gaining Ground with Good Soil.
More Good Soil Resources for Evangelism and Discipleship
Good Soil provides an entire toolbox of resources for evangelism and discipleship.
For a complete overview of our Good Soil resources:
Good Soil E&D Training and Resources for Many Types of Ministries
The focus of this page has been on using Good Soil in your ministries to the deaf. But, Good Soil provides training and resources for many different kinds of ministry.
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