Funding the Mission: A Stunning Picture of the Body at Work

Bringing the hope of Christ to the Deaf will require the involvement of the entire Body of Christ. As Christar seeks to launch a new strategy to introduce these least-reached people to Jesus, we need the partnership of others who share this vision—and we praise God for providing an incredible opportunity through the BLESS Foundation.

In 2019, the ACCTS Community Center, a Christar project serving refugees in the Middle East, was chosen as a beneficiary of the BLESS Foundation’s annual “Light the World” Christmas gala. Through this experience, we saw how BLESS is different from any other foundation we know.

While many organizations grant funds to organizations like Christar, BLESS sought to truly partner with us with the shared goal of seeing more least-reached people be transformed by the good news of Jesus. As we got to know the founders of this organization, we learned that God had used a Perspectives Course to open their eyes to the needs of the more than 3 billion people worldwide who have yet to be reached with the good news of Jesus. And, we saw how He had called them—not to go, but to use their unique talents in charity auctioneering and event planning to connect people and resources in ways that further the gospel in places where it isn’t yet known.

This year, the Lord has graciously opened the door for us to partner with the BLESS Foundation once again, this time with a focus on mobilizing new workers to a group of people that’s still 98% unreached with the gospel. As we shared with BLESS about our growing vision for reaching the Deaf, we were excited to see them gain a passion to see these least-reached people be introduced to our Savior. And, we were thrilled when they chose the Christar Deaf Initiative as one of the beneficiaries of Light the World 2020, a virtual event held on December 13 reaching thousands of people across the country. 

To see churches established among the Deaf, we will truly need the efforts and resources of many. Significant obstacles hinder the Deaf from learning of the good news and numerous myths often prevent followers of Christ from seeking to reach them. As Christar pursues a three-pronged strategy to raise awareness of the least-reached Deaf and involve the Church—especially Deaf believers—in bringing the gospel to them in their unique languages and cultures, we will depend on the partnership of others who share our passion for seeing these people know and worship our Savior.

As one of the BLESS Foundation’s 2020 mission partners, Christar has been given an extraordinary opportunity to introduce a vast audience to the needs of the Deaf—far more than we’d be able to reach alone. And, by God’s grace, we are able to involve many members of the Body of Christ in bringing the gospel to these people who are often cut off from the good news of Jesus.

Thanks to the BLESS Foundation’s faithfulness in fulfilling the role to which God has called them, we will have the resources needed to develop a course designed to impart a vision among Deaf believers for reaching the least-reached Deaf—a tool that we pray the Lord will use not only to raise up Deaf workers but also to give Deaf churches in the United States a passion for seeing the Deaf around the world be introduced to Jesus. We’ll also be able to add a Deaf mobilizer to our mobilization team as well as send two short-term teams of Deaf believers to minister among the Persian Deaf, giving them a taste of how God can use them to make Him known in this community.

As we move ahead through these opportunities the Lord has opened, we need others who, like the BLESS Foundation, are willing to fulfill the role to which God is calling them. We’re praying for additional partners—not only for those who will personally take the message of Christ to the Deaf, but for the many who will stand behind those who go through prayer and giving, as well as through raising awareness of the needs of the Deaf in their circles.

Each part of the Body of Christ has a role to play in this monumental task. We praise God that through our partnership with the BLESS Foundation, He’s introducing many of His followers to ways they can be involved. And we eagerly anticipate how He will work through other partners so that the Deaf can know the everlasting hope only found in Christ.