Signs of Faith at Dallas Winter Conference
* Names changed for privacy.
Jacey and her friends were on their way out of a Raising Cane’s restaurant in Dallas when she saw two young Deaf men walk in.
“Wait,” she told her friends, “I see people signing. Give me one second.”
Jacey is a freshman American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting major at Pikes Peak State College in Colorado. She and hundreds of other college students gathered in Dallas for Cru®’s Winter Conference — four days of worship, spiritual growth and outreach.
One of the key experiences of Winter Conference is an afternoon of outreach, where students are sent out into the city to share their faith with whomever they meet. Spiritual conversations are often kindled by a survey asking questions like, “If you had a million dollars, what would you do to help your community?” or “Do you think people are searching for Jesus?”
Jacey and her friends planned to begin their outreach time somewhere else in the city after a quick lunch at Cane’s, but she decided to stay, realizing God had provided an outreach opportunity right where she was.
As Jacey continued to talk with the two friends, Sam* and Jayden*, she asked them a couple of survey questions. When she asked if they thought most people were seeking Jesus, they agreed but said they didn’t feel like they had the same access or support as hearing people. This turned their conversation toward the gospel.
“I was signing the whole thing,” she said. “I’d never [shared my faith] before, and the first time I did was in my second language.”
Jacey used ASL to walk them through Cru’s Knowing God Personally booklet, which outlines the gospel message and presents an opportunity to accept Christ. The two guys locked in and focused on everything she shared.
“Their food showed up to the table and they didn’t even touch it,” Jacey said. “At the end, both of them accepted Jesus!”
Sam and Jayden asked to add Jacey to a group chat with their friends, certain that they would want to hear the gospel, too! The three of them made plans to start FaceTime Bible studies, and Jacey offered to help them look for Deaf churches and ministries in the Dallas area.
Only an estimated two percent of the global Deaf population identifies as Christian, making it one of the largest unreached people groups in the world. Because Jacey took a step in faith and started a conversation with Sam and Jayden, they now have relationships with Jesus!
For a closer look at what ministry to Deaf people looks like, read about how students at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York launched a Cru campus ministry for Deaf students, Hands of Fire.
