Brian Sims of Brentwood Baptist Church (Brentwood, TN) is making church special for the deaf. In fact, Brian has created a church service exclusively designed for deaf people. It is called Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church, and here is what they are doing to relevantly meet the needs of deaf people:

• Installed 30 speakers in the floor so that the congregation can literally feel the music.
• The entire room is on a loop system which allows a deaf person with a hearing aid to tie into the sound system with the flip of a switch.
• Each seat has a direct line of sight to the stage.
• The seats are 30″ wide instead of the standard 18″ wide which gives congregants more space to communicate with sign language.

According to Brian, research reports that 80%-90% of deaf people do not attend church. After all, why bother going if it is impossible or too difficult to understand anything.

Relevance is being able to communicate how God’s Word applies to a person’s life. The first step is clear, understandable communication.

[via The Christian Post]