Gospel opportunities are abundant despite the hardships that 2020 brought, according to DOOR International Ministry.
Even though 2020 has been a very challenging year for almost everyone in the world, many organizations saw a remarkable increase in gospel opportunities. Workers from the DOOR International Ministry saw how the deaf they ministered to received the gospel warmly treating the word of God as a welcome message for them.
When COVID-19 hit the world and restrictions started rolling out everywhere, the labor force had to be reduced. Among the first ones to suffer and lost their opportunities to work were the brethren from the deaf community, Mission News Network reported.
Aside from the existing fact that deaf people in every community are usually unemployed or underemployed, during the lockdowns, they were also among the first to be jobless. This is primarily because people from the deaf community tend to have manual or day labor jobs, posts that employers had to let go first during the lockdowns.
"Many people may not be aware that people in Deaf communities tend to be either unemployed or underemployed, Rob Myers of DOOR International said. "I believe that the statistics here in the US are that about 75% of Deaf people are either unemployed or underemployed," he added explaining that people from the deaf community often do not receive employment that matches the full aspect of their education, according to MNN.
In the midst of the COVID-19 restrictions that impacted the people from the deaf community at a higher level, organizations such as DOOR International found greater opportunities to spread the gospel. With God working through the church, His people found strategies for how to lend a helping hand to their deaf neighbors even though they are in need as well.
DOOR deployed two-by-two teams to reach out to their deaf brethren in need. DOOR International received reports on how deaf leaders brought goods such as groceries and water and brought the supplies to deaf families. They also took those opportunities to share the gospel.
"And then that may have been the first time that they [Deaf people] actually had the opportunity to hear the Gospel," said Myers. "And because they were in such a desperate place, and in need of hope, the hope of the nation's - Jesus Christ - was a welcome message for them," he added.
Another open door of opportunity to reach out to others during the pandemic was the "30 for 30." DOOR launched the campaign inspired by local churches in the community to let everyone have their share in helping the deaf families.
The campaign is an opportunity for people desiring to help to donate $30 that will help provide for the needs of the deaf families for 30 days. The organization used the donations to buy basic goods for the families and took the opportunity to also introduce Jesus to them.
As organizations like DOOR continue to work on strategies such as translating the Bible and training indigenous Deaf leaders, Deaf people on the other showed a positive response to the sharing of the gospel during the pandemic. Myers said Deaf fellowships showed a remarkable increase in attendance ranging from 20 up to 30.
