How many national ministries focus primarily on creating and making available Christian education materials and resources for Deaf children? Who produces a television program that is available on many Christian networks or on line for free?
The answer is simple: One. Silent Blessings Deaf Ministries was created in 1996 to create videos in American Sign Language (ASL) for Deaf kids and began producing the television series Dr. Wonder’s Workshop (DWW) in 2008. The show is acted entirely in ASL, which is the native language of over 2 million Deaf people in North America. Its specific purpose is to teach Deaf children about God and God’s desire to have a relationship with them. (Voice-over and captions enable hearing and hard-of-hearing children to enjoy the show as well.)
Each episode of DWW develops a specific Christian concept. For example, the concept that “God’s Love Is Unconditional” is presented to children (Episode 23) through segments that include
- A contemporary story with an ensemble cast. The young, eager workshop assistant feels badly after causing a series of accidents at work and decides to resign, but through forgiveness and unconditional love, co-workers convince him to stay.
- A short Bible lesson from John 3: 16-17. A Deaf pastor explains that whoever comes to God through Jesus will be saved.
- A two-minute object lesson. A DWW character compares Jesus to a bridge from us to God because Jesus was God in human form.
- A second object lesson about space. Space is endless. So is God’s love. It just goes on and on forever!
Whatever the concept, each episode’s message is delivered to children in multiple languages: ASL for Deaf, English voice-overs for hearing, and English and Spanish captions for Deaf and hard-of-hearing children who can read.
The outreach of DWW extends also to many special needs children, including those with Autism and Downs Syndrome, who also use ASL.
To create and deliver the show requires enormous amounts of time, effort, and cost. At Silent Blessings, we know the hard work is worth the effort. The program is seen around the world. It is a tremendously successful tool for teaching Deaf and other special needs kids about Jesus. Hundreds of children, parents, and Christian educators agree!
In short, we believe we can correctly state that Dr. Wonder’s Workshop is the most accessible television program in the world for delivering the message of Jesus to children.
But children must be able to see the program to receive its life-changing message. Even though it is available widely, millions of children in the U.S. have not yet seen it or are waiting eagerly for more episodes and new resources.
If you believe that God desires a relationship with Deaf and other special needs children, your gift can help make that happen. Help us to continue to produce this show and to continue to create more resources like this because, for Jesus, all kids are special.
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