Leaders are people who . . .
● Want to draw others into ministry,
● Want to build relationships and community,
● Want to reach out to the unchurched, marginalized and alienated, and
● Have dreams for what the church can be.
     [complete list]

Pastor Beth D. Lockard serves Christ the King Deaf Church, West Chester, Pennsylvania, a 105-member congregation of Deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened, Deaf-blind, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and hearing family members. The National Council of Churches estimates that 95 percent of the 27 million for whom ASL is their primary language are unchurched due to communication barriers.

"This ministry is like being a missionary in my own country. We literally sign God’s Word into the hands of those who cannot see and hear. Profoundly Deaf myself, as a role model for other Deaf people I am able to invite God into the center of their issues. It is a joyful ministry, reaching out to my own community using our own language and culture, building trust relationships. God drives this ministry, continually sending into my path people who seek to know and understand our Lord. I dream of more congregations with pooled ecumenical resources planted around the country to minister to the Deaf, and people trained to become fluent in the language and culture of the Deaf community."
Beth Lockard

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