Each autumn, churches across Northeast China celebrate the Autumn Harvest Thanksgiving Festival, a regional event as significant as Easter and Christmas. During this festival, church fellowships express their gratitude to God for the harvest through various performances and activities.
One autumn, Assistant Pastor Wang Shengjun was busy rehearsing a sign language dance with deaf believers in preparation for an upcoming performance. His hands moved swiftly, and the deaf participants quickly grasped his instructions, promptly preparing the stage props. As soon as that task was completed, Wang rushed to assist others in organizing their performance costumes.
There is a large deaf population in China, with an estimated 28 million individuals. However, only a tiny fraction have encountered the gospel and come to faith in Christ. Accessing tailored pastoral resources has long been a significant challenge for this group. In recent years, churches in China have gradually developed ministries dedicated to the deaf. Congregations in cities such as Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenyang have established fellowships for the deaf, with many hearing individuals also taking part. Through sign language interpretation, pastoral visits, and other forms of engagement, these ministries have helped integrate the deaf into the broader congregation.
Assistant Pastor Wang Shengjun currently serves in a church in Anshan, Liaoning Province, where he has been involved in deaf ministry for 16 years. Unlike many of his fellow coworkers, Wang himself has a hearing impairment, being deaf in one ear. He shared that he once struggled with feelings of inferiority and depression due to his impaired hearing and never imagined he would encounter the gospel, let alone become a close spiritual partner and coworker within the deaf Christian community.
Out of the Shadow of Disability, Onto the Path of Ministry
At the age of seven, Wang experienced irreversible hearing loss in his right ear while having fun with friends. Despite undergoing three surgeries, the damage was permanent, though his left ear retained partial hearing.
For a long time, he was overwhelmed with regret over his reckless behavior and often questioned and lamented his misfortune. As he grew older, his hearing impairment made him increasingly self-conscious. He began to feel different in the eyes of others, which gradually led to a sense of emotional vulnerability and inferiority. At his lowest point, Wang even despaired of life, once contemplating ending his life at 30. From his teenage years, he began to spiral, seeking escape through smoking and drinking to numb his inner pain.
At the age of 21, while watching his mother pray, a turning point came. He began to question the faith of his mother, grandmother, and sister, which had endured for many years.
"I wondered why my mother knelt at her bedside every day, murmuring something, then would go to church, helping others, and even giving money away. I thought perhaps she had been deceived," he recalled. Driven by skepticism, he picked up the Bible, intent on finding flaws in it. Instead, he found himself deeply moved by its words.
Not long after, he stepped into a church for the first time. From that moment, he said, he felt wholly accepted and filled with peace. He continued attending church and was eventually baptized.
Later, Wang made a complete shift in his life's direction, choosing to dedicate himself to full-time ministry after leaving his original job. In 2001, he became a full-time church coworker. He later enrolled in the NorthEast Theological Seminary to pursue theological education and became a young preacher.
A Path Beyond Man's Imagination
In the past, Wang rarely saw himself as part of the traditionally defined deaf community. Within his church, deaf believers were quite rare. It wasn't until 2009 that four deaf Christians began attending the church.
Wang recalled that these fellow believers were seeking a spiritual home where they could receive consistent pastoral care and fellowship. However, with no existing deaf ministry and no one understanding sign language, the church was unable to communicate effectively with them. In response, the pastor reached out to deaf churches in Shenyang, starting a cooperative ministry between the two cities. Church coworkers from Shenyang came to Anshan to offer pastoral care, while believers from Anshan were encouraged to attend training in Shenyang. Wang, then a volunteer preacher, took part in this ministry.
During a retreat for the deaf in Shenyang, Wang was introduced to sign language. Within just a few days, he grasped the basic expressions, noticing that he had a special gift. Later, his pastor suggested forming a deaf fellowship in Anshan and invited Wang to lead it. In June 2009, the Xinquan Deaf Fellowship was officially established.
Knowing Self and Meeting Christ
At the beginning of his ministry to the deaf, Wang encountered numerous challenges. Due to a lack of familiarity with the deaf community, he realized there are regional variations in sign language. Though he first learned Chinese National Sign Language, he soon discovered that local deaf individuals could not fully understand these expressions. Moreover, differences in educational background and age among deaf believers contributed to further variation in sign language use. Therefore, Wang, who taught himself sign language, humbly regarded the deaf believers as his teachers. He tried to befriend them, seeking their guidance on daily expression. After years of learning and practice, he mastered the basic communication method of sign language and is now able to preach fluently to the deaf congregation.
Reflecting on this ministry, Wang acknowledged that pastoring the deaf is indeed "hard work."
Deaf individuals tend to be more emotionally sensitive than the hearing. He explained, "Sometimes, their personalities resemble those of children. A minor change in facial expression or a small misunderstanding can lead to conflict, yet a simple gesture can also bring reconciliation. When ministers show more attention to one person, others may feel neglected, leading to emotional imbalances."
Additionally, Wang has also dedicated more effort to understanding the emotional world of the deaf and maintaining healthy relationships among them. "If I become too close to certain individuals, it may disrupt the unity. But if I remain too distant, I risk losing their trust, which makes follow-up pastoral work much more difficult."
He admitted that he was once impatient, but his time growing up with deaf believers has transformed him. "Raising your voice doesn't work in this group. True communication only begins when they turn to look at you."
"Over time, we've become close enough to joke with one another. Sometimes they sneak up behind me to give me an apple or piece of candy or give me a quick hug before running off shyly," he recalled.
"Ministers spend much of their time on the pulpit and have fewer opportunities for personal interaction with believers, which can be exhausting. At times, it feels like we are simply vessels for preaching," Wang added. "But in the deaf fellowship, I experience genuine unity and love in Christ. We encourage one another and grow together in faith. That brings me great joy."
After nearly two decades of serving the deaf community, Wang has come to realize that both the deaf and hearing could tend to be self-centered, causing hurt and conflict. However, the life of Jesus Christ embodies complete selflessness, offering healing and comfort through unconditional love and acceptance. It is Jesus who guided Wang to pass on Christ's life to the deaf community.
Today, the Xinquan Deaf Fellowship has grown from just a handful of members into a community of nearly 100 members, a fellowship of the disabled that bears witness in the local area. Over the years, pastoral coworkers have come and gone, but Wang has remained steadfast, continuing to care for and pastor this special family of believers. Reflecting on the choice he made years ago, Wang is still grateful for the path he took in serving the deaf. "God took away half of my hearing so that I could see those who cannot hear God's voice."
On the night of the Autumn Harvest Thanksgiving Festival, Wang joined nearly 30 deaf members on stage to perform a sign language dance, "If I Could Speak." Among the audience, gestures of sign language swept like waves, embodying encouragement and acceptance. Laughing with the deaf members, Wang suddenly remembered the 7-year-old boy he once was and realized that, even then, God had already planted a silent seed of wheat in his life.
To be continued...
- Edited by Karen Luo, translated by Poppy Chan
