Every September we commemorate Deaf Awareness Month. It is a time to celebrate the Deaf community, recognise the importance of accessibility and inclusion, and reflect on how the Church can ensure that every person can encounter Christ, worship together and find a sense of belonging.
The Wesley Deaf Ministry (DeafMin) at Wesley Methodist Church (WMC) has been reaching out to the Deaf community since 1992, through sign language interpretation at Prayer & Praise worship services. Over the years, DeafMin, formerly known as the Ministry for the Hearing Impaired (MHI), has been engaging the Deaf community through outreach activities for more to come to know Jesus. The ministry also conducts sign language classes at WMC to raise deaf awareness, train interpreters and promote inclusivity in the church. DeafMin also sends out both hearing persons and the Deaf for mission trips organised by WMC to reach out to the Deaf community in Cambodia.
For many hearing Christians, participating in the life of the church is something they rarely have to think about. They can listen to sermons, join Bible study programmes or attend any fellowship programmes organised by the church.
However, for deaf believers, these experiences are not always accessible. Without access to sign language interpretation or live captions, a sermon becomes difficult to follow. Likewise, fellowshipping at church events can become isolating and discouraging.
However, for deaf believers, these experiences are not always accessible. Without access to sign language interpretation or live captions, a sermon becomes difficult to follow. Likewise, fellowshipping at church events can become isolating and discouraging.
When you think of the homeless in Singapore, do you picture elderly, unshaven men on cold benches, lone aunties sitting quietly in fast-food restaurants, or families camping at East Coast Park on a weekday night?
It may surprise you that there are young adults and teens who are homeless in Singapore too. Some real-life examples that have happened right under our noses: a postgraduate student doing tutorial homework on a dimly-lit void deck table; a young man on his e-bike doing food delivery after a night at a budget hostel with 18 others; a single mother with an infant, jobless after taking too many emergency childcare leave days.
Official data vs. reality
Homeless Hearts of Singapore (HHOS) is one of a handful of organisations tackling homelessness here, working with government bodies, churches and transition shelters. Our approach is relational—we befriend rough sleepers and understand their plight first.
In 2025, 47 per cent of the 164 official requests for help that HHOS received (excluding foreigners’ requests) were from persons aged below 35 years old. From 2023 to 2025, almost 20 per cent (on average) were below 25. In other words, a significant proportion of our requests come from fairly young people.
Chong Ding
Through its regular outreach programmes, DeafMin created several platforms for deaf people to come together to build community, fellowship and understand the gospel through holiday programmes. One such programme was the tuition ministry. That was how Chong Ding walked through the doors of WMC when he was 13 years old. Chong Ding is deaf and communicates in sign language. Like many in the Deaf community, he was looking for connection, encouragement and a place where he would be understood.
During one of its outreach sessions, Chong Ding recalls that he was very intrigued by a testimony shared by a deaf friend whose life was transformed because of God. “I thought perhaps the same could happen to me,” he said.
As Chong Ding grew in his faith, his life began to transform. The same ministry that had once welcomed and nurtured him became the place where he discovered a calling to serve others. Today, 23 years after he first came to WMC, he serves as the Chairperson of DeafMin.
Beyond serving the Deaf community, he teaches sign language to hearing individuals, equipping them to communicate with deaf people and inspiring more people to become sign language interpreters. By bridging the gap between the Deaf and hearing communities, he is helping to build a more inclusive church where everyone can hear and respond to God’s Word.
Vanessa June
When Vanessa first connected with DeafMin as a teenager, she never imagined that it would become her spiritual home for the next three decades.
Her journey to Christ was shaped by several faithful individuals who invested in her life. “I attended my parents’ church, where someone introduced me to the Bible, but I couldn’t fully participate in the life of the church because there was no sign language interpretation available,” said Vanessa.
Like Chong Ding, Vanessa joined the ministry’s tuition programme as a student when she was 16 years old. From there, she joined the outreach camps and events organised by the church for fun and fellowship. She also attended church services at WMC, made possible because of the sign language interpretation available at the services. For the first time, she could fully experience a church service and understand the gospel. What began as a place to learn and make friends gradually became a place where her faith would take root.
When she was 18 years old, she was invited to help organise outreach activities in the ministry. Those early opportunities helped her discover that God could use her gifts to bless others. As the years went by, she took on greater responsibilities and eventually joined the DeafMin committee. Today, after 30 years of faithful service, she continues to use her spiritual gifts to serve God and the Deaf community in Singapore, as well as in Cambodia through regular mission trips.
Victoria Ng
As a youth, Victoria served in the ushers ministry. Every week, she noticed a deaf person in the youth ministry who worshipped God in sign language, while youth leaders interpreted for her during service. Victoria decided to pick up sign language in the church simply because she thought it was interesting and cool. “I had no idea that it would eventually become God’s calling to serve in DeafMin,” Victoria said.
As she learnt sign language, she made a deaf friend and began to see the world through different eyes. She witnessed the daily communication barriers that deaf people face and realised that access to information is often a challenge for the Deaf community. Back then, Victoria wanted to invite her deaf friend to youth camp but realised it was not as easy as there were many other logistical matters to consider, such as having interpreters available to provide that access.
“It’s not as simple as asking someone if they are free to attend the camp,” she said.
She came to understand that many deaf individuals are unable to fully participate in church life, discipleship courses, or even just Christian fellowship because of the lack of access in church activities.
What had once been a casual interest grew into a deep conviction. Victoria began taking her relationship with God more seriously, sensing a burden to make the Gospel accessible to the Deaf community.
Today, she serves as a sign language interpreter in church, bridging the gap for deaf believers to be involved in the life of the church. She also actively participates in mission trips to Cambodia, sharing the love of Christ with Deaf communities who have limited access to the gospel. Closer to home, she leads a Deaf Bible study group, walking alongside deaf believers as they deepen their faith and build an authentic Christian community.
While many assume that knowing sign language is enough, Victoria says the work is far more complex—communication goes far beyond vocabulary, into culture and relationships. Even with years of experience, misunderstandings can still occur, reminding her that interpreting requires humility, patience and continual learning. Her role is not simply to translate words, but to faithfully bridge meaning and understanding.
While many assume that knowing sign language is enough, Victoria says the work is far more complex—communication goes far beyond vocabulary, into culture and relationships. Even with years of experience, misunderstandings can still occur, reminding her that interpreting requires humility, patience and continual learning. Her role is not simply to translate words, but to faithfully bridge meaning and understanding.
These three journeys are unique, yet together they tell one story: someone volunteered to teach tuition, someone learnt sign language, someone interpreted a sermon—and a community grew because of it.
You do not need to be fluent in sign language before you begin. Many volunteers started exactly where Victoria did, with simple curiosity and a willing heart. God has used these ordinary acts of service to accomplish extraordinary things.
When barriers are removed, people can encounter Christ, and when the Church intentionally welcomes the Deaf community, everyone is enriched.
The stories in DeafMin are not simply about sign language. They are about ensuring no one is left behind, and building a Church where deaf and hearing believers worship, learn, serve and grow together as one family in Christ.
SERVICES WITH SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION
TSS (The Saturday Service)
Saturdays, 5.00 p.m. at Wesley Hall
Prayer and Praise
Sundays, 9.30 a.m. at Wesley Hall
If you feel led to help bridge the gap between the Deaf and the hearing or want to find out more about Wesley DeafMin, contact wesleydeafmin@gmail.com.
