Ministry Report - SWM is constantly active. This summer SWM will conduct Sign Language training through our ASL Institutes in Pennsylvania and Georgia. At the same time we conduct a Deaf Bible Conference with preaching specifically for Deaf people. Jon Barr and Jim Bracelin are very busy in hosting nationwide "Fantastic Saturdays" and ASLI events. Jon just returned from California, Arizona and Washington state. He and Jim conduct about 25 of these nationwide ministries each year. I have often said, "We are not great; it's just that we do not have any competition." These are very needful conferences as most of the people who minister to the deaf are "laypeople." They have learned Sign Language, but need help in learning how to build deaf ministries. I have often said, "Just knowing Sign Languageis notsufficientto build a deaf ministry." Our goal is to better equip deaf workers in all areas of the deaf ministry. Reed Condra, "the teacher," has completed his "Symbols and Summaries of the Old Testament." He is teaching this program in "hearing churches" as well as "deaf ministries." You should consider having him come to your church. He presents the program in power point and written materials.
This year we have seen 135 salvation reports through our 24/7 ministry consisting of missionaries, meetings, newspaper, Internet, field evangelism, and institute courses. Our new SWPublication program continues to grow. We have received several more $75 gifts to send one flat-rate box of tracts to missionaries. This program is unique in that we print the church name on these special tracts. Naturally, our need is for more good interpreters to translate the special tracts into the different languages. Many missionaries are learning the language but cannot translate it.
It is a blessing to see the "deaf" reaching the "deaf." Allen Snare (deaf) recently ministered in South Africa. It was the first time that the deaf there had ever seen another deaf man preach the Gospel. Also, Mike Green (deaf) preached to a large deaf ministry in Trinidad and Tobago. Deaf were saved in both of these meetings. Thank you for your prayers and support which make our unique ministry to the deaf possible. Many deaf will hear in Heaven because of your investments. Please view the back page for a praise report and prayer needs of our missionaries. They are worthy of your prayers and support.
"I am only one: but I am one. I cannot do everything: but I still can do something:
I will not refuse to do the something I can do." -- Helen Keller
In His Name,
Ted Camp, Director/Founder
Jon Barr, President
Other Countries Our Ministry and Missionaries Have Served
Guam - West Africa - Canada - Philippines - Bahamas - China - Puerto Rico - Peru - Belize - Cuba - India - Turks & Caicos Islands - Guatemala St. Lucia & St. Kitts Islands - Mexico - Brazil - Bolivia - Ukraine - US Virgin Islands - Australia - Haiti and New Zealand
Summer is almost here. As many people begin to think about summer vacations and time off work, Silent Word Ministries is preparing for summer ministry through SWM ASL Institutes, secular Deaf events, and foreign mission trips. Of course, our literature and Internet ministries never stop. SWM materials are used by churches and individuals worldwide. Praise the Lord we are truly a 24/7/365 ministry!
Internet Ministry – Our website, www.SilentWordMinistries.org, has a wide variety of information and resources for Deaf people and deaf ministry workers. In the first three months of 2010, our website had 9,275 visitors using 54 different languages. This year we began emailing the SWM monthly prayer letter, the SWM Insider, and several other email newsletters. You can sign up at lists.silentwordministries.org.
New “Ministry of Helps” Missionaries – Exciting news! The SWM Executive Board has approved Larry & Diana Galyen as new missionaries. This program of “ministry of helps” (1 Corinthians 12:28) involves using God-given abilities to assist churches and ministries in spreading the Gospel. The Galyens will commute from their home in Johnson City, Tennessee, to assist at the SWM office in their areas of expertise. Larry will help with SWM computers, Internet, and other technical needs. Diana will help SWM with proofreading, typing, and Internet needs. They will continue to conduct field evangelism at secular Deaf events and be actively involved in their local church deaf ministry. They are of retirement age, but remain active in ministry. Larry becamedeaf just a few years ago. They have been volunteering at SWM for several months. Their desire is to use their remaining years serving the Lord in full-time ministry to Deaf people. As they both have other income, they will need to raise only $2,775 supplemental monthly support as approved by SWM. They are very worthy of your prayer and support. For more information about their ministry or to schedule a meeting for them to present their ministry, contact Larry Galyen directly at SWM.
Summer Ministry Plans – As this letter is being written, David Bennett is ministering to Deaf and hearing people in Brazil and Bolivia. In May I will be preaching a Deaf revival and reorganizing a deaf ministry in Belize. In June Ted Camp and I will speak at the Deaf Baptist Fellowship of America. In July several SWM missionaries plan an evangelistic outreach to Deaf people at the DeafNation World Expo in Las Vegas. This is a great opportunity for SWM to present the Gospel to a large gathering of Deaf people from many countries. Please pray with us for all of these summer opportunities.
Literature Ministry – Did you know that SWM now has over 400 literature, video, and gift items in our catalog? Most have been produced through the writing ministry of Ted Camp. We are grateful God is using SWM to make an impact on Deaf people worldwide. Writing and preparation for the new Teaching and Training Bible Institute is progressing well. We are working to produce these lessons as soon as possible.
Thank you for your prayers and support for our unique missionary ministry.
In His Name,
Jon Barr, President
Ted Camp, Founder
Special Note From Bookkeeping
In accordance with the IRS and our local bank, please make ALL checks payable to SWM, and designate for “______” (missionary, ministry, or project).
Countries Our Ministry and Missionaries Have Served
USA/Guam - West Africa - Canada - Philippines - Bahamas - China - Puerto Rico - Peru - Virgin Islands - Belize - Cuba - India - Brazil - Trinidad Turks & Caicos Islands - St. Lucia Island - St. Kitts Island - Guatemala - Mexico - Bolivia - Ukraine - Australia - Haiti and New Zealand
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified...” -- II Thessalonians 3:1
This past year was probably one of our most fruitful years here at SWM. We were all very busy in many areas of the deaf ministry. As a result, we had 692 professions of salvation in our many different 24/7 ministries. Please review our missionary reports on the back. These faithful missionaries are worthy of your prayers and support.
It seems also that, for many churches and individuals, this past year was a time for “rethinking missions.” Recently, an executive leader from another mission board stated to me, “Ted, what is happening? It seems the Faith Promise Program is fading out in this generation. If this trend continues, some of our foreign missionaries will have to come home.” We discussed the problems of the failing economy, home missionaries being dropped, and churches “reevaluating” and “down sizing” their mission programs.
Later, as I evaluated the full picture, I realized the problem is not with the missionaries, but with the decline of church offerings. Many churches continued to operate with the expectation that “faith promise” would increase as it always has in the past. When it did not, there was a “domino effect” causing a decrease in church programs also. Churches have had to make adjustments. There seems to be wisdom in missionaries seeking prayers for their ministries, and praying more for their supporters. It is a simple fact that we have all been affected by the views, lifestyles and changing economy of this generation. I am encouraging our missionaries not to be resentful or become “negative,” but to be thankful for the support they currently receive and for the support they received in the past from those churches who have had to drop them. I feel that all of us should learn from these experiences and seek the Lord for His Godly wisdom. We should not focus on the conditions, but focus on Christ who provides all our needs according to His riches (not ours) (Philippians 4:19). His riches are not affected by the stock market, politics, failing economy or adjusting church budgets. I have been serving the Lord for over 45 years, and He has been and always will be faithful. These days we should pray more for one another as we are all on the same team. Please forgive me for being personal, but I felt I should share these thoughts with you. I hope they have been helpful and encouraging.
Until He Returns,
Ted Camp, Director
Jon Barr, President
Our goal is to minister to the Deaf “...both in Jerusalem...Judea...Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Our ministry is both “Home” and “Foreign.”
Thank you for giving, so that we can “Give ourselves to the ministry of the Word.”
New Year’s Greetings from Silent Word Ministries! Here is a summary of God's blessings in 2009.
Literature Report 2009: Videos: We produce 37 DVDs in Sign Language and voice, and we distribute 12 others. Literature: We print 105 booklets, an eight-year Sunday School program, and other literature to help Deaf individuals and deaf ministries. The Deaf Bible Institute has 829 enrolled including 40 prisoners and 218 students from foreign countries. The DBI graduated 20 students in 2009. Currently 13,000 Silent Word Newspapers are being printed and distributed free every two months to churches and individuals all around America. Many Deaf people and deaf ministry workers worldwide receive the online version, which is available on the Internet. There articles may be downloaded for personal or ministry use. You may find it interesting that 394 people also receive this monthly letter by email. A link to sign-up for all of our emailing lists is on our web page: SilentWordMinistries.org. We also began a new ministry called Silent Word Publications, which will provide tracts and other materials to missionaries in their language free of charge. We are asking churches to take on these projects as this ministry grows.
Financial Report 2009 – This past year we made adjustments with the economy and again ended the year debt free. God continues to provide all our needs. It is our policy to maintain sufficient cash on hand to liquidate all outstanding debts and to build or expand as the Lord provides. In 2009 we upgraded printing equipment. Thank you for responding to the needs we present and making our ministry possible. It is exciting to see our 24/7 ministry being more productive each year. Our Bible courses, tracts, printed materials, newspaper, videos and website never sleep. The desire of our ministry in 2010 continues to be for boldness to share Christ, wisdom for the best way and open doors of opportunity that Deaf people will be saved, families strengthened, and churches served.
Salvation Reports 2009: We had 692 salvation reports from all areas of our ministry, (Tracts: 6 - Bible Courses: 8 - Foreign: 31 - Missionaries: 644). Our goal continues to be to evangelize and help churches to fulfill the great commission to go into all the world (including the Deaf).
New In 2010: In July SWM International is coordinating an evangelistic team to witness to Deaf people at the Deaf Nation Expo in Las Vegas (50,000 Deaf expected). We plan to produce another evangelistic DVD especially for that event.
Annual Meetings: Every January we conduct our annual free Community Sign Language Class at SWM, with several people from the area attending. The annual Deaf Men's Retreat is scheduled for the last weekend in January. Deaf men come from several states. This is followed by our Deaf Leadership Invitational, training selected Deaf leaders from many areas. February 7th is our annual SWM Board meeting. We are grateful for friends who help us in their areas of expertise in our unique missionary deaf ministry. In February our Executive Operating Board will meet. Ted and Carlene Camp train SWM Vice President, Jim Bracelin and Terry, and Diane and me regarding the future of SWM. It is always an encouraging time. In February Diane and I conduct our first Fantastic Saturday of the year in Florida. Last year it was one of our largest meetings.
Thank you for praying and giving so that we can, “Give ourselves to the ministry of the Word.”
In His Name,
Jon Barr, President
Ted Camp, Founder
Countries Our Ministry and Missionaries Have Served
USA/Guam - West Africa - Canada - Philippines - Bahamas - China - Puerto Rico - Peru - Virgin Islands - Belize - Cuba - India - Brazil - TrinidadTurks & Caicos Islands - St. Lucia Island - St. Kitts Island - Guatemala - Mexico - Bolivia - Ukraine - Australia - Haiti and New Zealand
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus..." --I Thessalonians 5:18.
At this special time of the year, we here at Silent Word Ministries pause and give thanks for all the benefits the Lord daily gives. We are fully aware that "Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). We are also fully aware that the Father uses people like you to channel these gifts. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom..." (Luke 6:38). I have been teaching our people to "think" and "thank." In Sign Language they put their right index on their forehead to sign "think." Next, they make the sign "thanks." Then they give a testimony from their thinking and thanking. Right now you should try it! Sign "think." Next, sign "thank." Now tell the Lord and others of your "thinking" and "thanking." You will be glad you did, and so will the Lord and others. I am teaching our Sunday school class the following phrase. I state, "God is good." They respond, "All the time." I then state, "All the time." They respond, "God is good." When things are good, God is good. When things are bad, God is still good. God is good and continues to greatly bless the work of the team He has brought together at Silent Word Ministries.
Brazil Mission Trip
Ted & Carlene spoke 8 times in 3 different churches for missionaries Dan Bennett, Josh Daniel & Rinaldo Belisario, Jr, pastor of a Deaf church (picture) in São Paulo, which was established by David Bennett in November 1994. About 90 attended the two Sunday services. Also a new ministry Silent Word Publications was established to print translated SWM literature for foreign ministries and missionaries.
Report
This year we have had 539 reports of salvation. God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good! Again, we offer our thanksgiving to you whose giving makes it possible for us to "give ourselves to the ministry of the Word." Thank you for allowing God to use you to bless us so that we can reach others.
Gratefully,
Ted Camp, Founder
Jon Barr, President
Countries Our Ministry and Missionaries Have Served
USA - Guam - West Africa - Canada - Philippines - Bahamas - China - Puerto Rico - Peru - US Virgin Islands - British Virgin Islands - Belize - Cuba India - Turks & Caicos Islands - St. Lucia & St. Kitts Islands - Guatemala - Mexico - Brazil - Bolivia - Ukraine - Australia - Haiti and New Zealand
Office Needs
Video Studio: Jon Barr has been professionally advised that we should have better lighting to improve our DVD quality. Need: A Cool Flo - 3 softbox 2700 watt light kit with boom. Cost $649.95. Our policy is to purchase as the Lord provides. Could you help?
