The willingness to see unrealized possibilities in others is the beginning of change. We must never try to write the conclusion for ourselves or anyone else, regardless of apparent disabilities, while God is still adding chapters. Possibility thinking clears the way for new perspectives and opportunities.

It was the first time I had ever marched, but it wouldn’t be the last. We were speaking up “for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8, NIV)¹ and affirming the inherent value of the Deaf.² We believed in their God-given possibilities, contrary to some local views on the subject. There were about a hundred of us marching on the main street in a city in Kenya. We had a police escort, and crowds gathered to see what was happening. We held our banners high. Besides raising awareness of the Deaf in the larger community, we were also inviting the Deaf and people with other disabilities to a camp meeting specially designed for them. We were passionate about a neglected cause: People who are deaf had been unwittingly marginalized and sometimes dehumanized. We felt we had to speak up.

Little did we know that an emerging global movement within much of Adventism would grow from this small beginning. In a few years, the principle-driven movement had grown to include six other misunderstood and underappreciated people groups. There are times when it is wrong to be silent. Knowing when, how, and where to speak up is important.

Adventist Possibility Ministries (APM) began as Special Needs Ministries. We knew from experience that the Deaf culture reacted negatively to the idea that deaf people are “disabled.” They, in fact, have their own language, culture, music, humor—and too often, their own misunderstandings of God. When I met with them, I learned that they had no problem communicating with one another. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was the “disabled” one. Many hearing cultures don’t see it that way and have pushed a huge mountain of limitations upon this little-understood people group. To the uninitiated, sign language may seem embryonic, but it is a sophisticated language. It is not monolithic. It has been estimated that there are nearly 300 different sign languages used by some 72 million people worldwide,³ some of which come with their own “accents.”

The first time I met with a group of deaf persons was at a camp meeting for the deaf. It was there that I became aware that it is easy to misjudge and underestimate the challenges they face. I saw parents who were deaf with hearing children and vice versa. (Parents who are deaf have about a 90 percent chance of having children who can hear.⁴) I saw mothers who were deaf caring for their crying babies whom they could not hear. However, I also saw how the hearing in that mixed community went to help. The communal support was inspiring, and my understanding began to grow. I knew I was on the verge of a unique learning experience. I was not disappointed. It has become a learning and a life-changing experience. The Deaf became my teachers in my quest to understand them. They helped sensitize me to a new world of thinking and understanding of other people groups commonly characterized as being disabled.

“IF IT AIN’T BROKE, WHY FIX IT?”

It wasn’t long, before my “fix-it” attitude expressed itself. If I saw what I thought was a growth hindrance in the Deaf community, I set about to fix it. I shudder at some of my early attempts, yet the group accepted me because I tried. I’ve learned many things, mostly by unlearning what I thought I knew. I discovered that most people want a connection with others and to see their group grow. Human beings were designed this way. We need to have a sense of belonging, and belonging is more than being counted as a member. The Deaf and those considered disabled are no different. It really takes only two things to turn a group of people into a dynamic group: a shared interest and a way to communicate. I learned that it is best to emphasize those two points than to always try to be the problem-solver.

The spark grew into a flame when we began to learn together. Together an identity was formed. While, I would never be part of the Deaf community, it did not stop me from identifying the prejudices and social injustices that they often faced. The same goes for the blind, those with mobility challenges, and those with learning or social difficulties. Recognizing the value and dignity of each person helps establish a sense of both personal and group identity.

I learned that, in contrast to the traditional approach of “directing from the top,” lasting answers often came from the “grassroots.” Together we learned. Together we began to see how both the Deaf and the hearing had something to offer each other. Together we set about to create an identity for the emerging new ministry “for” and “with” the Deaf.

After wide consultation, we settled on a name, Adventist Deaf Ministries International (ADMI). Communication and fellowship are the glue that holds Deaf communities together so we launched a website and a Facebook page where the Deaf could “hang out” and share relevant news online.

ADMI was a global effort, and with the permission of a Brazilian Christian Deaf group, we adopted their logo, which emphasized hands, the Bible, and the Cross. The idea of identity began to sweep through the ranks of the Deaf in many parts of the world. They were feeling recognized and listened to. With communication, identity, Scripture, and Jesus at the center, the message spread. The God of the Bible was not just for the hearing! Soon baptisms began to happen. We realized that persons who are deaf relate best with a leadership composed of those who are deaf. A deaf person, Amanda Colgan, was asked to be the webmaster for ADMI.

As much as I tried to identify with the Deaf, I knew it would not be the same as being deaf. I needed an associate who understood Deaf culture firsthand. Arrangements were made for a pastor who is deaf, Jeff Jordan, to assist me as we traveled abroad. As the news spread, small camp meetings for the Deaf grew into large ones with hundreds in attendance. It was then that we realized that there were some persons who were blind or had limited vision, and others who were physically immobilized who were attending as well. We had no intention of leaving them out. Something had to change.

THE MOVEMENT EXPANDS

It was providential that the movement began with the Deaf. Had it begun with any other group, the Deaf would have felt annexed in without being understood, rather than having their own identity. Of all seven APM groups, only the Deaf have their own unique cultural identity. With their support— guarded at first—a global support organization was developed. A coordinator was selected for Special Needs Ministries (later called Adventist Possibility Ministries) in each of the 13 world divisions of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The coordinators worked locally with the leaders who were deaf, and the work became contextualized yet uniquely linked with the Deaf around the world. However, we concluded that the work should not be limited to those who were deaf.

Scripture and the writings of Ellen White guided us as the work began to develop and expand. One statement especially opened our thinking:

“I saw that it is in the providence of God that widows and orphans, the blind, the deaf, the lame, and persons afflicted in a variety of ways, have been placed in close Christian relationship to His church; it is to prove His people and develop their true character. Angels of God are watching to see how we treat these persons who need our sympathy, love, and disinterested benevolence. This is God’s test of our character.”⁵

Not only are specific people groups named in this statement, but the need is emphasized to treat them with love, and compassion, and as “persons” with eternal value. Demonstrating respect is a principle that undergirded the movement in anticipation that, “If we wish to do good to souls, our success with these souls will be in proportion to their belief in our belief in, and appreciation of, them. Respect shown to the struggling human soul is the sure means through Christ Jesus of the restoration of the self-respect the man has lost. Our advancing ideas of what he may become are a help we cannot ourselves fully appreciate.”⁶

Restoring self-respect opens a window of hope and possibilities. The concept energized the various people groups. Other people groups were added to the umbrella organization; and eventually the name Adventist Possibility Ministries became official. Over time, six people groups were added (1) widows (expanded to include men who had lost their wives), (2) the blind and those with low vision, (3) support of caregivers, (4) those with mental stigmas, including disorders related to autism disorder spectrum and Down syndrome, (5) orphans and vulnerable children, and (6) those with physical mobility challenges.

AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

While on a work trip to South Africa, I asked to visit a government school in Lesotho for children with special needs. My plan was to walk around the campus, meet the administrator, and then rush on to my official appointments. But after my visit with the administrator, I was told the students were waiting for me to speak to them.

Thinking there might be governmental restrictions on religious expression, I thought to downplay who I was. I wasn’t going to say I was a minister and planned to avoid using the name Seventh-day Adventist. I am not known for being tongue-tied, but that’s what happened when I began to speak. I began stuttering and was at a loss for words.

It was then that I decided I would “speak up,” and the words began to flow. “Hello, my name is Larry Evans. I am a Seventh-day Adventist minister. I have come to tell you that you are very special. You were created in the image of God, even if you can’t hear, talk, or walk.”

The students seemed surprised. One boy raised his hand and spoke through his interpreter. On Sunday, he had gone to church for the first time in his life.

I said, “Wow, that’s great! How did it go?”

He looked saddened. “They told me that they didn’t have anything for me.” I was shocked! “You went there to learn about Jesus, and they said they didn’t have anything for you?”

He nodded his head. He was left with the impression that the God of the churches he often passed by was the God of the hearing.

Another student, a young teenage girl, raised her hand and tried to thank me but then burst into tears and could not finish. The administrator later told me they almost didn’t invite me because the last minister who came believed that anyone with a disability had a demon. He explained that he had come to cast out the demon. And to think that I tried to hide the very message that needed to be shared. They desperately needed to know that God loves them and that He created them to be like Him—they were created in His image even if they couldn’t hear, see, or walk. It was the right time and place to “speak up,” and I nearly lost the opportunity to do so because of my own apprehension.

“I’M A POSSIBILITY,” NOT AN IMPOSSIBILITY

The name “Adventist Possibility Ministries” might sound strange to some. It doesn’t fit with the church’s typical departmental ministry names. In the beginning, there was some well-meaning opposition. We explained that after traveling to many countries, we found that a pattern had emerged. No one, disabled or not, likes to be known for what he or she can’t do or has done wrong in the past. Yet, if we call such persons “disabled” or say that they have “special needs,” we emphasize the negative more than the positive—their possibilities.

Each person needs to see himself or herself as special in God’s sight. All people need to feel reassured that God has a purpose for their lives and that they are fit to fulfill it. At another march, this time in Saint Lucia in the Caribbean, the placards we carried said it well, “I’m not a disability, I’m a possibility,” “See the person, not the disability,” and “I choose not to place a ‘dis’ in my ‘ability.’” When carried by those in wheelchairs and worn by those on crutches, the message became clear.

BREAKING THROUGH THE WALLS OF STIGMA

Stigmas are prejudices that stereotype individuals into artificial boxes that squeeze the possibilities out of the person. To combat this, a 3-A Strategy was developed. To see and help the person, we need to become “Aware” of personal needs, become willing to “Accept” him or her, and then and only then develop “Action” plans to free the person to become what God intended her or him to become. The 3-A’s reflect three characteristics of God’s people as described in Micah 6:8 and echoed in Isaiah 58:6 to 8. In the context of Micah 6:8, this means to:

1. “Act justly” – based on awareness of personal needs.
2. “Love mercy” – showing acceptance of the person.
3. “Walk humbly with . . . God” – and develop action plans by leaning on Him.

The characteristics of justice, mercy, and humility are reaffirmed in Isaiah 58:6 to 8 where God calls on His people to “loose the chains of injustice” to enact justice (vs. 6), and in mercy, to “share . . . food with the hungry” (vs. 7), with the result that their righteousness goes before them (vs. 8) as they walk humbly with God.

Adventist Possibility Ministries is more than social action; it is a prophetic movement. It is a revelation of the character of Jesus in the heart of His people (see Revelation 14:1). It is a call to all people to see in each person the call of the Creator and Redeemer. Indeed, as the APM motto proclaims, “All are gifted, needed, and treasured.”

At the 2022 General Conference Session, it was voted to recommend the inclusion of an Adventist Possibility Ministries leader at each local church. All divisions have someone designated to coordinate this ministry; and they, along with conference and union APM leaders, can serve as advocates for those who have special needs.

FACTS ABOUT ADVENTIST POSSIBILITY MINISTRIES

Adventist Possibility Ministries (APM) is a global educational advocacy ministry for seven groups of marginalized people groups: (https://possibilityministries.org/):

1. Those bereaving for spousal loss (widowed)
2. The blind and people with low vision
3. The deaf and hard of hearing
4. Caregiver support
5. Mental health and developmental learning stigmas
6. Orphans and vulnerable children
7. Physical-mobility challenges

People with disabilities often experience negative stereotyping, which presumes that they are helpless, unable to care for themselves, and/or unable to make their own decision. APM seeks to help banish such misconceptions by promoting inclusion, focus, and possibility-thinking to those who are too often limited by hurtful stigmas. Our advocacy efforts include seminars, articles, sermons, and presentations of various kinds to inform, motivate, and inspire change in thinking. Numerous resources have been developed:

• An online training course through Adventist Learning Community: https://www.adventistlearningcommunity.com/courses/adventist-possibility-ministries;
• The Accessibility Questionnaire: https://www.possibilityministries.org/resources/general-resources/;
• The APM website: https://www.possibilityministries.org;
• A website especially for the Deaf: https://adventistdeaf.org, along with
• Hope Channel for the Deaf: http://www.hopechanneldeaf.org.

Larry R. Evans (DMin, Andrews University, Michigan, U.S.A. with graduate work at Fuller Theological Seminary, California, U.S.A.) served as Assistant to the President for Adventist Possibility Ministries, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, until his retirement in 2022. E-mail: [email protected].

Recommended Citation

Larry R. Evans, "Adventist Possibility Ministries: Restoring Self-respect Opens a Window of Hope and Possibilities for the Marginalized!," Dialogue 35:1 (2023): 14-18

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
2. In this article, when deaf is capitalized, it refers to a group. When not capitalized, it refers to the inability to hear.
3. National Geographic, “Sign Language”: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/sign-language.
4. https://www.parents.com/parenting/dynamics/coda-deafparents-raising-a-hearing-child/.
5. Ellen G. White, Testimonies to the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press, 1948), 3:511. The term lame is not an appreciated term in modern times, but when used in the late 1800s it did not have the same derogatory connotations it has today.
6. ___________Fundamentals of Christian Education (Nashville, Tenn.: Southern Publ. Assn., 1923), 280.

FOR ADDITIONAL READING:

Ayres, Bob, Deaf Diaspora: The Third Wave of Deaf Ministry (Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, 2004).

Evans, Larry R., “My Kind of Church,” Adventist Review online (February 3, 2020): https://adventistreview.org/magazine-article/my-kind-of-church/.

Hanes, Roy, Ivan Brown, and Nancy E. Hansen, eds., The Routledge History of Disability (New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018).

Lane, Harlan, The Mask of Benevolence: Disabling the Deaf Community (San Diego: DawnSignPress, 1999).

Keller, Timothy J., Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road (Phillipsburg, N. J.: P&R Publishing, 1997).

Solomon, Andrew, Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity (New York: Scribner, 2013).