Reaching people on the margins

Ribbon cutting ceremony for the
San Antonio Clubhouse site on the BT Campus.

San Antonio Clubhouse is the newest member of the Baptist Temple Campus family of churches and service organizations that meet the spiritual and physical needs of our community. SA Clubhouse is a self-help program where adults with mental health conditions can volunteer, learn, and grow. The Baptist Temple site is a satellite of the main campus and will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Founded in 2003, The SA Clubhouse serves as a model of success for people living with mental illness by promoting life skills, job skills, employment, wellness, recreation, connections to resources and healthy meals. Executive Director Mark Stoeltje reports, “Ninety one percent of clubhouse members reported a reduced need for psychiatric intervention and 84 percent reported fewer run-ins with law enforcement.”

Baptist Temple's efforts at serving people with special needs began in 2009 when a Texas Baptist representative called Pastor Jorge Zayasbazan and asked if they would host a Deaf congregation. Pastor Zayasbazan enthusiastically answered, “Yes! It's an answer to our prayers.”

The result of that call has been FamilyDeaf Church worshiping in American Sign Language on the Baptist Temple Campus for ten years. They not only serve the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community but, also, their hearing family members. Family Deaf Church is the only Baptist church in San Antonio that is centered around Deaf Culture.

John Richey, pastor of Family Deaf Church said, “The Deaf are a distinct culture with its own challenges. They have common needs that are best understood in their own context. That requires more than an interpreted service.”

Baptist Temple continues to find ways to provide services to people on the margins. They are now in the process of developing an inclusive playground so children with disabilities can play with their friends of typical abilities. Play is an important part of every child's development. It helps develop social, physical and problem solving skills. However, children with disabilities often lack places to play. This is especially true in the Southside of San Antonio; an area declared to be a very low opportunity area for children (according to DiversityDataKids.org.)

Inclusive playgrounds allow children of different ability levels to play together. They can inspire mutual understanding, friendships, and a real sense of community. Children who learn to play with children of all ability levels will be better prepared for a diverse work environment. This will be the first inclusive playground on the Southside open to the community.

Baptist Temple has already raised 80% of their funding goal through a combination of donations, fund-raisers and grants from the Baptist Health Foundation and the Charity Ball Association. They seek to raise another $24,000 this Fall. Donations can be made online at www.mybtsa.org or mailed to Baptist Temple, 901 E. Drexel, San Antonio, TX 78210.

Ministry to the Deaf

There are over 750,000 deaf people in America. They are among the most unevangelized people groups. Fewer than 8 out of every 100 deaf people in the US ever attend church. Fewer than 4 out of 100 claim a personal relationship with Christ.

Ministry to the deaf is complex. One reason is that deaf people who use American Sign Language (ASL) form a distinct culture. The Deaf have unique legends, social customs and experiences. 

Like other people with disabilities, the Deaf have been discriminated against in their jobs and are often left out, ignored or mistreated. Past experience may make them wary of your motives. They also tend to be straight forward and blunt in their communications.

Another complexity is that deaf ministry is a family affair. Ninety percent of deaf children have parents with normal hearing, but only about one out of 10 of those parents can carry on a conversation in ASL. Most of these parents begin with little knowledge about the deaf world and are unaware of available resources. They feel overwhelmed by the challenges of raising a deaf child and feel alone in their struggles.

Children who have a Deaf parent are bicultural and often find themselves torn between two worlds. Like all bicultural children they have challenges and issues that are difficult to understand.

Children who have a Deaf sibling often feel they have to compete with the deaf child for parental attention and can become resentful. They usually learn sign language better than the parents and find themselves serving as interpreters between the parents and their deaf siblings.

Mixed marriages between hearing and deaf people face challenges as they try to blend deaf and hearing cultures and lifestyles and families together.

Baptist Temple has been blessed with the privilege to host the San Antonio Baptist Deaf Mission; a work started 20 years ago by the San Antonio Baptist Association (SABA). Baptist Temple did not not invite them. They were sent to us by God.

Several weeks ago the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) called to ask if we were interested in hosting this mission. We were recommended as a church with a heart for ministry by Patty Villareal, a professor at the Baptist University of the Americas.

The Missions Committee enthusiastically recommended that we do this. The church responded with a similar spirit and the vote to host the Deaf Mission passed without opposition.

The San Antonio Baptist Deaf Mission is an independent church sharing our facilities. They will be part of our Sunday School and other ministries but will hold their own worship service in FLC101 at 11 AM on Sundays.

The mission is led by John and Mary Ann Richey (both hearing) and currently numbers around 40 with an average attendance of around 25. We expect the move to Baptist Temple to generate excitement and allow us to minster to more deaf people and their families. They had their first worship service at BT this past Sunday and had four first time visitors.

Deaf churches are rare. Most deaf ministries involve having a deaf interpreter translate a service that is primarily intended for the hearing. This is certainly polite but not empowering. A true deaf church holds its own worship service, has its own officers and determines its own destiny as led by the Holy Spirit.

We are blessed to be able to partner with people who expand our ability to spread the gospel.