Deaf Cafe - What is it?

Deaf Cafe is what? It has nothing to do with coffee but you can buy coffee there....This is what I'll be sharing about today. For the past 4 years I have been involved with a group called Deaf Cafe. Since there are a few other groups in other cities, we identify ourselves by the city we are located in. Thus... I belong to Deaf Cafe, Flint in Micighan. There is a Deaf Cafe in Louisville KY and Lexington KY as well. In previous years, there were other Deaf Cafes in Mississippi, OK and WA. For various reasons, they are no longer operating. It takes A LOT of teamwork and commitment to make Deaf Cafe successful.

So what is Deaf Cafe? Its a two hour monthly variety program all in ASL. Its a ministry that focuses on sharing the gospel with Deaf (hearing too) who would not normally attend a regular church service. This is usually the age group between 18 - 40. Deaf Cafe is NOT a church. Deaf Cafe does not operate as a church or follow any structure as far as what a usual church service is. While all our members are active church members and are Christians, they belong to different Bible believing churches and come together as common believers to do Deaf Cafe. Deaf Cafe is the unexpected! You never know what the program will be like until you see it.

Deaf Cafe, Flint has a program the second Saturday of the month from September to May from 6pm - 8pm. During the summer months we take a much needed break and attend a weekend retreat together. The team is made of two parts.... there is the "stage team". There are currently 9 adults and 3 children on the stage team. They are part of the drama, songs and any action that is "on the stage" during the program. The other half of the team is called the "support team". There are currently 11 people on the support team. They do things in the background during the program. That includes work in the snackbar area, childcare, registration, ushers, lights and videotaping. All these team members are a joy to work with and they all have one thing in common which is the most important thing they all need to have....

A strong desire to serve the Lord. All Deaf Cafe members are volunteers. None of us are paid. This is truely a gift of love for the Lord, sacrifice of our time and faithful commitment - especially for the stage team members who meet once or twice a week to brainstorm ideas, write and practice dramas and fillers, select and practice music, find videos that fit our theme, create games, etc. Lots of emailing each other back and forth with ideas until the program comes together. This is done every month with fresh ideas.

While there is a lot of work involved, Deaf Cafe is fun too. It's a joy to serve with other Christians. We laugh, we joke and we have a great time together. We are all good friends. But like all good friends, sometimes we have our "moments" too. Because we are Christians, we can honestly share with each other, forgive, forget and move on. We try to never to lose our focus and that is to glorify the Lord through our works, words and actions.

An average of 80-100 people show up each month for Deaf Cafe... these include both deaf and hearing of all ages. We also get students from local colleges who are taking sign language classes. Deaf Cafe is a safe place where they can observe Deaf culture, see ASL on the stage (there is no voicing) and have the opportunity to use their new skills. For the Deaf, Deaf Cafe is a great place to meet and see each other and catch up. Its "clean" entertainment for the whole family.

The program consists of two parts. There is a 15 minute break in the middle for snacks, etc. We have a theme. Then we usually have one Bible related drama, one up to date drama, several short dramas for fillers. We have maybe 3 songs.. some with all the team.. some with the audience..some are solos or duets with team members. We have games that we make up ourselves with prizes. We have audience activities. We show both funny and serious videos as they fit our theme. This is a very busy 2 hours filled with different activities. Deaf Cafe ends with 10 minutes of devotion and quiet time.

My job? My job as part of the Deaf Cafe team is tech work. I'm the one behind the laptop and projector. I'm not on the stage much but do fill in as needed in songs or dramas. I am the one who creates all the powerpoints and puts the program together. There are three of us who are the "core" decision makers and the three of us put together the majority of the program with ideas and suggestions from others. We are constantly on the lookout for new ideas, new videos, new filler and drama ideas or powerpoints, etc. I am constantly learning new things. This is something that many deaf need to do more of... keep learning! Don't limit yourself to your comfort zone. Get out of your boat and try something different. I never thought I would ever sign a song in front of an audience but I have... twice! I did a solo during Deaf Cafe and I'm sure I will do others in the future.

Is Deaf Cafe something you might be interested in doing for your own group? You can contact me anytime for more information on how to get started, etc. We want your help spreading the Word of God. There are so many Deaf (hearing too) who are lost and need to "hear" the Gospel in their own language. You can check out Deaf Cafe, Flint at their website....www.deafcafeflint.com