Imagine going to a local church, as a believer in Jesus, and not being able to understand what was happening. You can’t follow the sermon, you can’t take part in the prayers, and the announcements go right over your head.

No, you’re not in a foreign country. You’re in Australia – you just aren’t able to hear.

This lack of understanding in church is a common experience for people in the Deaf Community, which is why Alpha Australia, in collaboration with the Bible Society and Wycliffe Bible Translators Australia, has created Alpha in Auslan. The eight-part series combines the Australian edition of the Alpha videos with Auslan (Australian Sign Language) interpretation onscreen. 

Anne Horton, who attends St Faith’s, Narrabeen and has been an Auslan interpreter for more than 35 years, is Alpha in Auslan’s in-video interpreter for Nicky Gumbel – the main presenter (and founder) of Alpha.

She ran a soft launch of the series last year at St Faith’s and invited half a dozen Deaf colleagues to take part, to assess if any subtitles or interpreting needed to be altered to make understanding and engagement easier. 

The response was enthusiastic: hearty applause at the end of the first video, and the eager question, “How can we get more Deaf people to see this?” Finally, here was a resource created for them.

Once they had provided feedback, Mrs Horton wondered if her colleagues would return. They did – week after week, watching and discussing the videos together in Auslan. All went home with a Bible and a copy of a prayer outlining the steps to salvation.

One Deaf guest offered to be a helper for the next Alpha in Auslan series, also at St Faith’s, with a larger, local group. This helper continues to meet with Mrs Horton each week to read and discuss the Bible together.

Testimonies from different Deaf guests have been tremendously encouraging. One said, ‘I used to be terrified of dying, but ever since doing Alpha, I don't have that fear any more’.” When asked, “Did you pray to ask Jesus into your heart?’ the reply was “Yes”.  Another said, “I needed a change in my life, a new way of living that is more positive… this is it!”

Mrs Horton explains that the Deaf Community is “mostly unreached by the gospel” because, without interpretation, it’s hard for Deaf people to fully involved in what’s happening at church. 

A perfect example of this occurred when she was learning Auslan in her 20s and heard about a Deaf Bible study group. She joined and, a few weeks later, the leader told her group members had been praying for more than two years for God to bring them a hearing person. Why? Because none of them could understand what was happening in the church services they attended.

“If someone was reading the Bible they might know a particular verse was being read but they didn’t know what was being said about it,” Mrs Horton explains. “I told them I had only just begun learning Auslan, but they said, ‘Even if you sign just a bit of what they’re talking about, that would be something’.

“These deaf people all went to different churches but they happily said to me, ‘We will go wherever you are’, and for the next 7½ years, I interpreted for them every Sunday. We built a ministry for Deaf people together, until God gave me ‘maternity leave’!”

The value of Alpha in Auslan

The Bible Society and Wycliffe are continuing the gradual process of translating the Bible into Auslan, which will finally give many thousands of signing Deaf people in Australia access to God’s word in their heart language.

However, this project is only 13 per cent complete, and in the meantime the gospel needs to be accessible and understandable to those who aren’t able to hear. And before hearing readers say, “Why aren’t Deaf people just readingabout Jesus and the gospel?”, it’s helpful to note that an inability to hear often has an impact on literacy as well. 

So, how did Alpha in Auslan happen? Rebecca Thurrowgood, a Wycliffe member, reached out to her Deaf father, Pastor Stanley Grimmett, to ask what resources he would most like to have interpreted for the Christian Deaf Community. He immediately answered, “Alpha in Auslan”, and that is what kicked off the push to create the series.

“Auslan is the language we signing Deaf people understand and connect with the best,” explains Mr Grimmett, whose Deaf congregation is in Hoxton Park.

“In the past, I led many Alpha groups using the English Alpha videos with subtitles, and I even encouraged other Deaf leaders to do the same, but it was cumbersome for all of us. It wasn’t our language or our perspective. 

“Deaf participants were often unresponsive to the English. I knew Alpha in Auslan would help them to ‘unwind down their hair rollers’ and by that I mean relax! I also knew that Alpha in Auslan would help Deaf leaders to lead their Alpha groups more confidently.”

The response from those who’ve taken part in the course shows how right he was. From joy at being with other Auslan speakers and excitement at being able to understand everything clearly, feedback includes this wonderful quote from one participant: “I have decided I want to open the door of my heart and invite Jesus in, but I'm not sure how to actually do it. Can you help me?”

Mrs Horton’s answer was an enthusiastic “Yes!”. 

After she ran a second Alpha in Auslan group at Narrabeen, Mrs Horton’s minister, the Rev Ben Molyneux, asked if he could interview her at an upcoming Anglican praise and worship night for the northern beaches. Again she said “Yes” and, afterwards, to her surprise, an assistant minister at Pittwater Anglican, the Rev Paul White, immediately offered to host Alpha in Auslan at Mona Vale – and provide all the food.

Fourteen people were part of this group and all wanted to keep learning once Alpha was over, so Mrs Horton has been running a weekly Auslan Bible study at Mona Vale ever since.

“The whole idea with Alpha is you’re being God’s love to them,” she says. “People are meeting God through you, really, and through God’s word – as you share what God has to say about who Jesus was, why he died and other interesting topics such as faith, the Bible, prayer and the Holy Spirit.

“[Guests] can explore and articulate what they believe, in a non-judgemental, relaxed setting where they are loved and accepted. Everyone is very relaxed – I think that’s part of the reason why Alpha is so successful. It’s not pushy. You meet people where they’re at and they feel really valued and seen. If they say something completely radical you say, ‘That’s interesting, tell me more’... you’re always encouraging them.

“Alpha isn’t trying to tally up how many people have prayed the prayer. It’s looking to shift people closer to the Lord. Alpha Australia describes this as ‘moving the dial towards knowing and loving Jesus’. You might be the one who waters or who plants the seed.” 

Training and global reach

Plans are afoot for more Alpha in Auslan courses in Sydney, although Mrs Horton expects some churches are waiting for training modules to be released next month – modules in which she, Mr Grimmett and Mrs Thurrowgood are presenters.  

When they made the Alpha in Auslan series, they interpreted existing videos into Auslan because they wanted to enable Deaf people to access a resource already seen by many millions worldwide. 

With the training modules it was different, Mrs Horton says. “We said, ‘These are for the Deaf Community, so let’s present it in Auslan first, and then we’ll do a voiceover afterwards for any hearing people who want to access it’.” 

The series certainly makes outreach easier to the Deaf Community in Australia, but it has far wider potential. British and New Zealand sign languages belong to the same language “family” as Auslan and, to date, neither of these nations have produced a signed version of Alpha. 

“Now they can have access to Alpha in Auslan and it’s my dream that Deaf communities around the world would use what we’ve done as a model and an inspiration to do their own,” Mrs Horton says.

“Truly the harvest is so ripe with the Deaf community, and Alpha in Auslan has been incredibly effective from what I’ve seen. It’s very exciting!”

To find out about planned Alpha in Auslan courses, keep an eye on the website and choose Auslan as the language.