Contrary to what many think, people in the Deaf community love music. However, the lyrics can be hard for many deaf people to understand without being interpreted into American Sign Language (ASL) — and most aren’t. 

“It kind of blew my mind that there were deaf people out there who love music because my assumption is that they don’t listen to music because they can’t hear very well,” said Brandon Heath, a contemporary Christian music songwriter, singer and musician. “But what I’ve learned is the Deaf culture, they are survivors. They have learned how to live in this world — and it’s a world that does not really spend a lot of time accommodating them. We just don’t do enough.”

Heath decided he wanted to be part of the solution. In 2017, he released a fully interpreted album and found he was one of the first — if not the first — musician to do so. His recent release, “The Ache,” is also fully interpreted. 

For “The Ache,” he involved a friend he’s had since high school — Araya Willams. She is an interpreter for the Deaf and founder of Sonshine Interpreting, which provides “excellent [American Sign Language] interpreters who love Jesus for events, music and media because we desire to see more deaf people equipped for life and ministry.”

“[Brandon] knew my heart and passion, and we just had some great conversations about accessibility and music,” Williams said. “Once he could grasp the unmet needs — that the Deaf community are an unreached people and have a lack of access to a lot of things (like) church options, the Bible in their visual language and music — it has been so incredible to watch him take it and run with it in the space that God has given him and gifted him in. Like, he can’t do everything but he’s like, ‘I see this need, and I hear your heart and passion and I want that. I want to be an ally in the Deaf community.’”

Heath and Williams agree the Church should be the leaders of accessibility. The government requires the secular world to be accessible. But nonprofits and churches have exemptions and loopholes and as a result, a deaf person may want to go to church or an event, but it can be too expensive to get an interpreter.

‘Sobering statistics’

Steve Dye, Deaf ministry catalyst for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, and Joshua Huffman, support staff for the ministry, share sobering statistics. Out of the approximately 3,200 Southern Baptist churches in Alabama, only 30 provide access for the Deaf community to worship with them, and only 10 pastors focus on deaf people, resulting in only about 200 deaf people currently attending a Southern Baptist church in the state.

“For a lot of deaf people, it comes with a lot of trauma and hurt from the Christian space, [leading to thinking], ‘Jesus is for hearing people. I’m too expensive; I’m too distracting; I’m not worth your investment,’” Williams said.

“What if the Christian space reflected the heart and hospitality of Jesus in not just waiting for that ticket to be purchased and then scrambling to figure out the budget? Or what if we had planned ahead of time to the point where the event or church reached out to say, ‘You’re welcome and wanted here’? Or what if it was a church that said, ‘There are excellent Deaf options here in our community. What do we have to offer, and how can we bless and edify Kingdom work happening at this tiny, little Deaf church that’s barely sustaining itself?’”

Leading by example

Heath has already decided that every future album he releases will be fully interpreted. He hopes other Christian artists will follow suit. Then for his next tour, he would also love to hire an interpreter to become part of his band, if possible.  

“The Ache,” the album’s title song, is about the loss of his parents who died in 2017 and 2023. It’s about how he, as an adult, is making peace with the time when his dad “made some mistakes” and left him and his mother. Even though “The Ache” makes no direct references, its theme reflects some of the same hurts many in the Deaf community experience. 

“One of the things I’ve learned in the Deaf community is often it’s only the mother in a family who will learn sign language. The dads typically don’t take time to learn ASL. I know it’s not across the board, but I know a lot of deaf people have had a really hard father experience. 

“I feel like these songs hopefully will connect with people who have had a similar experience to me — a father who didn’t try hard enough to be present. But also I hope they will find it in their hearts to not only forgive their fathers but pursue their fathers if they’re still living. I also hope this touches on this topic within the Deaf community.”

The playlist for the interpreted songs from “The Ache” can be found here.  To learn more about Heath and his music, go to brandonheathmusic.com/. To learn more about Sonshine Interpreting, visit sonshineinterpreting.com/.

Church resources include a recording called “Deaf Artist and Worship Leaders in Christian Music,” which features Heath and three of the interpreters for “The Ache.” It is available here.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — This article originally appeared in The Alabama Baptist.)