Patrick Genova, Who serves in the Youth & Family Ministry in Ministry In Southern Connecticut Church of Christ along with Joe Cepeda, founder of Deaf Ministry ICOC Website, have been collaborating to create a Deaf Ministry Tile in the ICOC NE app! This tile pulls together some helpful resources for Deaf Ministry ICOC and an opportunity for us to continue to grow this ministry and spread awareness. This is just the beginning, we are going to continue to add features and tools to this tile to foster communication and provide resources for this ministry. It is available to download on Android @ Google store & iOS @ Apple store. Simply type in “ICOC NE” in your App Store. Special Thanks to Mr. Genova for adding this tile to the app. 

My name is Joe Cepeda. I am a Deaf disciple and in June 1999, I founded the Deaf Ministry International Church of Christ (DMICOC) and dmicoc.org, a website to connect and encourage Deaf Ministries worldwide. I have been married to Chante for five years and have four beautiful daughters. We are part of the Mission Point Christian Church in San Antonio, Texas. I am writing to express my spiritual vision and unity of growing the Deaf Ministry within our churches.

I have had profound nerve hearing loss since the age of five. I was baptized on November 21, 1996, repenting of blaming my deafness on God and gaining a strong heart of perseverance to see God in heaven one day. The next year, God gave me a special gift to lead in the Deaf ministry, because I realized my life can be a great example in reaching out to the Deaf community.  I am very blessed to be fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) with over 25 years of Deaf community experience since college.

Deaf disciples have an incredible opportunity to not only reach out to their local Deaf communities, but to be advocates in our churches in explaining the needs of Deaf Ministry. I believe a Deaf disciple should have strong outreach skills and the desire to train new Deaf disciples. Those unfamiliar with Deaf Ministry should contact large Deaf Ministries in different cities and spend quality time with them for spiritual and ministry training, in order to build these ministries in their local churches.

In the United States, a great way to offer Deaf Ministry support is to learn basic American Sign Language (ASL) signs and phrases. There are four effective ways of learning ASL for beginners: attend a monthly Deaf community event in your local area, develop a good friendship with a Deaf person and communicate in ASL without using your voice, sit with the Deaf Ministry to watch interpreter(s) during worship services, and download the free Deaf Bible app to watch daily Deaf devotionals and learn religious signs.

There is more to learn and share regarding the rich language and culture of Deaf people. I pray as a church we will have this community on our hearts in outreach. Please feel free to contact me at jcdmicoc@gmail.com for more information or advice about the Deaf Ministry. You can also find us on Facebook.

If you are interested in improving your ASL skill, I would recommend you to study ASL at your local college or you can find free ASL courses online at ASL University http://www.lifeprint.com/ . You can then practice communicating with deaf people by attending deaf events in your area. Watching deafness related movies are also a great way to familiarize yourself about deaf culture.

Hebrews 10: 35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”

“From my online research, I found that the average time needed for a person to become fluent in ASL is between 6-8 years depend on that person’s learning effort. I have a passion for ASL and I am confident in signing because I have studied that language since college. For me, attending deaf events are important opportunities to learn to communicate with deaf people. I enjoy outreaching to the Deaf Community to meet new friends. ” said Joe Cepeda.

How did you do on the 12th Deaf Trivia (dated 7-30-12); did anyone answer all of them correctly? Are you ready for the next Trivia today?

The answers for the 12th Trivia questions from 7-30-12 are shown below:

1. B
2. B
3. C
4. B
5. A

1. On the video article dated 8-5-12, who added captions to the video for the Deaf Ministry?
A. Joe Cepeda
B. Russell Kirkpatrick
C. Brain Craig
D. Roger Lamb

2. The 5^th Deaf Open-Caption Movie was sold out for five consecutive showings.
A. True
B. False

3. What was the time-span for the 2012 World Discipleship Summit?
A. 2
B. 1 weeks
C. 4
D. 2 weeks

4. When is the new episode for the ABC family show entitled, “Switch at Birth”?
A. November 5, 2012
B. September 3, 2012
C. January 7, 2013
D. October 8, 2012

5. Which movie company provides closed-caption glasses?
A. Regal Entertainment Group
B. Alamo Drafthouse
C. IMAX
D. AMC Theatres

The answers will be shown on the next 14^th Trivia on September 24th, 2012. Good luck!

Did anyone answer all of them correctly? Are you ready for the next Trivia today?

The answers for the 11th Trivia questions from 6-25-12 are shown below

1. C
2. A
3. B
4. D
5. C

1. On the video article 7-6-12, Who is the Evangelist for the Deaf Ministry at the Los Angeles North Region?
A. Joe Cepeda
B. Ivan Strean
C. Randall Rushing
D. Joe Collins

2. The 4th Open-Caption Movie was called The Avengers.
A. True
B. False

3.When is the 22nd Summer Deaf Olympics?
A. June 1 to June 10, 2013
B. August 1 to August 11, 2012
C. July 26 to August 4, 2013
D. June 6 to June 16, 2014

4. Who was the Mobile of the Year for Video Relay Services (VRS) from Deaf Tech News in 2011?
A. Sorenson
B. ZVRS
C. Purple
D. Convo

5. What character did Antoinette Abbamonte play in the TV series called The New Normal?
A. Deaf Mom
B. Aubrey
C. Heather
D. Melissa

The answers will be shown on the next 13th Trivia on August 27th, 2012. Good luck!

Did anyone answer all of them correctly? Are you ready for the next Trivia today?

The answers for the 8th Trivia questions from 5-28-12 are shown below:

1. D
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. A

1. On the article 6-18-12, Who is the Director of the World Discipleship Summit?
A. Roger Lamb
B. Justin Rendon
C. Mike Taliaferro
D. Steve Johnson

2. Anya Trukhina is a single deaf disciple from Moscow.
A. True
B. False

3.When was the first open-captioned film called ‘America the Beautiful’?
A. 1958
B. 1948
C. 1960
D. 1980

4. What is the name of the US President who signed the charter for the Washington, D.C based college for the deaf?
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. Theodore Roosevelt
C. John F. Kennedy
D. Abraham Lincoln

5. What type of hearing aids device was approved in 1985?
A. In the Ear Canal Hearing Aids
B. Digital Hearing Aids
C. Cochlear Implants
D. Wireless Hearing Aids

The answers will be shown on the next 12^th Trivia on July 30th, 2012. Good luck!

Did anyone answer all of them correctly? Are you ready for the next Trivia today?

The answers for the 8th Trivia questions from 3-26-12 are shown below:

1. B
2. A
3. C
4. D
5. A

1. On the article 5-7-12, what was the name of the Open-Caption Movie event?

A. Men In Black III
B. Dark Shadows
C. Battleships
D. Avengers

2. There are 36 deaf disciples for the Deaf Ministry at the Abidjan Church of Christ.

A. True
B. False

3. When was the closed-captioning invented?

A. 1981
B. 2001
C. 1971
D. 1965

4. Who was the first deaf woman to be named Miss America in the Miss America Pageant?

A. Heather Whitestone
B. Ann Billington
C. Laura Hill
D. Johanna Valenta

5. In 2009 USA Deaf Olympics, what country did USA beat as opponent for the gold medal?

A. Germany
B. Canada
C. Japan
D. Brazil

The answers will be shown on the next 11^th Trivia on June 25th, 2012. Good luck!