Back to main magazine page now!!

W h o W i l l G o To R e a c h
South America’s Largest
Unreached People Group?
By Sean Lunday
Achieving the Impossible with God was our
theme for the 2023 South America Field
Conference. We had a great participation
with more than 80 missionaries from
six South American countries. In South
America, BIMI has
missionaries in all but
one country. During
the conference we were
blessed by the ministry
of Missionary Scott
Crabtree and his wife,
Tricia, coming all the
way from Columbus,
Ohio. Pastor Crabtree planted the LifeSigns
Deaf Baptist Church where he has pastored
for six years.

Though we have missionaries working
with Deaf churches in four South America
countries, the Deaf are still the largest
unreached people group on the continent
with a total population of nearly 20 million.

Less than two percent have been evangelized
and profess faith in Christ. God worked in
a wonderful way and used every message to
minister to us and challenge our hearts to
reach this largely forgotten people group.

However, we have witnessed several of
our missionaries do what is seemingly
impossible! In February, we traveled to
Ecuador where we were blessed by the
ministry of Raymond and Anita Bradley.

Ray is 100 percent deaf and in the last
several years has begun to lose his eyesight.

Almost 40 years ago, Ray went to Peru as a
single missionary where he met and married
Anita who was serving in the Efata Christian
School for the Deaf.

24 BIMI
Number 1, 2024
Efata was started by Vernon Miller, BIMI’s
first deaf missionary to reach the Deaf in
South America in 1967. Efata exists to give
Peruvian deaf children language, education,
life skills, and a solid opportunity to know
the Savior. Efata is a distinctively Baptist
Christian school that teaches K–12 children
and is recognized as one of the best schools
for the Deaf in Peru.

The Bradleys moved
from there to Ecua-
dor over 20 years
ago. On our recent
trip to Ecuador, I
was challenged to
see what God can do
with someone totally
surrendered to His will. As Jeremiah the
prophet said, Mine eye affecteth mine heart.

The Bradleys, in spite of their limitations,
have seen God do an amazing work in estab-
lishing multiple churches, a Deaf school, and
an institute for training pastors and workers.

Also participating in
our conference was
the Marie family
who have been
laboring in Bolivia
for 15 years. After
they started the
only Deaf church
in downtown Santa
Cruz, God opened an opportunity to take on
a Bible translation project. Luke is leading a
team of translators who are interpreting the
Bible into sign language by way of a series of
videos. There are many deaf in Bolivia who
cannot read the Spanish Bible. With this



Bible translation they can now have access to
the Word of God.

Participating in our conference were our
missionaries working with the Deaf in Brazil
where Portuguese is the spoken language. In
every country in South America, the sign
language is different with signs unique to
that particular country. This provides an
additional challenge to reaching this people
group. However, in 2023 the Deaf ministry in
Brazil reached a milestone with the opening
of the Deaf Baptist Bible Institute. It has been
a burden on BIMI Missionary Carl Johnson’s
heart and a dream for many years to provide
a training opportunity for the Deaf to learn
in their own
language instead
of through an
interpreter. The
first semester
began with nine
deaf students who
have surrendered
their lives to prepare for the ministry. Please
be in prayer for this ministry that God would
provide Brother Carl with other qualified
teachers to teach the course classes. The load
is heavy for one man as he is at the church
for about four hours each night teaching
each module.

God is doing an amazing work through
the lives of our missionaries to reach South
America’s largest unevangelized people
group. It is still only a drop in the bucket
of a sea of lives who have never heard the
name of Jesus.

In his book Into the Silence, Missionary
Joe Kotvas says, “There is only one foreign
independent Baptist missionary to the Deaf
for every 8 million deaf people.” Brother
Kotvas goes on to say, “There is only one
North American independent Baptist
missionary to the Deaf for every four
countries.”¹ It is overwhelming to even try to
grasp the magnitude of those statistics in the
afore mentioned book.

Missionary Dan Bennett has been serving in
the city of São Paulo, Brazil, for 20 years. In
response to those statistics he states, “We are
just barely reaching a small percentage of the
more than 270,000 deaf in São Paulo, much
less than reaching three other countries.

Those figures are staggering!”
The Great Commission states Go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature (Mark 16:15). Millions of deaf
worldwide do not even have a language, no
one with whom they can communicate, and
no one to explain God’s love for them. They
know nothing of Jesus, the Cross, the empty
tomb, or heaven. Many deaf sit in silence,
alone, unreached, forgotten, and without
hope. Christian Friend, this needs to change!
Churches across America and around the
globe need to wake up and see this immense
“void” that is not being filled. The time is
now to make a concentrated effort to send
more laborers into God’s harvest field to reap
the souls of lost deaf. In Matthew 9:37–38,
Jesus said to His disciples, The harvest truly
is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He
will send forth labourers into his harvest. We
are praying that God would send forth more
laborers among the Deaf around the world.

Would you please make this a matter of
prayer in your home and in your church?
Recently, I received an email from a college
student requesting information on the
Deaf ministry in Argentina. Unfortunately,
I had nothing to give him because to
my knowledge there is not a work being
done with the nearly one million deaf in
Argentina. Who will go? W
¹ Kotvas, J. (2006). Into the Silence: A Biblical Perspective
and Plan for Reaching the Deaf Around the World, Efata,
page 28.

Number 1, 2024
BIMI 25