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Hearing God
Brian Sims has worked the past decade and a half trying to ensure that members of the deaf community can at least see the Word of God even if they cannot hear it.
Sims, who graduated from the University in 1988 with a double major in Christianity and physical education, not only created the first church space to cater to the local hearing-impaired community in Brentwood, Tenn., but he also ministers to the group. Working as a pastor at Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church, he began one of the first initiatives to train deaf pastors and missionaries and developed the first American Sign Language video Bible.
Early life preparation
Sims’ passion for the deaf community derives largely from his unique upbringing. At the age of 8, a deaf couple adopted Sims and taught him American Sign Language so he could communicate with his new parents. Two years later, he began interpreting services at Memorial Baptist Church in Baytown, Texas, where he would decide to pursue full-time ministry.
Sims first attended Lee College, earning an associate degree in music and physical education. While at Lee, he became the president of the Baptist Student Union. At the time, HBU offered full tuition scholarships to students serving as presidents of BSU chapters at junior colleges. Sims took advantage of this opportunity and enrolled at the University to continue his education.
He attributes his time at the University — both in and out of the classroom — as preparation for his career.
“The educational part of my time at the University is the foundation of my ministry, while the actual hands-on aspect comes from the clubs and organizations I was a part of while at school,” he said.
During his tenure at the University, Sims was the assistant editor and then editor of the Ornogah, the University’s yearbook, manager of the men’s and women’s gymnastics team, a member of Alpha Phi Kappa, president of the Physical Club and vice president of Students for America.
After graduation, Sims worked for five years with Deaf Opportunity Outreach, first in Houston and then in Louisville, Ky., to start deaf churches. Sims then became the associate pastor at Woodhaven Baptist Church before moving to the Rio Grande Valley as the pastor of Parkdale Baptist Deaf Church.
“My adoptive parents believe this is what they were training me for,” Sims said about his ministry.
His current church, Brentwood Baptist, located south of Nashville, Tenn., was founded in 1995 as a part of the overall Brentwood Baptist Church complex.
First of its kind
While it is common for churches to offer assistance for the hearing impaired, including services for the deaf community, Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church is unique among American churches due to the facility’s design.
“The church is built to be conducive to the deaf culture,” Sims said.
Included in the complex is the Inman Deaf Chapel, which was funded by Gordon Inman, a businessman from Tennessee who donated the money after hearing about the renovations and expansions planned for the church. The chapel is also listed on “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” because of its innovations in serving the hearing-impaired population.
The chapel features no direct lighting, employing black lights instead to enhance the viewing of the stage. Alcoves also provide privacy for the invitation part of the service. Sims said that in a non-deaf service when a person speaks with the pastor, he or she typically whispers in the pastor’s ear, even though the people are out in the open, their conversations are not. However, this is not the case in a deaf service.
Because deaf people have to sign their conversations with the pastor, the whole congregation can also see what is being said. Sims said the alcoves were added to the floor plan to allow congregation members to experience having the pastor pray over individuals during the invitation part of the service.
A floating floor was installed in the chapel so that the primarily deaf congregation can feel the vibrations created by the music. This special floor sits on 3,800 rubber tips and 38 transducers, which convert sound energy into vibrations that shake the floor. The attendees also have access to the chapel’s inductive loop system so that their hearing aids are able to connect directly into the chapel’s sound system.
“Seats are in a stadium layout, but there are no cheap seats, so everyone has a direct line of sight to the stage,” Sims said. He added that the seats are also spaced 39 inches apart instead of the normal 18 and that all of the rows are spaced 42 inches from one another.
“The rows are designed so that the congregation is not knocking the person’s head in front or back of them while they are signing during the service,” Sims said.
Each seat has an attached lapboard so that a person’s Bible can be placed on it, allowing the attendee to sign without restraint during the service.
Brentwood Baptist, which has about 150 members who attend in-house services, also reaches an audience of nearly 1,700 through 26 satellite locations.
Looking to the future
The church functions as a springboard for launching the ministries of those who want to go into deaf outreach.
Sims is currently working to train pastors and missionaries to reach the deaf community.
The church recently established a pastor in residence program to train deaf men to pastor a church as well as a missionary in residence program with the International Mission Board.
Sims said the church is in the process of becoming the center for training people to work with all the different deaf communities of the world.
“Our goal is to train three pastors and 60 missionaries in the next five years,” he said.
To go along with the mission of training people to minister to the deaf around the world, Sims and his church are also in the process of developing a Bible specifically designed for this purpose.
“We are currently working on a video Bible specifically for the deaf, which will be the first Bible to be translated into American Sign Language,” Sims said.
Sharon Saunders, vice president for University relations, knew Sims while he worked on the yearbook, which was under her department at the time. She said having a former student make an impact in the lives of so many people is phenomenal.
“He truly is a jewel in the University’s legacy,” she said.
Brian Sims has worked the past decade and a half trying to ensure that members of the deaf community can at least see the Word of God even if they cannot hear it.
Sims, who graduated from the University in 1988 with a double major in Christianity and physical education, not only created the first church space to cater to the local hearing-impaired community in Brentwood, Tenn., but he also ministers to the group. Working as a pastor at Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church, he began one of the first initiatives to train deaf pastors and missionaries and developed the first American Sign Language video Bible.
Early life preparation
Sims’ passion for the deaf community derives largely from his unique upbringing. At the age of 8, a deaf couple adopted Sims and taught him American Sign Language so he could communicate with his new parents. Two years later, he began interpreting services at Memorial Baptist Church in Baytown, Texas, where he would decide to pursue full-time ministry.
Sims first attended Lee College, earning an associate degree in music and physical education. While at Lee, he became the president of the Baptist Student Union. At the time, HBU offered full tuition scholarships to students serving as presidents of BSU chapters at junior colleges. Sims took advantage of this opportunity and enrolled at the University to continue his education.
He attributes his time at the University — both in and out of the classroom — as preparation for his career.
“The educational part of my time at the University is the foundation of my ministry, while the actual hands-on aspect comes from the clubs and organizations I was a part of while at school,” he said.
During his tenure at the University, Sims was the assistant editor and then editor of the Ornogah, the University’s yearbook, manager of the men’s and women’s gymnastics team, a member of Alpha Phi Kappa, president of the Physical Club and vice president of Students for America.
After graduation, Sims worked for five years with Deaf Opportunity Outreach, first in Houston and then in Louisville, Ky., to start deaf churches. Sims then became the associate pastor at Woodhaven Baptist Church before moving to the Rio Grande Valley as the pastor of Parkdale Baptist Deaf Church.
“My adoptive parents believe this is what they were training me for,” Sims said about his ministry.
His current church, Brentwood Baptist, located south of Nashville, Tenn., was founded in 1995 as a part of the overall Brentwood Baptist Church complex.
First of its kind
While it is common for churches to offer assistance for the hearing impaired, including services for the deaf community, Brentwood Baptist Deaf Church is unique among American churches due to the facility’s design.
“The church is built to be conducive to the deaf culture,” Sims said.
Included in the complex is the Inman Deaf Chapel, which was funded by Gordon Inman, a businessman from Tennessee who donated the money after hearing about the renovations and expansions planned for the church. The chapel is also listed on “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” because of its innovations in serving the hearing-impaired population.
The chapel features no direct lighting, employing black lights instead to enhance the viewing of the stage. Alcoves also provide privacy for the invitation part of the service. Sims said that in a non-deaf service when a person speaks with the pastor, he or she typically whispers in the pastor’s ear, even though the people are out in the open, their conversations are not. However, this is not the case in a deaf service.
Because deaf people have to sign their conversations with the pastor, the whole congregation can also see what is being said. Sims said the alcoves were added to the floor plan to allow congregation members to experience having the pastor pray over individuals during the invitation part of the service.
A floating floor was installed in the chapel so that the primarily deaf congregation can feel the vibrations created by the music. This special floor sits on 3,800 rubber tips and 38 transducers, which convert sound energy into vibrations that shake the floor. The attendees also have access to the chapel’s inductive loop system so that their hearing aids are able to connect directly into the chapel’s sound system.
“Seats are in a stadium layout, but there are no cheap seats, so everyone has a direct line of sight to the stage,” Sims said. He added that the seats are also spaced 39 inches apart instead of the normal 18 and that all of the rows are spaced 42 inches from one another.
“The rows are designed so that the congregation is not knocking the person’s head in front or back of them while they are signing during the service,” Sims said.
Each seat has an attached lapboard so that a person’s Bible can be placed on it, allowing the attendee to sign without restraint during the service.
Brentwood Baptist, which has about 150 members who attend in-house services, also reaches an audience of nearly 1,700 through 26 satellite locations.
Looking to the future
The church functions as a springboard for launching the ministries of those who want to go into deaf outreach.
Sims is currently working to train pastors and missionaries to reach the deaf community.
The church recently established a pastor in residence program to train deaf men to pastor a church as well as a missionary in residence program with the International Mission Board.
Sims said the church is in the process of becoming the center for training people to work with all the different deaf communities of the world.
“Our goal is to train three pastors and 60 missionaries in the next five years,” he said.
To go along with the mission of training people to minister to the deaf around the world, Sims and his church are also in the process of developing a Bible specifically designed for this purpose.
“We are currently working on a video Bible specifically for the deaf, which will be the first Bible to be translated into American Sign Language,” Sims said.
Sharon Saunders, vice president for University relations, knew Sims while he worked on the yearbook, which was under her department at the time. She said having a former student make an impact in the lives of so many people is phenomenal.
“He truly is a jewel in the University’s legacy,” she said.