Duane King, the Pastor Who Inspired the First American Sign Language Translation of the Bible, Dies

Duane King, the pastor who inspired the first American Sign Language translation of the Bible, has died. King is being remembered for introducing Christ to millions of deaf people worldwide. He was 84 years-old. 

In 1966 Duane met a deaf couple and told them, "If you will come to church, I will learn sign language." That statement set in motion a chain of events that would change the deaf world forever. Soon Duane began holding church services for deaf people at First Christian Church in Norfolk, Nebraska. Truly God was at work through Duane.Duane's excitement for sharing the Gospel with deaf people grew, and in 1969 Duane and his wife Peggy moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to establish Deaf Missions in their home.

Several years later a building to house the Deaf Missions offices was constructed on adjacent land. All this happened because God was working through Duane.Duane realized that the most effective way to share the Gospel with deaf people was through video. The first movies were produced on 16 mm film, then VHS and finally DVD.

Today the Deaf Missions website and app contain 23,400+ minutes of video that can be accessed by deaf people around the world. How did this all come about? Because God was working through Duane.It became quite apparent to Duane that many Deaf people struggled with reading and understanding God's Word in English.

Beginning in the early 1980s, God provided godly and skilled people to work with Duane on a project that would produce a Bible in American Sign Language, the native, heart language of deaf people. Duane was able to witness the completion of American Sign Language Version of the Bible in June of 2020. This awesome accomplishment came about because Duane allowed God to work through Him.

Over the years Duane established many programs through Deaf Missions - Extension Class Program, Bible Camp for the Deaf, Christ's Church of the Deaf, Operation SERVE, and the Deaf Missions Training Center. Today thousands of people around the world are serving God because of the teaching and training they received through these programs. None of this would have happened had God not been working through Duane.Duane is with Jesus now.

God will no longer be working through him here on earth. But his legacy and accomplishments will live on in the hearts and lives of countless people who "saw" Jesus because of his faithfulness and vision. 

The funeral service was held last Saturday at First Christian Church in Council Bluffs. 

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