Bible Baptist Church co-pastor Terry Chick believes the Lord gave him a desire.

For years, Chick wanted himself and some church members to learn sign language, but he didn’t know how to start.

“I felt like there was a need out there,” said Chick.

When Jackie Roberts and her family began to attend Bible Baptist, Chick thought it was the will of God. Roberts knew a lot about sign language.

“I’m not a certified interpreter,” said Roberts. “I haven’t taken the test. I just have two years of schooling.”

Chick thought two years of sign language in college sounded like plenty, and he asked Roberts to share her knowledge with any in the church interested.

Now there is a group of about 20 eagerly learning American Sign Language from Roberts.

“Right now we’re about to the point where we’re like toddlers,” said Chick. “We’re learning.”

But why does a church need to learn sign language?

“We’re basically just teaching the members the American Sign Language signs so we could witness to (hearing-impaired people) if we met them on the street,” said Roberts.

Members have learned to “finger-spell” each letter of the alphabet in ASL, and they are working on different signs, including Bible verses and songs.

“The fun part is she’ll come in and give us a Bible verse (in sign language), and we’ll have to figure out what she’s saying,” said Chick.

In the Bible, in the book of Matthew, Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Chick believes that is the reason it is important members learn sign language.

“This is part of the Great Commission,” said Chick. “We just love people. This is a way to let people know about our good Lord.”

The class also is helping members in other ways. Chick said there is a girl who takes the class who can now communicate on a basic level with a hearing-impaired classmate.

Chick said class members at the church range from age 9 or 10 to age 70.

“The kids are quicker at it than we are,” said Chick. “We have a good time.”

“Our primary goal is to get comfortable enough to where we can approach a deaf person and tell them about Christ and invite them to church,” said Roberts.

Although she isn’t a certified interpreter, Roberts enjoys sharing the sign language she learned in college.

“I am just someone who likes the language, loves the Lord and would love to get the message across,” said Roberts.